Arizona Cardinals vs. St. Louis Rams: Complete Week 15 Preview for St. Louis

The St. Louis Rams (6-7) will take on the Arizona Cardinals (10-3) for an NFC West showdown on prime-time Thursday Night Football. The game will air on the NFL Network at 8:25 p.m. ET. 

This is the second time these teams have met this season. Arizona prevailed with a 31-10 victory the first time around, but things have changed since then. 

The Rams are on a mad tear. Their defense has shut out the last two opponents, and the Rams won those games by a combined score of 76-0. In their last three wins, which include Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos, the Rams have outscored opponents 98-7. 

In St. Louis' first matchup with Arizona, the Rams led 14-10 entering the fourth quarter, but a total meltdown resulting in three turnovers cost them the game. The improved Rams have home-field advantage this time around, so a similar implosion is unlikely. 

The Cardinals have lost two of their last three and have been a .500 team since losing Carson Palmer. Arizona can still take the division, but the Cardinals are limping through the finish line with the Seattle Seahawks just a game behind. 

With the teams trending in opposing directions, this should be an exciting matchup. Read on for a complete preview, including key matchups, an outcome prediction, the latest headlines and more. 

Week 14 Recap

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The Rams entered their game against the Washington Redskins fresh off an incredible 52-0 victory over the Oakland Raiders, and the momentum from that Oakland game was still visibly present. 

The St. Louis defense manhandled the Redskins in every way imaginable, and the group secured its second consecutive shutout—the first back-to-back shutouts for the Rams since 1945, when the franchise was located in Cleveland. 

Washington's Colt McCoy was coming off an impressive performance against the Indianapolis Colts, where he completed 66 percent of his passes with three touchdowns and over 300 yards. McCoy was beginning to stand out as a potential answer for Washington's quarterback dilemma, but the Rams defense filled that notion with doubt. 

The Rams picked off McCoy twice, forced one fumble and sacked him six times. He finished with an abysmal 54.0 passer rating. 

McCoy was also weighed down by a lackluster run game. The Rams held the Washington running backs to 16 yards on 10 carries, and McCoy finished as the leading rusher with 11 yards.

On offense, the Rams were held to a single touchdown in the first half. Kicker Greg Zuerlein missed the point after touchdown (PAT) following the score, and he also missed two first-half field goals within his range (38 and 28 yards). Zuerlein left seven points off the board, so St. Louis entered halftime with a narrow 6-0 lead. 

The Rams broke out in the third quarter with a touchdown drive, a field goal and a punt return touchdown for Tavon Austin, giving them a 24-point lead that they maintained for the remainder of the game. 

The 24-0 score is not horribly lopsided, but the score alone does not fully describe how thoroughly the Rams dominated Washington. St. Louis was in complete control for four quarters, and the Redskins did not show life at any point on either side of the ball. 

It was an encouraging win for St. Louis, and it will surely boost the team's momentum against Arizona. For the Redskins, it was a humiliating loss on their own turf. 

News and Notes

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Don't Fret Over Greg Zuerlein Just Yet

Zuerlein missed field goals from 38 and 28 yards against the Redskins as well as a PAT. Prior to that game, Zuerlein has never missed a PAT or a kick under 30 yards in his three-year career. 

According to Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com, Rams quarterback Shaun Hill was unhappy with the condition of Washington's field, and that could have contributed to the missed kicks. 

"The elements probably didn’t look that bad out there but the grass was long and the field was soft, the wind was blowing," Hill said. "It’s a rough place to kick today out there for him and really a tough place to throw at times, too." 

Wagoner mentioned in the article that he walked on the field after the game and that the surface was in terrible condition. 

However, this isn't the first rut of Zuerlein's career. He was 6-of-11 on field-goals in his final eight games of 2012, and he was 0-of-2 on attempts between Week 7 and Week 8 of this season. 

Zuerlein only missed two field goals last season, and the Rams need him to get that 2013 confidence back. Perhaps sending him out to sink a near-60-yard attempt against Arizona will help him regain some of that lost swagger. 

Zuerlein has an All-Pro leg—maybe one of the best this league has ever seen—but his focus at times seems barely NFL-caliber. 

Rams Having Fun Again

The Rams didn't just own the Redskins on the field. According to ESPN.com's Wagoner, Jeff Fisher also burned Redskins owner Dan Snyder before the game by selecting Michael Brockers, Janoris Jenkins, Alec Ogletree, Stedman Bailey, Zac Stacy and Greg Robinson as the captains for the coin toss. 

Those players, of course, are the same players the Rams drafted with the picks they acquired from Washington as part of the RGIII trade. 

According to Nick Wagoner, Fisher is not exactly apologetic over the stunt either.  

"I think they've got more issues than the coin toss yesterday," Fisher said.

For fans in St. Louis, it's surely a great feeling that their team's not only talking smack again, but it's backing it up on the field. 

Rams Ranked No. 11 in Fox Sports Power Rankings

With back-to-back shutouts and lopsided wins, along with some quality wins against Denver and Seattle, the Rams are finally getting some respect. 

