St. Louis @ Arizona preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 8, 2013 ) Arizona 24, St. Louis 27

The NFC West was the laughingstock of the NFL a few seasons ago but is becoming one of the best divisions in the league thanks in part to the continued improvements of the St. Louis Rams and the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals will look to continue their wild-card push at the expense of the Rams when they host their division foe on Sunday. Arizona is a game behind the San Francisco 49ers for the No. 6 spot in the NFC.

The Cardinals had a four-game winning streak come to an end in a 24-21 setback at Philadelphia last week and are now tied with the Eagles behind San Francisco. Arizona still has to travel to Seattle and finishes up the regular season by hosting the 49ers. “We learned a lot of lessons about what a playoff atmosphere is on the road and how to overcome it and how to handle it when bad things happen and when good things happen,” Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said after the loss to Philadelphia. “…We got to learn from it and know if we play error-free, we can win games like this.”

TV: 4:25 p.m. ET, FOX. LINE: Cardinals -6.6. O/U: 41.5.

ABOUT THE RAMS (5-7): St. Louis has proved to be up to the challenge against top competition, knocking off Indianapolis and Chicago in back-to-back games before falling 23-13 at San Francisco last week. Rookie Tavon Austin, who scored four long touchdowns in the wins over the Bears and Colts but was held to 25 receiving yards and contained in the return game against San Francisco, could have another rough week against a strong Arizona pass defense. Quarterback Kellen Clemens is completing only 51.7 percent of his passes since taking over for the injured Sam Bradford and could be without center Scott Wells (broken ankle) and left tackle Jake Long (head).

ABOUT THE CARDINALS (7-5): Arizona had some dubious calls go against it in the loss to the Eagles, prompting Arians to send a tape of what he felt were officiating mistakes to the NFL. Quarterback Carson Palmer is fighting through an elbow injury and threw a pair of interceptions at Philadelphia, snapping a string of four straight games with one or fewer picks for the veteran. Palmer had thrown for eight touchdowns and two picks during the four-game winning streak and had 327 yards and two TDs in the first meeting with the Rams - a 27-24 loss in Week 1.

EXTRA POINTS

1. The Rams have taken three straight in the series and overcame an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit to take the Week 1 meeting.

2. Arizona WR Larry Fitzgerald caught two TD passes in the first meeting and has at least one TD reception in three straight games.

3. St. Louis RB Zac Stacy is averaging 96.4 yards over his last five games.

PREDICTION: Cardinals 27, Rams 24