There is one match left in the Super Wild Card Weekend in the NFL 2021 Playoffs and for the first time in playoff history it comes along in the Monday Night Football as the two best teams in the NFC West battle for the right to go to Tampa Bay next week.
These two sides are no strangers to each other given that they are in the same division and they have already met twice in the regular season. They shared those matches so the trilogy game will settle the season score.
Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams were one of the favourites to win the Super Bowl before a ball was thrown this season but there was a time during the campaign where they weren’t guaranteed to even make the playoffs. Their motivation is obvious. The Super Bowl is due to be at their home stadium this season and every team wants to be at their own dance. After this match the Rams know they are likely to have to be on the road until the Super Bowl.
You would imagine with the high quality level of roster they have put together this season, if they can play a clean game they will have every chance in this match, however it is putting those clean games together that has been a problem. They have floundered on offense a lot this term and sometimes their defence has flattered to deceive. Sometimes when teams are loaded with talent they can be guilty of leaving it to each other and the Rams need to guard against that here.
Special Offer
Sign up for a Boylesports account to get up to £25 in free bets! Perfect offer for this league! Click the image below for this great offer! New accounts only. 18+ T&Cs apply. Gamble Aware.
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals were being touted as Super Bowl winners in waiting when they got off to a perfect 7-0 start to the season, however the second half of the campaign didn’t go quite as swimmingly. In fact it went so far west that from a seemingly unassailable position they never even won the NFC West and now have to go on the road for this opening playoff encounter. The Cardinals come into this one off the back of four defeats in their last five outings.
One concern is that their defence has suddenly stopped functioning to the tune it was earlier in the season. A large reason for that has been the absence of J.J. Watt but he is back now so that should help. The other issue they have had is injuries to Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins and the latter is out here which is less than ideal. With questions over the fitness of their running backs you sense if the Cards are going to win this match then Kyler Murray is going to need a special performance.
Betting
I suspect the Los Angeles Rams will win this match, I hope that is the case because they are my Super Bowl pick and I’d like the bet to ride a little longer but I’m not sure it is wise to back them to cover a 4-5pt spread in what is going to be a high pressured match. I was going to consider the over given that these two offenses can fire strongly when they put their mind to it but I’m not sure there is much juice in that either so I’ll head to the player markets for a punt on this one.
Zach Ertz is going to be a big part of the Cardinals passing game in this match in the absence of DeAndre Hopkins. The receiving core for Murray in this match isn’t the strongest so he is likely to visit his big tight end who has a receiving line of just 53.5 yards. Since Hopkins headed to the sideline the productivity of the former Eagle has gone through the roof and he has covered this line in three of his last four matches, the one where he didn’t cover was the win over Dallas Cowboys who are exceptionally strong between the numbers where Ertz will operate. In a match like this I expect Ertz to get a number of targets and with the Rams one of the weaker sides against tight ends I’m fairly confident Ertz will cover here.
Tips
Back Z.Ertz – Over 53.5 receiving yards for a 3/10 stake at 1.90 with Coral
Back him here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2022
