GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Arizona Cardinals came into Sunday looking for their first NFC West win of the season as they welcomed the Los Angeles Rams to State Farm Stadium in Glendale.
They are coming out of Sunday still looking for that elusive division victory after the Rams won 37-14 to finish a season sweep of the Cardinals.
The Rams came into Sunday's matchup on a high after finishing up a season sweep of the Seattle Seahawks in Week 11.
L.A.'s offense came out clicking early as quarterback Matthew Stafford found wide receiver Tutu Atwell for a 45-yard gain that set up a seven-yard touchdown catch by tight end Tyler Higbee to grab a 7-0 lead.
Arizona would respond on their first drive of the game as quarterback Kyler Murray ran the ball in from two yards out on fourth and goal. That was his third rushing touchdown of the season and capped a 12-play, 75-yard drive.
The Rams would commit an illegal formation penalty on the extra-point attempt, which allowed the Cardinals to go for two. Backup quarterback Clayton Tune converted the attempt on a tush push to give Arizona an 8-7 lead, which would be the score at the end of the first quarter.
The Rams would grab the lead back on their first drive of the second quarter when Stafford found Higbee from five yards out to take a 14-8 lead. Higbee had gone 12 games without a touchdown before his big day against the Cardinals.
L.A.'s lone misstep in the first half was a missed 50-yard field goal by Lucas Havrisik, but they would make up for that when running back Kyren Williams scored on a 15-yard catch and run off of a screen pass with 59 seconds left in the half.
That touchdown was preceded by a turnover on downs by the Cardinals, a problem that plagued the team in their Week 11 loss to the Texans.
The Rams would get one more shot at scoring before the half ended, but Cardinals safety Jalen Thompson intercepted Stafford with 15 seconds to go.
The Cardinals were able to move into field goal range after the interception, which allowed Matt Prater to kick a 55-yard field goal. However, that was negated by a holding penalty, giving L.A. a 21-8 lead at halftime.
Arizona tried to find a spark at the start of the second half on a fake punt that saw punter Blake Gillikin run 10 yards for a first down, but that drive stalled due to three penalties and constant pressure by the Rams' defense (mainly from nine-time Pro Bowler Aaron Donald).
The Rams would then add a 24-yard field goal to take a 24-8 lead. That would be the score at the end of the third quarter.
It wouldn't get any better for the Cardinals in the fourth quarter as Stafford found Kyren Williams for his fourth touchdown pass of the game. That was followed by a 23-yard touchdown run by Royce Freeman to make the lead 37-8.
Kyler Murray would find Greg Dortch with 5:12 remaining for a six-yard touchdown pass to cut into the lead, but ultimately, it would not be enough as the Cardinals fell to 2-10 on the season.
KEY STATS
- Los Angeles
- QB Matthew Stafford: 25/33, 229 yards, 4 touchdowns, 1 interception
- RB Kyren Williams, 16 carries, 143 yards, 6 catches, 61 yards, 2 touchdowns
- TE Tyler Higbee, 5 catches, 29 yards, 2 touchdowns
- Arizona
- QB Kyler Murray: 27/45, 256 yards, 1 TD
- RB James Conner: 6 carries, 27 yards
- WR Marquise Brown: 6 catches, 88 yards
TAKEAWAYS
The Cardinals have a long way to go before they can compete for a division title again. The Rams seemingly did whatever they wanted to on offense (gaining 457 yards) and completely dominated the game on defense (holding Arizona to 292 yards, many of which came in garbage time). Arizona's problems on fourth down continued as a turnover on downs preceded Kyren Williams' first touchdown. But the biggest problem may have been the running game on both sides of the ball as Arizona gave up 228 rushing yards to L.A. and ran for just 73. Both of those problems will need to be fixed if the Cardinals stand any chance of winning another game this season.
NEXT UP
The Cardinals head to Pittsburgh to take on the 7-4 Steelers next Sunday at 11 a.m.
The Steelers beat the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, and gained more than 400 yards on offense for the first time in 59 games.
Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to five major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks and NHL's Arizona Coyotes.
The Cardinals have made the State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers also play at the Footprint. Phoenix has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events on a yearly basis, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the Waste Management Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall; and Cactus League Spring Training.
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