Recap of Cardinals (4-0) Dominating 37-20 Victory Over Rams (3-1)

Sunday's divisional matchup added up to one catastrophic misstep after another on all fronts for the Los Angeles Rams as they lose in an ugly losing effort against the Arizona Cardinals.

The Rams offense was out of rhythm for most of the afternoon and could never gain their footing in this game. Matthew Stafford looked pedestrian overall in his effort on Sunday. Stafford went on to throw 2 touchdowns, one to Van Jefferson in the first quarter to take the lead, which would be the last time the Rams would be in control of this game. The Stafford to Cooper Kupp connection was stifled as Kupp would catch just 5 passed for 64 yards and no touchdowns. Stafford would make an incredible seam throw to Kupp between 3 defenders for a 35 yard gain, though. 

The Arizona Cardinals pass defense came to play on Sunday. Cornerback Byron Murphy would make one of the big dagger plays for the Cardinals defense. On lame duck throw by Stafford to wide receiver DeSean Jackson, Murphy would intercept the underthrown pass to get the flaming hot Cards offense and quarterback Kyler Murray back on the field. 

The run game was efficient for L.A. but Head Coach Sean McVay just wouldn't stick to it when it was working. Rams running back Darrell Henderson returned from his rib injury sustained in Indianapolis to run 89 yards on 14 attempts. Hendo looked good when the ball was put on him. He showed good vision and ball security as he found gaps the offensive line made all game. It's a credit to the O line as they haven't really shown that kind of success in the run game. Running the ball should be emphasized more in this offense by McVay whether they win or lose on it. A big loss that would ultimately steer McVay away from the ground is backup RB Sony Michel fumbling the football on the first play of a drive on the Rams 25 yard line, ultimately giving the Cardinals a free 7 points. The momentum swings in the Cardinals favor were too deep and the Cardinals offense capitalized on almost every single Rams mistake. 

The Cardinals offense exorcised some massive demons in this game. Having been 0-8 in matchups against McVay, the Cardinals offense went into SoFi Stadium fully ready and prepared to make a statement, and what a statement they made. Kyler Murray would throw 32 passes for 24 completions and two touchdowns. The first of those scores would come on an absolute beauty of a bomb thrown by Murray to former Bengals wideout A.J. Green for 41 yards. Green has settled in nicely with his new team this season and I'll gladly eat the crow I deserve when I said this last offseason he wouldn't be too much of a difference in this Arizona offense. Cards Running back Chase Edmonds would also go on to have a big day as he ran for 120 yards on just 12 attempts. His biggest run coming from the Cardinals backed up on their own 4 yard line. Edmonds would gash the Rams defense on a 54 yard run that would ultimately set this game down.

With that being said, let's turn toward the Rams defense who were a disaster on Sunday. Missed tackles and wide open targets for Murray to pick apart the Rams secondary was a commonality. When the Rams did apply pressure to Murray, the 5'10" speedy QB would scurry away on scrambles outside the pocket to achieve first downs in order to keep his offense on the field. The Rams defense rarely got any stops in this game. When they would manage to get a rare key stop, the offense would squander away a scoring opportunity. Defensive Coordinator Raheem Morris must find a way to get his defense settled in and play like the number one defense in the league they were last season. With the talent this D has, there's absolutely no reason for the mistakes they made on Sunday. 

Defensive Tackle Aaron Donald did his job applying pressure and beating double teams but would ultimately not reach Murray on any sacks. When AD is doing his job, it leaves holes in the offense that should give the other defenders openings to make big plays. Those plays weren't made on Sunday and it stung the Rams as a whole. Outside linebacker Leonard Floyd got home a couple times to bring down Murray. One was a big stop on 3rd down and the other would result in a roughing the passer penalty (which was actually a facemask) to give the Cardinals as fresh set of downs.

Moving forward, the Rams have a short week and yet another huge division matchup on Thursday Night Football in Seattle against the Seahawks. The Hawks are coming off of winning their first division game against the San Francisco 49ers, 28-21 in a game that the Hawks were in surehanded control of for most of it. Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson had a solid game, completing 16 of 23 passes and two touchdowns while not giving up any turnovers. The Rams need to make sure they bounce back in this spot to stay competitive early in this deep NFC West division. Going 0-2 this early could have disastrous repercussions. This game against the Seahawks comes before a cupcake schedule, too. 

After Seattle the Rams will go to New York to face the Giants on 10 days rest on Sunday, October 17. Then will take on the winless Lions at home, and then have a week 8 road game against possibly the worst team in the NFL, the Houston Texans. Thursday is a huge bounce back spot for the team once thought of as the best in the NFL for about 6 days. It'll be a statement to get right and topple the Seahawks and their rampant 12th man in their building.