The NFC West’s fate could be decided as the top-seeded Cardinals host their final remaining divisional competitor, the Rams. Once again I am drawn to bet against the birds of the desert, but I am also once again likely to be proven wrong. Why do I keep doing this?
Denial
My downfall began before a single snap went off when bookmakers placed the Cardinals win total at a robust 8.5 wins. Immediately, I jumped on the under and Arizona proceeded to rattle off nine victories in 11 games. Yippee!Halfway through the year, a new season-long win total came out for the then-undefeated flock: 12.5. “No way Klifford James Kingsbury can lead a 13 win team. They have to travel to Cleveland this week!” I took the under AGAIN and the Cardinals snuck by with a 23-point victory. I got Bakered.The hits kept coming.
“The Rams will hammer them!” — Cards by 17
“Colt McCoy can’t beat the Niners!” — Cards by 14
“This is the Seahawks Super Bowl!” — Cards by 10
The Cardinals keep winning, I keep losing and I can’t seem to shake this feeling that the team with the best record in the entire league is a paper tiger poised to fall. My feelings have been hurt.
Acceptance
Despite sitting second in Coach of the Year odds, I didn’t believe Kliff Kingsbury was a successful NFL head coach. I thought if Kyler went down the team would fold. Naturally, Colt McCoy went 2-1 as the replacement starter.
I had zero faith in James Conner as a starting running back. Guess what? He’s second in the league in rushing TDs. Just like John Locke when he blows up the hatch, I was wrong.
This team is for real. They have a top-ten offense that produces 368.8 yards per game. They have a top-five defense that only lets up 318.8 yards per game. They score the third-most points in the league and let up the fourth-least. There is no weakness to this squad and it is time to start believing they can win it all.
Now might be a good time to strike as they are +700 to win the Super Bowl, only the fourth best odds in the league; a clear sign of disrespect for the NFL’s top team by record.
The Takeaway
I hope you learned a lesson, but I don’t care. I just don’t care. I’m taking the Rams moneyline this week and you can’t stop me.
