Arizona Cardinals vs. Los Angeles Rams Odds
| Rams Odds | +2 |
| Cardinals Odds | -2 |
| Over/Under | 50.5 |
| Time | 8:15 p.m. ET |
| TV | ESPN |
Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals will host the Los Angeles Rams in a titanic matchup between two NFC title contenders.
The Rams, however, have been playing like pretenders of late, having dropped three straight games before dismantling the hapless Jacksonville Jaguars last week, 37-7.
Los Angeles had dropped consecutive games to the Tennessee Titans, San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals won two of their three games without Kyler Murray and Deandre Hopkins — their two best offensive players — on account of their defense, which ranks third in the NFL, according to DVOA.
Murray and Hopkins came back last week and crushed the Chicago Bears, 33-22.
Murray, the former Heisman Trophy winner, only had to throw the ball 15 times, but he completed 73% of those passes for two touchdowns. He also added 59 yards and two touchdowns from the ground.
The performance kept him as a dark horse contender in the NFL MVP race, where he has the third-shortest odds favorite at +750, according to DraftKings.
Below are Murray's most valuable player props for this Monday Night Football tilt with the Rams.
Kyler Murray Most Valuable Rushing Player Props
- Rushing yards over: 25.5, -115 (PointsBet)
- Rushing yards under: 27.5, -110 (FanDuel)
- Rushing attempts over: 6.5, -120 (DraftKings)
- Rushing attempts under: 6.5, -110 (DraftKings)
Murray has rushed for more than 26 yards in 4-of-9 games this season, which implies odds of roughly +125. He put up 59 rushing yards on 10 attempts in his return from injury last week against the Bears, but that's against the No. 18 ranked defense in the league.
The Rams are the sixth-best defense in the league, including second against the rush.
The Action Network's Director of Predictive Analysis, Sean Koerner, projects Murray to have 23 rushing yards this game, which may mean there's some value with FanDuel's under line of 27.5.
Meanwhile, Murray has fulfilled his rushing attempt prop at the same 4-for-9 clip. Koerner projects Murray will rush the ball six times.
Kyler Murray Most Valuable Passing Player Props
- Passing yards over: 260.5, -115 (DraftKings)
- Passing yards under: 265.5, -115 (FanDuel)
- Passing touchdowns over: 1.5, -166 (FanDuel)
- Passing touchdowns under: 1.5, +130 (BetMGM)
- Pass attempts over: 34.5, -105 (PointsBet)
- Pass attempts under: 34.5, -115 (DraftKings)
- Pass completions over: 23.5, -145 (DraftKings)
- Pass completions under: 23.5, +115 (DraftKings)
Murray has thrown for 261 or more yards in six of his nine games this season, which implies the odds should be somewhere closer to -200. This is, of course, a tough Rams defense, but their run defense is far better than their pass defense, which may force Arizona to lean more heavily on its air attack.
Koerner projects Murray to throw for just 254.5 yards.
Koerner's projections on Murray's pass attempts and completions are just about in line with the market price. He thinks Murray will throw the ball 34.5 times and complete about 23.6 passes. So, depending on where you lean, you're getting the market value for those props.
Meanwhile, Koerner projects Murray will throw for 1.9 touchdowns. At -166, the vig — and the variance inherent in touchdown lines — might be too much to wager on, but if the juice drops at all, it might be worth a tiny sprinkle.
