7 stats and facts to know for Rams vs. Cardinals in Week 18

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The Los Angeles Rams wrap up the regular season this Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals. It's a game that doesn't mean much to the Rams, who are locked into the No. 5 or 6 seed, nor the long-eliminated Cardinals.

The Rams have owned the Cardinals during Sean McVay's tenure and already beat them, 45-17, in Week 14, so this shouldn't be much of a challenge for Los Angeles in the finale. That being said, the Rams need a strong performance to feel good entering the playoffs.

Here are seven stats and facts to know for Week 18.

Cardinals have the worst point differential in the NFC

The Cardinals have been getting blown out left and right this season. They have five losses by at least 19 points, all of them coming during their eight-game losing streak. On the year, they have a minus-116 point differential, which is the worst in the NFC and the fourth-worst in the NFL.

The Rams, by comparison, are plus-155 in point differential, which puts them second in the NFL.

Rams lead the league in points, are 2nd in yards

No team in the NFL has scored more points than the Rams this season, putting up 481 in 16 games thus far – an average of 30 per game. The next-closest team is the Seahawks, who have scored 470 points.

Their 6,314 yards are also the second-most in the league, ranking second in passing yards and eighth in rushing.

Cardinals have the most passing attempts in the NFL

Considering how often the Cardinals play from behind, it shouldn’t come as any surprise that they lead the NFL in passing attempts. They’ve thrown the ball 617 times but average just 5.5 net yards per pass attempt, which is the seventh-fewest in football.

It’s a terribly inefficient offense, which is why they’re only 23rd in points – and that includes a lot of garbage time production.

Only 3 teams have rushed for fewer yards than the Cardinals

With just 1,504 yards rushing on the year, the Cardinals have had minimal success running it this season. They hardly even try to run it anymore, attempting the second-fewest rushes in the league. Their leading rusher, Michael Carter, only has 315 yards and one touchdown on the year.

Their leading rusher! It’s been that bad in Arizona.

Rams have allowed 3rd-most points since Week 15, Cardinals have allowed 2nd-most

The Rams’ defense had been playing well but in the last three weeks against the Lions, Seahawks and Falcons, they’ve taken a big step back. They’ve allowed 99 points since Week 15, the third-most in the NFL (33 per game). They still managed to outscore their opponents, 102-99, in that span, but there are real concerns about L.A.’s defense.

Going back to Week 13, the Rams have allowed 27-plus points in four of five games, with the only exception being the 17 points they gave up to Arizona. The Cardinals have allowed the second-most points in that span (103).

Cardinals defense is 2nd-worst in success rate this season

Based on success rate, the Cardinals defense is the second-worst in football. It allows an opposing success rate of 48.5%, better than only the Cowboys. Their 0.081 EPA allowed per play is also 26th in the NFL, showing just how poorly Arizona’s defense has played all year.

The Rams should have little trouble moving the ball on Sunday.

Kyren Williams has more rushing yards than all Cardinals RBs combined

Going back to the Cardinals’ anemic run game, this comparison puts things into perspective. Combined, all Cardinals running backs have 1,167 yards rushing this season. By himself, Williams has 1,192 yards rushing.

Blake Corum’s 687 yards rushing are also twice as many as the Cardinals’ leading rusher, Michael Carter, who has 315 yards.

This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Rams vs. Cardinals: 7 stats and facts to know for Week 18

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