St. Louis Rams vs. Arizona Cardinals Betting Odds, Analysis, NFL Pick

The Arizona Cardinals may own the best record in the NFL at the moment—and a profitable 6-2 mark against the spread—but they've lost three of their last four meetings with the St. Louis Rams. Arizona will try to remedy that situation and extend a four-game winning streak when it hosts 3-5 St. Louis Sunday afternoon.

Point spread: The Cardinals opened as 7.5-point favorites; the total was 43 early in the week, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark. (Line updates and matchup report)

NFL pick, via Odds Shark computer: 25.5-13.6 Cardinals

Why the Rams can cover the spread

The Rams may be thought of as the little brothers of the NFC West, but they already own victories this season over both the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers. St. Louis just beat the 49ers in Santa Clara 13-10 last week, winning straight-up as an 11-point underdog, the biggest point-spread upset in the league so far this season.

The Rams only managed 193 yards of offense, but held the Niners to just 263 total yards and a scoreless second half, punctuated by a goal-line stand in the final seconds. The St. Louis defense also registered eight sacks. The Rams will try to do more of the same this week: play tough defense, limit the mistakes and wait for their opponents to commit a few of their own.

Why the Cardinals can cover the spread

The Cardinals own the best record in the NFL after their 28-17 victory at Dallas last week. Arizona spotted the Cowboys the first 10 points of the game, then scored the next 28 to take control. Dallas' only offensive touchdown came in garbage time with one minute to go.

The Cardinals outgained the Cowboys 339-266, held the ball for over 31 minutes and limited Dallas running back DeMarco Murray to 79 yards on the ground, the first time this year he's been held under 100 yards. And after throwing a pick-six five minutes into the game, Arizona quarterback Carson Palmer settled in to throw for 249 yards and three scores.

Smart Pick

The Rams are riding the NFL roller coaster at the moment; three weeks ago they upset the Seahawks, then got bombed by Kansas City and last week they upset the 49ers. That puts St. Louis on a downward trajectory for this week. Arizona, meanwhile, is now 17-7 both SU and ATS under head coach Bruce Arians. So the smart choice here is with the Cardinals, minus the points.

Betting Trends

• The total has gone under in five of St. Louis's last six games when playing on the road against Arizona
• Arizona is 5-2 ATS in its last seven games at home

Note: All spread and odds data powered by Odds Shark—follow us on Twitter for injury updates and line move updates.