First Look: Rams host Cardinals in primetime Saturday night showdown in Week 17
Stu Jackson, Senior Staff Writer
Returning from a Week 16 road win over the Jets, the Rams close out the regular season with back-to-back home games, starting with a Week 17 game against the Cardinals on Saturday night at SoFi Stadium. Kickoff in Inglewood, Calif. is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. pacific time on NFL Network and KCBS2.
In advance of the contest, here is your First Look at Rams-Cardinals.
Notable Cardinals additions
- Selected WR Marvin Harrison Jr. fourth overall in this year’s NFL Draft:Â Harrison has consistently been quarterback Kyler Murray’s top wide receiver target this season, producing 51 catches for 726 yards and 7 touchdowns.
- Selected DL Darius Robinson in 27th overall in this year’s NFL Draft:Â Robinson’s debut was delayed until Week 13 because of a calf injury, but he’s made the most of his opportunities since then. He recorded his first career sack last week.
Top performers in Week 16
Murray completed 20 of 32 pass attempts for 202 yards with 1 touchdown against 1 interception in Arizona’s 36-30 loss to the Carolina Panthers.
RB James Conner led the Cardinals backfield with 15 carries for 117 yards and 1 touchdown before exiting the game with a knee injury. Murray also rushed 8 times for 63 yards and a score.
Conner was also Arizona’s leading receiver with 49 receiving yards on 4 receptions.
LB Kyzir White paced the Cardinals defense with 8 total tackles and 1 sack.
On special teams, K Chad Ryland made all 3 of his field goal attempt and all 3 of his extra point attempts, while P Michael Palardy averaged 39.3 yards per punt across three punts.
Early storylines to watch, and what they mean for the Rams
Riding a four-game win streak has allowed Los Angeles to remain in firm control of its playoff fate. Now, we arrive in Week 17 with clinch scenarios in play.
The Rams can clinch the NFC West in the following ways:
- A win over the Cardinals + Seahawks loss or tie
- A win over the Cardinals + by clinching Strength of Victory (SOV) over Seahawks (or tying SOV and clinches Strength of Schedule over SEA)
- A tie with the Cardinals + Seahawks loss
According to Joe Ferreira, who handles official scenarios for the NFL, the Rams clinch SOV over the Seahawks if they get 3.5 wins from the following teams: Saints (tonight only), Bengals, Commanders, Bills, 49ers, Vikings and Browns.
Ferreira also says they can clinch SOV tie/SOS win with a win, a Saints win tonight only, a Bengals win, a Commanders win and 1.5+ wins from the Colts and Eagles. Or, with a win and 2.5 wins from the Saints tonight only, Bengals, Commanders and 0.5 wins from any of the Bills, Browns, Vikings and 49ers, plus wins by the Colts and Eagles.
Obviously, that’s quite a few tie-breaking headaches. In short, the simplest path to clinching this week would come from an assist from the Bears – who play the Seahawks on Thursday night football – and keeping this win streak going.
The Cardinals were eliminated from playoff contention, but the postseason is still within reach for the Rams. Los Angeles handles business this week, and it’s one step closer to the postseason. By Thursday night, they’ll know whether they need additional help to achieve that feat in Week 17.
