Cards Face NFL’s No. 1 Defense

ARIZONA (8-7) at LOS ANGELES RAMS (9-6)

Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET, Fox

OPENING LINE — Rams by 4 1/2

RECORD VS. SPREAD — Cardinals 7-8, Rams 8-7

SERIES RECORD — Rams lead 44-38-2

LAST MEETING — Rams beat Cardinals 38-28 on Dec. 6 in Glendale, Arizona

LAST WEEK — 49ers beat Cardinals 20-12; Seahawks beat Rams 20-9

AP PRO32 RANKING — Cardinals No. 15, Rams No. 13

CARDINALS OFFENSE — OVERALL (2), RUSH (3), PASS (15).

CARDINALS DEFENSE — OVERALL (14), RUSH (23), PASS (10).

RAMS OFFENSE — OVERALL (7), RUSH (10), PASS (12).

RAMS DEFENSE — OVERALL (1), RUSH (3), PASS (1).

STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES — Two playoff berths are potentially on the line in the final game of the inaugural regular season at SoFi Stadium. … The Cardinals need a win to get in, while the Rams need a win or a loss by the Chicago Bears. … Rams coach Sean McVay is 7-0 against Arizona, beating three different head coaches, with six wins by double digits and a 233-84 aggregate score. He’s 3-0 against Kliff Kingsbury, his good friend. … It’s the first time since 1998 that the Cardinals have had a “play-in” game during the final week of the regular season to make the postseason. That year, the Cardinals beat the Chargers 16-13 on a 52-yard field goal as time expired to earn the NFC’s final playoff spot. If they beat the Rams this week, they’ll be in the playoffs for the first time since 2015. … Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald will be playing the team he made his NFL debut against in 2004. Fitzgerald hasn’t said whether he’ll be returning for his 18th season. … Over the past three games, the Cardinals’ defense has 17 sacks, 14 tackles for loss, eight forced fumbles and 24 quarterback hits. … Cardinals LB Haason Reddick has 7 ½ sacks and six forced fumbles over the past three games. He already has a career high 12 ½ sacks this season. … Arizona QB Kyler Murray (lower right leg) was hurt near the end of last week’s loss to the 49ers. He’s expected to play but if he can’t go, the team’s backup is Chris Streveler, who has never thrown an NFL pass. He ran for a 3-yard gain in the first week of the season against the 49ers. … Cardinals WR DeAndre Hopkins has 111 receptions, a franchise record. It also ranks second in the NFL this season.. McVay is looking for his third playoff berth over four winning seasons in LA. … The Rams are 34-0 under McVay when leading at halftime. … The Rams are expected to play without their leading passer (Jared Goff), their leading rusher (Darrell Henderson) and their leading receiver (Cooper Kupp) due to injuries and a COVID-19/reserve list stint. … John Wolford is expected to take his first NFL snaps as Goff’s replacement. The Wake Forest product was a third-stringer last season. He has been Goff’s backup in 2020, but hasn’t played in a real game since the Alliance of American Football’s Arizona Hotshots folded nearly two years ago. … Rookie RB Xavier Jones also could get his first offensive snaps with Henderson and possibly Cam Akers sidelined by injuries. … The Rams still have the NFL’s No. 1 defense in yards allowed (286.5), nearly 16 per game fewer than No. 2 Pittsburgh. Los Angeles is third in scoring defense with 289 points allowed, just seven more than Miami. … The Rams haven’t allowed a 100-yard rusher all season, and Buffalo’s Josh Allen is the only QB to pass for 300 yards against them back in Week 3. … DT Aaron Donald is second in the league with 13 1/2 sacks. He has 12 sacks in 13 career games against the Cardinals. … Fantasy tip: Nobody has any idea how Wolford will fare, but he’s likely to have plenty of opportunities to make plays with his arm and his leg in McVay’s offense. He might be worth a flyer.