Los Angeles Rams vs Arizona Cardinals: Report Card Shows Well

Quarterbacks

Jared Goff once again had a good day. He wasn’t asked to move the ball in chunks or push it downfield much at all, but in the short to intermediate passing game he was accurate and decisive. He continually had the offense in plus down and distances, and had many long extended drives. The only knock here is his interception, which by the way was a clear pass interference on the defense that wasn’t called.

Running Backs

What a day for this stable. First, Todd Gurley was amazing. He routinely gashed the Cardinals defense for solid gains, and it was the key reason the Rams offense stayed in strong down and distances. Todd was the first RB to gain over 100 rushing yards on the Cardinals defense in the past 20 games. He also had 48 receiving yards, and averaged 4.8 YPC. Not only that, but Malcolm Brown got some run late in the game and looked impressive too. He ran with plenty of power and wiggle, and chipped in 48-rushing yards of his own. Tavon Austin also had 27-yards rushing.

Wide Receivers

The WR group had a good but not great game. It was nice to finally see Sammy Watkins involved a bit more with three receptions for 42-yards. The Rams top dog was his former Bills teammate Robert Woods who had five receptions for 59-yards. Slot WR Cooper Kupp dropped a first quarter TD, though he redeemed himself late in the game on 3rd-and-long in the redzone, with an 18-yard TD on a screen.

Tight Ends

There wasn’t much in way of stats for the TE group, though they did an excellent job blocking for the running game (which was supremely productive). Tyler Higbee lead the way with three receptions for 13-yards.

Offensive Line

Another incredible performance by the offensive line, who deserve to take a bow. They allowed a single sack on Jared Goff, and had the running game average a strong 4.9 YPC (even with the multiple time killing run situations). This group has been an absolute revelation from last season. Keep an eye out for starting C John Sullivan’s injury update.

Defensive Line

The defensive line was stout all game, particularly against the run. They held Adrian Peterson to 21-yards (1.9 YPC) one week after a 130+ yard performance. Aaron Donald and Ethan Westbrooks also chipped in with one sack a piece. There were also multiple passes batted down at the LOS.

Linebackers

This group was stout against the run as well. Alec Ogletree had the best game of his season by far with multiple plays in the passing game, as well as pressures. His hit on Carson Palmer took the QB out of the game. Matt Longacre chipped in with a strip-sack late in the game. Mark Barron also had a big interception before the half.

Defensive Backs

The DB’s were the weakest group of the defense, though they didn’t exactly struggle either. Carson Palmer had some completions early in the game, but after that they re-grouped and played better. John Johnson flashed against the run, and Lamarcus Joyner cemented his return to game action with a big interception.

Special Teams

Johnny Hekker averaged 59.5-yards per punt. Greg Zuerlein was four-of-four on the day (with a 53-yarder), and Pharoh Cooper had a solid day averaging 10 yards per return.

Coaching

All three phases of the team performed in elite measure. Coach McVay absolutely needs to do better cleaning up the wasted timeouts, but outside of that, the returns were very positive.