Tread carefully. LA Rams faces formidable Arizona Cardinals in Week 4
By Bret Stuter
The LA Rams are undefeated heading into Week 4 of the 2021 NFL season. So what, you might be asking? Well of 32 teams that began the season, only five teams remain who can claim to still be undefeated. After Week 4, there will be fewer NFL teams that will have that claim to fame. This game will remove one of the five from the ranks.
There is no denying that the Arizona Cardinals are a formidable opponent this year. With each offseason, the Cardinals front office has attempted to prune unproductive players, and graft new free agents to the roster. Sometimes it has worked out well. Sometimes not so much.
This is a game of one undefeated team versus another undefeated team. The lead of the NFC West Division will be claimed by the victor. The loser will fall to second place, and at this point in time in the 2021 NFL season, it will be only as significant of a setback as they allow it to be. The goal of both teams is to get to that 12 win mark, where the discussion of their earning a playoff berth begins to become reality. One team will be closer to their goal after the final score is posted. The other team will be forced to try harder the following week.
For the Arizona Cardinals, they have had this date circled as soon as the 2020 season ended. For each of the past four seasons, the Cardinals have faced the LA Rams and lost. Regardless of how prepared they’d felt, the Rams were always the better team. A year ago, the Cardinals shocked the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks, defeating both rivals en route to jumping out to a 5-2 record.
The Rams were in a dead heat with the Cardinals a year ago. Both teams reached the 6-3 mark. But the Rams continued to win, while the Cardinals would only win two more games for the rest of the year. Both teams restocked their roster. The Cardinals were very active in free agency. The Rams were active in the trade market. Once more, both teams are in a dead heat. Both the Cardinals and the Rams enter Week 4 with an unblemished 3-0 record. Now, who wants the fourth win more?