Cardinals at Ravens
THE STORY: Losers of five consecutive games, the chances of the Arizona Cardinals ending their drought against the Baltimore Ravens seem pretty remote. Of course, the Jacksonville Jaguars were in the same situation a week ago and halted their five-game skid with a stunning 12-7 upset of the Ravens on Monday night. Baltimore turned in one of the more feeble offensive performances in its history in the defeat, which dropped the Ravens one-half game behind front-running Pittsburgh in the AFC North. Unlike the Jaguars, the Cardinals will have to spring an upset in Baltimore, where the Ravens have won five straight and 13 of the last 14.
TV: FOX, 1 p.m. ET. LINE: Ravens -13, O/U 43.5
ABOUT THE CARDINALS (1-5): After enduring three straight losses by a total of eight points, Arizona has been blown out in its last two games - including last week's 32-20 home defeat to Pittsburgh. With the exception of a 73-yard scoring toss to RB LaRod Stephens-Howling, QB Kevin Kolb continues to struggle in his first season with the Cardinals, throwing for seven TD passes and seven interceptions. Kolb likely will be without RB Beanie Wells, who is expected to miss the game with a knee injury. Arizona has allowed at least 31 points in its last three losses.
ABOUT THE RAVENS (4-2): A spectacular defensive effort was offset by a pitiful offensive performance in Baltimore’s loss at Jacksonville. The Ravens managed a record-low 16 yards of offense in the first half and didn’t register a first down until the final six minutes of the third quarter. RB Ray Rice rushed for 28 yards on eight carries, which had LB Terrell Suggs questioning the play-calling. QB Joe Flacco threw for 137 yards, with 90 coming on a late fourth-quarter TD. The defense has surrendered a league-low 83 points and leads the league with nine fumble recoveries and 272.7 yards allowed per game.
EXTRA POINTS:
1. Baltimore is averaging 33.7 points per game in its four wins and 10 points in its two losses.
2. Ravens WR Anquan Boldin faces his former teammates for the first time. He is second on Arizona’s career list with 586 receptions.
3. Sunday’s game marks the first of four road games in five weeks for the Cardinals, who trail San Francisco by four games in the NFC West.