Fox Sports ranked the Rams No. 11 in its latest power rankings, and that has to be the highest the Rams have been ranked at any time this season by any site. 

The explanation credits young playmakers Austin and Tre Mason but recognizes that the St. Louis defense has been the real force driving the team. 

St. Louis' playoff hopes have almost completely vanished, but the team is getting recognition as perhaps the hottest team in football right now. No one wants to face the Rams at this point in the season. 

Injury Report

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The following injury report is from the official website of the St. Louis Rams. Check back closer to kickoff for a more up-to-date list. 

Injury Report

WR Kenny Britt (N/A): Full Participation

DL Alex Carrington (Thigh): Full Participation

TE Cory Harkey (Knee):Full Participation

LB Will Herring (Foot): Full Participation

LB James Laurinaitis (Ankle): Full Participation

DE Chris Long (Ankle): Did Not Participate

OL Rodger Saffold (Shoulder): Full Participation

C Scott Wells (Elbow): Full Participation

Key X-Factors and Matchups

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Can the St. Louis Defense Get Another Shutout? 

The Arizona defense remains a solid force to be reckoned with, but the offense is taking a steep nosedive. 

The team lost Palmer to a season-ending knee injury, and now running back Andre Ellington will miss the season with a hernia, per ESPN.com's Josh Weinfuss. The one-dimensional offense now rests in the hands of career backup Drew Stanton. 

Since the Palmer injury, the Cardinals are 2-2, and the offense has yet to score more than 18 points in a game. Now that they're about to face a team with back-to-back shutouts, the Cardinals are in a situation that's far from ideal. 

If the Atlanta Falcons—a defense that ranks dead last in the NFL—can hold Arizona to 18 points, what will the St. Louis defense be able to accomplish with the home-field advantage?

The Rams defense has been as dominant as any unit in the league over the past month. The group held Manning and the Broncos to seven points (a season low for them), so Arizona will have a hard time finding points. 

Three consecutive shutouts is nearly impossible at the professional level, but when you look at how the Arizona offense has played lately compared to the St. Louis defense, it's certainly a possibility. 

Pass Rush vs. Drew Stanton

The defense fuels the Rams, but it's the pass rush that fuels the defense. When the pass rush is on, the Rams are on. 

The Rams have averaged 4.5 sacks per game in their six wins this season, but they've averaged just 1.1 per game in their seven losses. When the front four steps up, St. Louis wins football games. 

Getting to Stanton often is absolutely vital. With Ellington out, the Cardinals will depend heavily on the pass, which should provide the St. Louis line with a plenty of opportunities to secure sacks. 

If Robert Quinn and the St. Louis linemen are in the backfield all game, it will disrupt the Arizona passing game, and the Cardinals will be useless on offense as a result. 

The West Virginia Kids

The St. Louis offense has pretty much been hitching a ride on the back of the defense, but several of the young stars on offense have been standing out. 

Second-year receivers Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey in particular have added a nice spark to the passing game and special teams. 

Austin—St. Louis' No. 8 overall draft pick from 2013—contributed an 18-yard rushing touchdown against Oakland two weeks ago as well as a 78-yard punt return touchdown against Washington last week. 

Stedman Bailey, Austin's college teammate at West Virginia who the Rams drafted in the third round in 2013, has also been coming on strong lately. He has 14 catches, 236 yards and a touchdown in his last three games. 

The two youngsters were drafted in order to provide some excitement to the offense, and the Rams must give both of them a key role in the game plan against Arizona. 

The Arizona pass defense ranks a mediocre 27th in the NFL, and the group has allowed 49 receptions of 20 or more yards this season—the fifth-highest total in the league. 

The Cardinals are stout against the run, but if Austin and Bailey are utilized correctly, the Rams can tear up the Arizona secondary. 

Prediction

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When you look at the records, you'll see that a playoff berth is likely for the 10-win Cardinals, while the Rams will be watching from home yet again. 

If you haven't followed either team over the past month, it'd be easy to look at the big picture and assume that Arizona will take this game. But that's taking things out of context. If you look at the recent trends of both teams, you'll see that one team is indeed the heavy favorite in this game—but it's not the playoff contender. 

The Cardinals are holding onto the life raft, trying to climb in, but they're losing their grip. Their hands are starting slip, and three large sharks are heading right for them. 

Of course, that refers to the Redbirds ending the year with three straight games against the NFC West, and the Rams are up first. Unfortunately for Arizona, St. Louis is probably the hungriest shark of them all.

If you think there's nothing at stake for the Rams, think again. Winning two of the next three will result in their first non-losing record since 2006. Winning out will give St. Louis its first winning record since 2003. Playoffs or not, there's a lot on the line. 

Not only have the Rams been an excellent football team over the past month, but they also have home-field advantage in this game. For an Arizona team that hasn't won a road game in over a month, this game is a total uphill battle. 

The Rams won't do much on offense against the tough Arizona defense. But St. Louis will score just enough points to survive, and the defense will take care of the rest. 

Prediction: Rams 17, Cardinals 9