ST. LOUIS —Thirty-eight years ago, the last time the Cardinals were 4-0, their home was St. Louis and they were known affectionately as the Big Red.
Nearly a quarter century since departing for the Arizona desert, they’re on top of their game again. The surprising Cardinals don’t have one of the best offenses in the NFL, far from it actually. Throw out the big plays on defense and they’re pretty much middle of the road there, too. Their games are going down to the wire, the last one ending in overtime and three of them decided by a total of nine points.
Not surprisingly, they’re just a 1-point favorite to beat the Rams. Tonight, the Cardinals will have a shot at being the first team to 5-0, two wins shy of the 7-0 start in 1974 by a team that featured Hall of Famers Dan Dierdorf, Larry Wilson and Jackie Smith.
One of the advantages to all the close calls is there’s no danger of overconfidence.
“Obviously, we’re excited to be 4-0,” coach Ken Whisenhunt said. “We’ve had four up and down games. We’ve had a lot of trauma in them, so there’s been a lot of emotion extended.
“But just to be where we are, we’re certainly pleased about that.”
Cardinals quarterback John Skelton is listed as questionable even though he fully participated in the team’s last two practices.
Skelton sprained his right ankle in the season opener against Seattle and was relieved by Kevin Kolb.
The Rams (2-2) have made great strides under new coach Jeff Fisher, with every game up for grabs in the fourth quarter.
If they can end the Cardinals’ unbeaten run, they’ll be 3-0 at home, where they’re slowly regaining fan trust. The franchise was 15-65 the previous five seasons, the worst five-year streak in NFL history.