Rams beat Cardinals in finale, 37-20: Instant analysis of Week 18 win

4 days ago 2

Thanks to a gift from the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday night, the Los Angeles Rams were given a golden opportunity to move up to the fifth seed in the NFC with a win over the Arizona Cardinals. That would set up a wild-card matchup with the Carolina Panthers, which is much more favorable than going to Philadelphia or Chicago in Round 1.

With everything in front of them, the Rams still had trouble with the 3-13 Cardinals. They even trailed in the second half, 20-16, before retaking the lead on Colby Parkinson's third-quarter touchdown to make it 23-20.

Then they took control with another touchdown, this one to Tyler Higbee from 22 yards out. That put the Rams up 30-20, and they never relinquished the lead again. Parkinson scored his second touchdown of the game late in the fourth quarter to make it 37-20, putting them comfortably ahead with little time on the clock.

This win clinched the fifth seed for the Rams, sending them to Carolina for a wild-card game against the Panthers next weekend. It also got the offense back on track after a terrible game last week, while the defense also performed well at times Sunday.

Here's a recap of how things went down at SoFi Stadium.

Final score: Rams 37, Cardinals 20

Numbers to know

12: The Rams generated pressure on Jacoby Brissett on 12 of his first 14 dropbacks of the game.

11: Puka Nacua finishes the regular season with 11 total touchdowns, more than doubling his career total after scoring 10 in his first two years.

7: Matthew Stafford moved into 7th place all-time in career touchdown passes, overtaking Dan Marino, who had 420 in his career.

129: Nacua caught 10 passes in the season finale, giving him 129 for the year. He finishes as the league leader in receptions despite missing one game.

15: Stafford became just the third quarterback in NFL history to throw multiple touchdown passes in 15 games in one season, joining Dan Marino and Peyton Manning.

It was over when…

... Parkinson scored his second touchdown of the game to put the Rams up 37-20 in the fourth quarter.

The Rams stopped the Cardinals on their next drive, forcing a turnover on downs in the red zone.

3 stars of the game

Tyler Higbee: 5 catches, 91 yards, 1 TD
Puka Nacua: 10 catches, 76 yards, 1 TD
Colby Parkinson: 4 catches, 36 yards, 2 TDs

Play of the game

Puka Nacua has been making spectacular catches all year and he made another on Sunday. He Mossed a Cardinals defender with a one-handed catch in the end zone, scoring his 11th touchdown of the season. It was one of his best, too.

What's next?

The regular season is now in the books, which means the Rams will turn the page to the playoffs. They're the No. 5 seed in the NFC and will face the Panthers in the wild-card round, going on the road to open the postseason in Carolina. The Rams lost to the Panthers, 31-28, in Week 13, so they'll try to avenge that loss next weekend.

This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Rams-Cardinals recap: Analysis of LA's Week 18 win over Arizona

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