The Arizona Cardinals are preparing for their Wild Card game against the Los Angeles Rams on Monday. Both teams have been pretty consistent in their dominance throughout the season. However, the Cardinals had a much more difficult time in the second half of the season than the first.
Granted, it's pretty difficult to maintain a perfect record in the NFL, and the team has dealt with and overcome injuries, so we can't look too much into it. Both teams have conquered trials and tribulations throughout the season, so the AFC matchup is bound to be a good one.
For more insight on the Cardinals' Wild Card playoff matchup against the Rams, listen below:
Let's take a look at my four boldest predictions for Cardinals vs Rams.
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Cardinals Wild Card Predictions
4. JJ Watt suits up
The Cardinals played the majority of the regular season without JJ Watt. The star defensive end suffered multiple shoulder injuries in Week 7 against the Houston Texans, and hasn't played since. Not so coincidentally, the Week 7 game was the final game in Arizona's seven-game winning streak.
Recent reports on Watt's status for Monday night have been mixed, but I have a feeling that he will be on the field come game time. On Wednesday, head coach Kliff Kingsbury revealed that Watt's availability for Wild Card Weekend will be determined based on his next few practices.
Things didn't seem very optimistic following practice on Thursday, but he has all weekend to practice and prepare for Monday night. Kingsbury said it himself, Watt is hungry to get out there. Expect to see No. 99 out on the field and hungry for Rams on Monday.
3. Dominating defense
This prediction goes hand-in-hand with the previous one. There is no doubt that the Cardinals defense is going to come out guns blazing Monday night, especially if Watt is in the mix. His presence on the field and leadership is electrifying for the Cardinals' defense, and when they get going, there's no getting through them.
Also contributing to this prediction is the status of the Rams' offense. Quarterback Matthew Stafford recently suffered a toe injury, similar to Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers. While he said on Thursday that the toe shouldn't affect his performance on Monday, you never know. Any injury, regardless of how insignificant the body part may seem, could have lingering effects, especially for a quarterback under the stress of a playoff game.
2. Mostly passing oriented
The Cardinals relied on the passing game as their main form of offense throughout the entire regular season. Obviously, it worked. Going into the playoffs, there is no reason why they wouldn't continue this trend.
In almost every game Kyler Murray played this season (there is only one exception), he connected with his receivers for at least 200 yards. He had three games with over 300 yards, including a 400-yard bomb against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 2. Murray has multiple quality receivers that he can utilize to put points on the board against the Rams.
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1. Close win
Both teams clearly have the ability to put up numbers against their respective opponents, but don't expect a high-scoring game. Neither defense will let the opposing offense run up the score Monday night. The Cardinals and Rams are arguably the best matchup of the weekend, so this will be a close one. Finally, my boldest prediction yet: Cardinals win 17-13.
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