RDS and RDS Direct will show the playoff game between the Cardinals and the Rams starting at 8 p.m. Monday.
BEFORE MATCH | ANALYSIS BY PIERRE VERCHEVAL
INGLEWOOD, Calif. – If Kyler Murray wants to understand how important it is to seize the opportunity once his team qualifies for the playoffs, the Arizona Cardinals star need only look at his counterpart on the other next to SoFi Stadium on Monday night.
Like Murray, Matthew Stafford is a former first overall draft pick who hasn’t won a playoff game despite being one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.
And Stafford has been trying to end that scarcity since Murray was 12.
Two excellent passers will try to get their hands on their first playoff victory when the fourth-ranked team in the National Conference, the Los Angeles Rams (12-5), receive the fifth team, the Cardinals (11-6) .
It will be the first playoff game at Los Angeles’ new multi-billion dollar stadium, which will also host the Super Bowl less than four weeks later.
The Cardinals didn’t earn a playoff ticket in Murray’s first two seasons as a starter. The same can be said for the Detroit Lions when Stafford was their starting quarterback. They only reached the playoffs three times in his 12 good seasons with the team. The Lions have lost in the first round on every occasion.
While Stafford reveals next to nothing about his personal motivations for ending his playoff drought, everyone knows the Rams acquired him in exchange for Jared Goff, who led them to the Super Bowl, because they believe that Stafford can allow them to lift the Vince-Lombardi trophy.
“Every time I step on the court, I prove myself to myself,” Stafford said. It’s a team sport, definitely, but at the same time, do I know that when a quarterback has a good game, his team has a better chance of winning? Obviously. »
This will be the third meeting this season between the two section rivals, who have each triumphed on enemy ground. Both teams enter the playoffs after setbacks suffered at home in the last week of activities. The Rams were easily knocked out by the San Francisco 49ers, but won the Nationals West Division as the Cardinals lost to their division’s worst team, the Seattle Seahawks.
And each of the organizations would consider a first-round defeat a major disappointment. The Rams have built a team that prides itself on being all-stars, thanks to costly mid-season acquisitions of Odell Beckham Jr. and Von Miller for Super Bowl LVI. The Cardinals also have a number of stars on their roster, which started the season 7-0 and then 10-2 before dropping in the standings to cap off a breakout season.
Sean McVay beat the Cardinals eight straight before seeing Kliff Kingsbury’s side end that streak in Inglewood in October. The Rams prevailed at Glendale in December, but that rivalry is no longer one-sided.
“They really had our number as an organization,” Kingsbury said. But the last matches have been fiercely contested, on one side as on the other. Several players had great performances and kept it tight. That’s what I expect for Monday night. There are several talented players on the pitch. »
