Arizona Cardinals vs. Los Angeles Rams Picks and Predictions, Sunday, January 4th, 2026
The Arizona Cardinals (3-13) and the Los Angeles Rams (11-5) close out the regular season with a divisional battle in the NFC West Sunday afternoon in this Cardinals vs. Rams prediction. Los Angeles will finish as either the 5 or 6-seed in the NFC Playoffs, while Arizona prepares for the offseason. When these teams met earlier this season, the Rams easily rolled to a victory 45-17 on the road. The Cardinals are coming off a 37-14 loss in Cincinnati, going down as 7-point underdogs. The Rams just fell on Monday night, losing in Atlanta 27-24 as 7-point favorites. See below for our Cardinals vs. Rams prediction, and check out all of our winning free NFL Predictions.
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Arizona Closes Their Season
The Arizona Cardinals will be playing their final game of this season's campaign, and have accumulated just three wins as they head to Los Angeles. The Raiders have just two wins, so they have the best odds to get the top pick in the draft, while the Cardinals are tied with the Giants, Jets and Titans with just three wins. Arizona is currently slated to pick fifth in the draft, as that is all they have to look forward to, as all of the other three NFC West teams will reach the postseason. In their last game, Jacoby Brissett passed for 212 yards and two touchdowns in their loss in Cincinnati.
Kyler Murray was once viewed as the franchise quarterback in Arizona, but he has not played since Week 5, and his future with the team in unclear. Jacoby Brissett has taken over as the quarterback, he has put up some big numbers, including passing for 452 yards against San Francisco, but there have not been enough wins. In the 11 games that Brissett has played, the team has gone just 1-10 overall, with their lone win coming over the Cowboys. He is averaging 240.2 passing yards per game with a 64.5% completion rate to go with his 21-7 TD-INT ratio. Brissett does not look to run much, as he has just 149 rushing yards on the season. When Arizona does run the ball, it has been by committee, with Michael Carter being used as their top back. Carter has 315 yards and a touchdown on the season.
Marvin Harrison Jr. is their highly touted receiver, but he will miss this game with a foot injury. Trey McBride has quietly been having a strong season, the tight end leads the team with 1,174 receiving yards, which is 6th in the entire NFL, and first amongst tight ends. He is a big target at 6'4 and 250 pounds, and has 11 touchdowns. Their defense has 29 sacks and ten interceptions on the season. Josh Sweat leads the team with 11 sacks, but the linebacker is listed as questionable with an ankle injury. Their other top defensive players include CB Denzel Burke (3 interceptions) and S Budda Baker (111 tackles).
Injury Report for Cardinals:
- Out: QB Kyler Murray, WR Marvin Harrison Jr., T Paris Johnson Jr., CB Garrett Williams
- Questionable: LB Josh Sweat
Rams are Playoff Bound
The Los Angeles Rams will be on the road in the first round of the playoffs, but the rest of the details have yet to be decided. Is Seattle beats San Francisco on Saturday, then the Rams would need to win here, then would be come the 5-seed. If San Francisco wins, then the Rams will be locked into the 6-seed regardless of the outcome of this game with Arizona (Note: This article was published before the results of the Seahawks/49ers game). The most likely first round games will either involve a trip to Philadelphia to play the Eagles, or a trip to Chicago to play the Bears. Head coach Sean McVay has stated that starters will play in the Arizona game, regardless of the scenario.
The Rams have lost their last two, both of which came on the road as they fell in Seattle and Atlanta over the past two weeks. Matthew Stafford will get one last tune-up before the playoffs begin, and he is averaging 278.0 passing yards per game while completing 65.2% of his passes with a strong 42-8 TD-INT ratio. Stafford is in the MVP race, as most sportsbooks have him listed as one of the two favorites with Drake Maye from New England. Kyren Williams is their top running back, the 25-year old is 7th in the NFL in rushing with 1,192 yards, but is listed as questionable as he battles an ankle injury. Blake Corum is their other back, he has 687 yards on the ground, but is also bothered by an ankle injury.
On the topic of injuries, wide receiver Davante Adams has been out of the lineup since December 14th when he pulled his hamstring against Detroit. He is questionable to go here. Puka Nacua will be available, he is 2nd in the NFL with 1,639 receiving yards, and has grabbed nine touchdown passes on the season. Their defense has 41 sacks and 15 interceptions on the season. Byron Young leads the team with 11 sacks off the edge, while Jared Verse is having a strong year with 6.5 sacks and three forced fumbles. Emmanuel Forbes Jr. helps to lead the secondary, as the cornerback has three interceptions.
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Injury Report for Rams
- Out: TE Tyler Higbee
- Questionable: WR Davante Adams, RB Kyren Williams, RB Blake Corum, G Kevin Dotson
Cardinals vs. Rams Picks and Predictions
Spread pick and prediction for Cardinals vs. Rams
- Cardinals +7.5 (5 units)
If you like the Cardinals in this one, get on this line fast. If the 49ers win on Saturday, that would mean that the Rams are locked into their playoff spot. That would likely result in some Los Angeles players resting, and this number falling significantly. Regardless of the Saturday result, Arizona is still the play here. Sean McVay says that starters will play in this game, but he is also the coach who famously started the trend of not playing any starters in the preseason, I do not see him risking injuries before the Wild Card Round. On top of this, Davante Adams, Kyren Williams and Blake Corum are all banged up with injuries, there is no motivation for them to be on the field to run up the score on this Arizona team. Brissett is a strong enough quarterback to keep this game close, and many Arizona players are fighting for their future jobs. Expect this one to be close, and take the points with the Cardinals.
Take Arizona to cover.
Total pick and prediction for Cardinals vs. Rams
- Under 46 (4 units)
In this final game of the regular season, do not expect many fireworks, as the Rams are trying to get to the postseason healthy, and the Cardinals are getting ready to pack their bags for summer. As mentioned earlier, Los Angeles has three of their top skill position players listed as questionable, they likely will not play, which will leave Puka Nacua as the only elite offensive weapon for Stafford. I also do not see the Rams putting Nacua in any bad spots across the middle where he could get injured, so expect a lot of reserves here. Arizona has been struggling lately, they have lost each of their last eight games, and do not have a running back with over 350 yards on the season. Marvin Harrison Jr. will not play here, leaving Brissett with few options and a conservative game plan. The Cardinals went under in each of their last two, and we will see another under here.
Take the under.
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