Rams 37, Cardinals 20: Takeaways on defense and special teams

6 days ago 2

It was back in the early part of the season that I compared Arizona Cardinals games to the movie Groundhog Day where every day simply repeats itself. They lost to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday 37-20.

Now, the season is mercifully over where the only difference in Groundhog Days were whether it was a close loss or a big one.

Sunday in Inglewood, Calif., was another double-digit loss (17 points to the Rams), the sixth in the season-ending nine-game losing streak (17 Rams, 19 49ers, 20 Texans, 22 Seahawks, 23 Bengals, 28 Rams).

This one did feel a tad different when the Cardinals managed to forge ahead 20-16 in the third quarter, but then Groundhog Day reared its ugly head again and they couldn’t stop the Rams on three almost effortless touchdown drives for the 37-20 final.

Here’s how it happened:

Small ball for Rams

With the score tied 6-6 in the second quarter, the Rams drove 74 yards on a mind-numbing 18 plays (4.1 average). They had four consecutive third-down conversions on plays with 1, 1, 5 and 6 yards to go. There was a third-and-1 stop at the 1-yard line, but that was followed by a 2-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Matthew Stafford to wide receiver Puka Nacua.

There were six runs for 12 yards, while Stafford completed 9 of 12 passes for 62 yards. The back-breaker was on first-and-10 from the Arizona 48-yard line when there was pressure from linebacker Jordan Burch and the ball headed directly to safety Jalen Thomspon who had no one near him. He was unable to come up with the interception. In a first-quarter field-goal drive for the Rams, Cardinals pressure resulted in a pass being tipped, but cornerback Denzel Burke was unable to make an interception.

Another Groundhog Day example? The Cardinals had no takeaways for the eighth game this season. After getting four against Jacksonville in a Nov. 23 loss, they had none in five of the last six games. Strangely, but perhaps befitting this season, the Cardinals were 2-4 in games in which they had a plus-turnover ratio.

Second-half stops

It wouldn’t have taken much for the Rams to begin putting the game away after starting the third quarter with the ball and leading 16-6. It didn’t happen, at least not right away.

A minus-1 yard run and false start led to third-and-16 and a near interception by cornerback Elijah Jones, who got more time than normal thanks to a knee injury suffered by Will Johnson.

After a punt, the Cardinals faced third-and-26 from their own 11-yard line when running back Emari Demercado ran for 18, Matt Haack passed to Demercado for 28 yards on a fake punt and quarterback Jacoby Brissett connected with wide receiver Michael Wilson for a 43-yard touchdown.

Suddenly, it was 16-13 with 10:38 to play in the third quarter. After another three-and-out by the Rams when linebacker Josh Sweat got pressure on Stafford for a third-and-10 incompletion, the Cardinals drove 76 yards in 10 plays featuring Wilson for 20 yards and a 7-yard scoring pass to tight end Josiah Deguara, who entered the game with one reception for six yards. He also had an 8-yard catch earlier in the drive. With 3:51 remaining in the third quarter, the Cardinals led 20-16.

But, then the barrage

To that point in the game, the Rams had 181 yards on 45 plays (4.0 average). However, the offense quickly woke up. Starting at their own 30, they moved to the Arizona 42 in four plays, then needed only two plays of 21 yards each to tight ends Tyler Higbee and Colby Parkinson to get back on the scoreboard for a 23-20 lead.

The Groundhog Day Cardinals followed with a 56-yard pass play on a miraculous catch by Wilson, but it was brought back because of a blindside block by left guard Jon Gaines II. That led to a third-and-13 sack and a punt.

Boom! The Rams went 66 yards on six plays with 22-yard gains on a run by Kyren Williams and touchdown pass to Higbee. Just like that, it was 30-20.

The Cardinals next possession began with a false start, a minus-3 play and then third-and-18 followed by another punt. It became 37-20 on a more methodical 12-play, 81-yard drive that had another two third-and-1 first-down runs, a 21-yard run by running back Blake Corum and a 1-yard TD to Parkinson. Higbee, activated from injured reserve Saturday, and Parkinson combined for nine catches, 127 yards and three touchdowns.

In those three scoring drives, the Rams gained 217 yards on 24 plays (9.0 average).

Notable is that the Rams had 16 third-down plays in the game (converting nine) and five of the 16 had one yard to go and another three had only two. Meanwhile, of the Cardinals 11 third downs (they converted four), yards to go on five plays was 13, 16, 18 (two) and 26 yards.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus and ... Groundhog Day.

Special teams highlight

In a rough year for the special teams in part because constant roster shuffling resulted in 69 players participating, Matt Haack, the team’s third punter of the season, tossed a rainbow in the third quarter on fourth-and-8 from their own 29-yard line and dialed up by special teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers. Running back Emari Demercado caught it for 28 yards to the Rams 43-yard line.

Head coach Jonathan Gannon said, “I thought that was the right time to call it. Good job by Jeff and the players executing it.”

Asked about the throw, Brissett said, “Oh sweet, right? The ball was in the air forever. I was like, ‘Damn, we better come down with it or something.’ It was cool to see it.”

Haack had two punts in the game for a 54.5-yard average and 50.0 net with one inside the 20.

Kicker Chad Ryland, who had struggled in recent games, had field goals of 43 and 56 yards. The Cardinals have had kicker Joshua Karty on the roster since Dec. 23, but he has been inactive for two games. He could be competition for Ryland, who becomes a restricted free agent in March. The minimum tender in 2025 for a drafted player (Ryland was a fourth-round pick by the Patriots in 2023) was $3.406 million and that will likely increase by around nine or 10 percent this year. The Cardinals will have a to decision to make whether to tender him at that level or try to sign him for less than the tender. The minimum salary in 2026 for players with three credited seasons is $1.145 million.

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This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: Rams 37, Cardinals 20: Takeaways on defense and special teams

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