Rams at Cardinals Week 3 Preview and Prediction

Los Angeles Rams

The defending Super Bowl champions picked up their first win of 2022 season in Week 2 against the Atlanta Falcons, which we all expected them to do. However, it was much more of a challenge than many people thought. The game was 28-3 (hilarious, I know) in favor of the Rams, but they allowed the Falcons for once to mount a huge comeback. Ultimately, they came up short, but LA almost became a victim of the same comebacks that the Raiders and Ravens suffered. A late Jalen Ramey interception secured them the victory, but it was certainly a sweat.

The Rams certainly haven't played up to their potential yet, but one area that's been great so far is their third down offense. They have converted on 52.17% of their third down attempts, which ranks fifth in the NFL. Keeping opposing defenses on the field really helps the team as the game progresses, and LA has been great at doing that so far.

Not only that, but the Rams have absolutely dominated the Cardinals recently. The Rams are 9-1-1 ATS in their last 11 games vs. Cardinals, and 10-1 straight up. Kliff Kingsbury is a disaster against good coaches like Sean McVay, and he gets out-coached frequently.

Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals are coming off a huge come-from-behind win, after being down by 16 points heading into the 4th quarter to the Las Vegas Raiders. It was an epic comeback that was one of a few of them in Week 2, but unfortunately for Arizona, it doesn't cover up the fact that this team was getting whipped against for most of the game. There are some serious red flags with this team, especially on defense. That unit is allowing 6.4 yards per play and 7.7 yards per pass attempt. You aren't going to win many football games with those numbers.

The Cardinals are 2-6 ATS in their last eight games, and 0-6 ATS in their last six home games. They have been terrible at home, and against the Rams, as I mentioned above, even worse. Kingsbury gets out-coached by Sean McVay, and it turns ugly quickly in most of these matchups.

Now they have to face one of the best passing attacks in the NFL in the Rams, and I would expect to see a result similar to what we saw in Week 1 against the Chiefs. LA is the far better team.

My Prediction

Don't be fooled by the Cardinals comeback in Week 2. This is a bad team, and the Rams are about to show why they are the defending Champions. Kingsbury is a disaster against McVay, and that will continue here.

I'll take the Rams -3.5.