There’s no polite way to say it, the Rams flat out sucked today. It was an embarrassment all around. From the teams’ decision to wear blue on blue (never AGAIN) to Sean McVay‘s play-calling, to the lackluster efforts on defense, all the way to the fans who handled this loss with all the grace and dignity of a gaggle of Juggalos after the Fago runs out. Nothing went right for the Rams whose 8-0 win streak over the Cards was broken and Sean McVay no longer has his stake in the NFC West timeshare on Kliff Kingsbury. Kyler Murray showed why he is the frontrunner for MVP at the moment, and now the Rams have a short week to pick up the pieces.
Offensively, the Rams looked OFF. They looked like the West Canaan Coyotes after Mox took everyone to the strip club. Matthew Stafford was 26/40 with two touchdowns and a pick but the eye test made him seem more like 1/11 and smelling like Christian Slater. He missed DeSean Jackson numerous times, he overthrew Tyler Higbee, and his special connection with Cooper Kupp (five catches 64 yards) operated on AT&T. He wasted what was otherwise a solid performance by the offensive line as they allowed zero sacks and pushed the Cards defensive line down the field, but alas they couldn’t score.
Darrell Henderson admirably rushed for 89 yards on damaged ribs, but Sean McVay kept trying to make fetch happen through the air. Sony Michel had a CATASTROPHIC fumble in the second quarter that turned the tide for good.
The lone bright spot offensively was Van Jefferson who had six catches for 90 yards and one touchdown. Once again, however, the Rams lost a game Van’s dad was coaching in.
McVay was a mess the entire day. He refused to go for it on fourth down even when the situation absolutely called for it. He kept abandoning the run and he barely tried to target Robert Woods (four catches for 48 yards). The red zone offense was especially atrocious and Stafford carried the ball three consecutive times in the third quarter and they blew a big fourth down. The offense was out of synch the entire day but they weren’t even the biggest disappointment. Credit is well deserved for the Cardinals defense which perfected the Rams’ philosophy of bend but don’t break. They covered the Rams receivers well enough to force Stafford’s miscues and they took advantage of every single ill-advised play call.
Defensively, the Rams were an absolute mess. Aaron Donald actually got a holding call but managed to get juked by Kyler. Their run defense got pushed around all day by Kyler (39 rush yards), Chase Edmonds (12 carries for 120 yards), and James Conner (18 carries for 50 yards and two touchdowns). The Rams were incapable of getting stops. Even in long-yardage situations, the Cardinals were able to convert at will. On third down, they were 8/13 and despite Jalen Ramsey locking DeAndre Hopkins when he was actually on him, the rest of the Rams secondary got roasted Jeff Ross style. David Long and Taylor Rapp were especially bad in coverage today as AJ Green and Hopkins were open all day.
Kyler Murray got sacked three times but he managed to make Kenny Young and every Rams linebacker look foolish.
The epitome of their performance came on a 3rd down where the Rams forced the Cards into a holding penalty and instead of declining it to take them to 4th& 4 McVay accepted and the Cards converted the 3rd and 14 with ease.
Raheem Morris was the scapegoat today and many fans wanted him fired at halftime and driven up to the woods by Silvio Dante. Kyler Murray bled the Rams both with explosive plays, but worst of all, by administering a thousand small cuts throughout the day. Morris wasn’t the only coach who dropped the ball today but man it’s hard to say anything nice about his scheme in this one. They not only were pushed around but the fire just wasn’t there. The coverages were soft and it seemed like a Herculean effort just to get aggressive on 3rd downs. They looked gassed by halftime and constantly out of position. The defense was always going to regress, and with all the assistant coaches and Brandon Staley leaving, was going to create a bit of a transition problem but today felt like the nadir of that. Yes, the defense was dominant last week against Tampa but when it went up against a quarterback that can run, they seemed lost, which is a problem considering their division contains Kyler Murray, Russell Wilson, and eventually Trey Lance. Morris failed to adjust at every turn today and they really missed Justin Hollins.
Even the special teams struggled today. While the return coverage was solid and Tutu Atwell looks more comfortable today, Matt Gay missed a crucial field goal. The Rams were uncharacteristically undisciplined getting five penalties for 36 yards. Sure, one was that ridiculous call on Leonard Floyd that negated a 3rd down stop but still, Brian Allen and Andrew Whitworth were called for hands to the face and there were other fouls on defense that screwed up any type of momentum.
Murray put on a clinic today, and despite looking like a guy that wears Yeezys to a funeral, Kliff Kingsbury outcoached McVay. The Cardinals were well prepared and the Rams weren’t. Perhaps the Rams took the Cards for granted and were looking ahead to Seattle, but that’s no excuse. There was potential of a trap game today and the Rams fell RIGHT INTO IT and have no ceded control of the NFC West for now.
Arizona plays the Niners next while the Rams travel to Seattle on Thursday. The Seahawks are working to get back over .500 and survived a valiant effort by the Niners’ offense. They are beatable but the Rams need to come out with focus and effort if they’re going to take advantage of a Seahawks team that still struggles to run or block for Russell Wilson.
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Offensively, the Rams shot themselves in the foot all day and if they can at least be in sync then they can recover. That all falls on McVay. The Rams took one on the chin today and they need to prove they can pick themselves back up.
Today was the exact opposite of the team that rose to the challenge and knocked out the Bucs. Their effort today won’t win them the Super Bowl, the NFC West, or even allow them to run TJ’s final. Arizona looked like the real deal today but the Rams didn’t exactly force them to prove it either. Hopefully, by the time they face off in the desert on Monday Night in week 13, Kyler will actually have to work for it.
Los Angeles Rams Linebacker Leonard Floyd. Photo Credit: LA Rams | TheRams.com