Cardinals vs Rams Betting Trends Show Public Money Expects Rams Will Cover
- The Los Angeles Rams are 3.5-point home favorites in their NFC Wild Card game against the Arizona Cardinals on Monday, January 17
- Public betting in the point spread is showing that more of the handle is on the Rams but the majority of bettors are backing the Cardinals
- All of the betting trends for this NFC Wild Card showdown are analyzed in the story that follows
NFC Wild Card weekend opponents the Los Angeles Rams and Arizona Cardinals have played each other a lot this season. However, when it comes to playoff games, it’s an entirely different story.
It’s the first time since 1975 that they’ve met in the playoffs. In the 1975 NFC Divisional Round, the Rams beat the St Louis Cardinals 35-23. Of course, when the Cardinals left for Arizona, the Rams briefly took up residence in St Louis, making this a playoff clash between the two NFL teams that abandoned the Gateway to the West to relocate further west.
This season, these two NFC West rivals split two regular-season meetings. Each team won at the other’s stadium. But it’s the Rams, who hold home-field advantage, that the public is leaning toward in this game.
LA has won nine of the past 10 meetings. Over the past six seasons, Arizona actually is showing a better straight up record in LA (2-4) than at home (0-6) against the Rams.
The 12-5 Rams are 3.5-point home favorites over the 11-6 Cardinals. LA is 8-1-1 against the spread in the last 10 games against Arizona.
Cardinals vs Rams NFC Wild Card Betting Trends
| Team | Spread | ATS Handle% | ATS Bet% | Total | O/U Handle% | O/U Bet% | Moneyline | ML Handle% | ML Bet% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona Cardinals | +3.5 | 38 | 49 | 49.5 | 67 | 69 | +155 | 37 | 47 |
| Los Angeles Rams | -3.5 | 62 | 51 | 49.5 | 33 | 31 | -180 | 63 | 53 |
Odds as of January 16th at FanDuel
ATS Wagering Shifts to Rams
When it comes to spread wagering on this game, the action began a house divided. Recently, though, it’s moving in with the Rams.
The line on this game has bounced between LA -3 and Rams -4. Currently, it’s right in the middle of those two numbers. When it comes to wagers, the NFL betting trends are showing Rams getting a slight edge in the action to the tune of 51-49%. LA is drawing 62% of the spread handle.
Ahead of Monday night's playoff game between #Rams & #Cardinals, Matthew Stafford said he doesn't feel any more pressure in LA than he did in Detroit.
"If you step on the football field and don't feel pressure to go out there and perform, then there is something wrong with you." pic.twitter.com/wNO0n8mfDy
— Jeanna Trotman (@JeannaTrotmanTV) January 16, 2022
The Cardinals are 8-1 ATS in their last nine road games. Arizona won outright 37-20 at SoFi Stadium against the Rams as 4-point underdogs on October 3.
LA is 4-2 ATS in the last six games but is 3-7 ATS over the club’s past 10 home games. The Rams are 3-3 ATS in six postseason games since 2017.
An Underwhelming Total
The total for this game would appear to be a little bit on the low side and the public seems to agree with that assessment. When the Rams and Cardinals clashed in October, the over/under was set at 54 points. In the December rematch, the bar was set at 51 points.
In both of those games, the two teams combined to hit the over. Public money is expecting that this will again be the case in the rubber match between LA and Arizona.
Cardinals QB Kyler Murray and Rams QB Matthew Stafford are looking for their first playoff wins. How are they approaching Monday’s Wild Card? From @NFLGameDay @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/DwtcS9PW2E
— Steve Wyche (@wyche89) January 16, 2022
The over is drawing 67% of the handle wagered on the total. There’s also 69% of all bets backing the over to come in yet again.
Four of Arizona’s last six NFC West games went over. As well, four of the last five Rams-Cardinals games also went over.
Moneyline Action Leaning to Rams
Public betting is also with the Rams in the moneyline. Moneyline bets are split 53-47% in favor of the Rams. As with spread wagering, the handle is backing the Rams in a much heavier fashion at 63-37.
At a moneyline of -180, the Rams are given a 64.29 implied probability (IP) of victory in this game. The Cardinals are +152 in moneyline odds. That works out to an IP of 39.22%.
The Rams faced off against the Cardinals in the playoffs of 1975. The great Jack Youngblood @theblood85 had a big defensive day that included this 47 yard interception return for a touchdown pic.twitter.com/v2dyrMQPIH
— RAMS ON FILM (@RamsOnFilm) January 12, 2022
The Cardinals are the NFL’s best bet on the road this season in the moneyline. They are 8-1 SU. That calculates out ot be an 89.9% win rate. Oddly enough, the only home team to win outright against Arizona this season was the 3-13-1 Detroit Lions.
At home, the Rams are 5-3 straight up, a 62.5% win rate. Besides Arizona, two other 2021 playoff teams – the San Francisco 49ers and Tennessee Titans – also beat the Rams at SoFi Field this season.
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An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
