The Arizona Cardinals have lost two of their last three games. If the experts are correct, they'll drop another against the St. Louis Rams on Thursday.
Cardinals vs. Rams 2014 picks and predictions: Arizona’s fall expected to continue
Experts don’t like the Cardinals’ chances on Sunday.
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
For much of the season, the Cardinals were running away with the NFC West and appeared to be a strong playoff contender. However, quarterback Carson Palmer tore his ACL in early November, beginning the team's disintegration. Since then, the offense has yet to reach 20 points in a game and replacement Drew Stanton has completed less than 60 percent of his passes while tossing more picks than touchdowns. Those shortcomings have put extra pressure on the defense, which allowed 29 points to the Atlanta Falcons after not allowing more than 20 points since Week 5.
The Rams are peaking at the moment. The team shut out its last two opponents behind the impressive performance of the team's defensive line. Robert Quinn and the newly healthy Chris Long provide one of the league's best pass rushing tandems coming off the edge while rookie Aaron Donald is having a fantastic year on the inside. The group has been so productive that defensive coordinator Gregg Williams rarely has to blitz in order to create pressure.
Most of the experts picked St. Louis this week. Six of CBS Sports’ eight-man panel see them overtaking the visiting Cardinals.
CBS Sports senior writer Pete Prisco had this to say about the game:
This is a huge game for the Cardinals against a team that has really come on the past month. The Rams have two consecutive shutouts, and the Cardinals haven’t been good on offense on the road with Drew Stanton. This will be a defensive battle, but I think the Cardinals find a way behind their defense.
Here at SB Nation, five of our seven experts are leaning toward the Rams.
| Ryan Van Bibber | Stephen White | Joel Thorman | David Fucillo | Danny Kelly | PFT Commenter | Matt Ufford | |
| ARZ vs. STL | STL | STL | ARZ | ARZ | STL | STL | STL |
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