Thursday Night Football Week 15: TV Schedule, Live Stream for Cardinals vs. Rams

The Arizona Cardinals have a tall task ahead of them on Thursday Night Football. Without their leading passer and leading rusher, the Cardinals must figure out how to score points against a St. Louis Rams defense that's trying to become the first team in 38 years to pitch three consecutive shutouts.

Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams has the Rams defense playing at a ridiculously high level, and the Cardinals' sputtering offense is averaging just 13 points per game since they played St. Louis in Week 10. Drew Stanton's second stint as starter this season hasn't been as successful as the first. The Rams will surely look to put pressure on him throughout.

The NFC West is in the midst of a major power struggle. It appears as if the San Francisco 49ers are on the decline, but the Rams and Cardinals are now challenging the Seattle Seahawks for supremacy in the division.

St. Louis likely needs one more year to fine-tune, while the Cardinals are already knocking on the door. Who will win the matchup between two future NFC powerhouses? Read on to find out a few of the keys to the game.

Game Info

When: Thursday, Dec. 11, 8:25 p.m. ET

Where: Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis, Missouri

Watch: NFL Network 

Live Stream: AudioPass.NFL.com, GameRewind.NFL.com

Betting Info: (via Odds Shark)

• Over/Under: 39.5
• Spread: St. Louis (-4.5)

Storylines to Watch

Rams Defense in Historic Company

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

All eyes will be on the Rams defense on Thursday night. They allowed just 206 total yards against the Washington Redskins last week, and the Oakland Raiders only tallied 61 yards on the ground the week before that.

St. Louis' run defense has led the charge over this recent stretch of games. They've won four of their last six contests with the defense acting as the catalyst. Teams have only gained an average of 58.7 yards per game on the ground in those last six games.

This has worked to the Rams' advantage. St. Louis excels when it can get to the quarterback. Because teams know they can't run against them, they are more apt to drop back and pass. More opportunities to pass means more opportunities to get to the quarterback.

As a result, the team has recorded 13 sacks in their last two games.

A similar showing could be in the works with Kerwynn Williams scheduled to get the bulk of the carries. Andre Ellington is on injured reserve and done for the year. Williams shocked viewers with a 100-yard performance against the Kansas City Chiefs last week, but can he repeat that performance on Thursday?

NFL Network's Andrew Siciliano doesn't have confidence in Williams' ability to move the chains and get his team in scoring position:

Three straight shutouts would be historic. The 1976 Steelers were the last team to do so. The Steel Curtain posted five total shutouts, eventually losing in the AFC Championship Game.

While success against the run has defined the unit, they'll have to focus on Stanton and the passing attack. Stanton himself isn't dynamic, but Larry Fitzgerald torched St. Louis for 112 yards on a season-high nine catches in their last meeting. Fitzgerald was targeted nine times but made just four catches for 34 yards last week.

Even if the defense doesn't post a shutout, there's still a great chance their offense can outscore the Cardinals. That's the reason the Rams open as favorites.

How Will Kerwynn Williams Impact this Game?

USA TODAY Sports

Ellington didn't run for 100 yards in a game once this season. Williams did so in his first-ever NFL game.

For those of you wondering where on earth Williams came from, head coach Bruce Arians described just how much he impressed in practice in the weeks leading up to his breakout:

There isn't much NFL tape on Williams, so the Rams are mostly going in blind. They'll have basic scouting reports from the last game and from when he came out of Utah State. Head coach Jeff Fisher knows the type of impact he can make on this game, according to Nate Latsch of Gridiron Gateway:

"

He reminded me when I first put it on, it’s almost like a Maurice Jones-Drew, that type. He’s not a tall runner, but he runs with his pads down. He makes you miss. He’s a contact guy. He’s got good vision. They do a good job. Their run game is a little different than some other teams that you face. They love to double your down guys and come off of the backers. They get big and he’s hard to find back there, so we’re going to have to protect our edges and make sure our gap fits are sound.

"

St. Louis' front seven is dominant. Running up the middle probably won't yield much success, so Williams will have to try his hand at bouncing it outside in order to get to the second level of the defense.

Either way, Williams is arguably the most important player in this game.

With success on the ground, the Cardinals won't have to rely as heavily on Stanton. He's a decent option when he has to manage the game. He's not the best when the pressure is on him to make big plays.

Williams' ability to gain yards on first down and put Stanton in manageable 3rd-and-shorts is imperative to Arizona's game plan. He can't afford to get stuffed on first and second down, setting up 3rd-and-8s or worse.

The Cardinals won't win this game if Williams doesn't take the pressure off Stanton. Given the previous showings by St. Louis, the deck appears to be stacked against him.

Follow Kenny DeJohn on Twitter: @kennydejohn