Rams vs. Cardinals Week 17 Previews and Predictions

During the regular season, theRams.com will look online for the top Rams headlines of the day. Here’s a look at what’s on your Los Angeles Rams on Thursday, December 26th ahead of their Week 17 Saturday night game against the Arizona Cardinals at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time.

Here is a collection of analyst predictions and previews for Rams-Cardinals:

• All five NFL.com analysts picked the Rams to lose against the Cardinals on Saturday. Read here why Tom Blair chose the Rams.
• Five of Sports Illustrated’s six staffers picked the Rams to win at home against the Cardinals. All Week 17 predictions can be viewed here.
• 10 of the 11 ESPN experts who made their picks picked the Rams to win in Week 17. The picks for each game can be viewed here.

*   "The Rams can clinch the NFC West (and therefore a playoff berth) via any of the following scenarios:

    *   A win over the Cardinals and a Seahawks loss to the Bears (Seattle plays Thursday night).
    *   A win over the Cardinals plus clinching Strength of Victory tiebreaker over Seattle with four wins from the Bengals, Commanders, Bills, 49ers, Vikings and Browns.
    *   A loss to the Cardinals and a Seahawks tie with the Bears." - Jackson

* Stu Jackson on Jordan Whittington showing up on special teams

*   "I think I've been learning more and more every week. But I've got a really good special teams coach, and a good unit. We all hold each other to a high standard." - Whittington

* Wyatt Miller on top quotes and talking points from the panel

*   "(This game is) so far removed from that last game, schematic-wise. I think everybody's changed probably a little bit here or there. But, still a really fast, physical defense (that) flies around. They give you a bunch of different things to look at, a bunch of personnel packages, coverages. They do a really nice job, they're really well-coached." - Stafford

• The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue on Tyler Higbee leading the Rams over the Jets
  • “It makes a big difference, you can feel Higs. You can know where he stands. “Honestly, it’s great to have him back on the team because he just brings the energy that people feed off and enjoy.” – Kyren Williams
• Gary Klein of the LA Times on the significant home-field advantage against the Cardinals
  • “The fans will be thrilled. I think our players have given them a lot of good things to be excited about over the last month. … I expect a really good atmosphere with a lot of potential at stake. This is “one of those deals that I think will give the Rams a great crowd and a great home atmosphere.” – Sean McVay
• Adam Grosbard of the LA Daily News talks about facing the Cardinals for the second time with a different team than he did in Week 2
  • “I think a lot of the things we’ve had to navigate through have made us numb, where there’s some of that resilience and that toughness.” – McVay