Injuries and miscues doom Rams in humbling 41-10 loss to Cardinals

Updated Sep. 15, 2024 8:10 p.m. ET

Associated Press

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The Los Angeles Rams' defense, still adjusting to playing without Aaron Donald, had no answer for Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals.

The offense, decimated by injuries on the line, had little hope of creating running holes or protecting quarterback Matthew Stafford.

The result: a 41-10 blowout loss to the Cardinals on Sunday that ended Los Angeles' nine-game winning streak in the desert.

“There's not anything positive I can take away from today,” Rams coach Sean McVay said. “It was an incredibly humbling three-hour window. They did what they wanted to do from the start and we didn’t do anything to give ourselves a chance."

The Rams (0-2) had dominated the series against the Cardinals (1-1) since McVay took over in 2017, winning 13 of 15, including nine straight in Glendale.

A slew of injuries — particularly to the offensive line — and breakdowns left the Rams whirling around State Farm Stadium like a dissipating dust devil.

“That's now how we want to look and that's not who we are,” Rams defensive end Kobie Turner said.

The Rams' offense had some good moments against Detroit last week despite numerous offensive line injuries, pushing the Lions to overtime before losing 26-20.

Los Angeles' patchwork offensive line was no match for the Cardinals on an ugly Sunday in the desert.

Arizona's shifting defense caused all kinds of problems, quickly closing holes before Rams runners could get there. Los Angeles finished with 53 yards rushing on 20 carries.

More concerning was the pressure put on quarterback Matthew Stafford.

The Cardinals got off blocks so quickly Stafford had little time to decipher the defense, much less make downfield throws. Outside of a 42-yard completion on a broken play in the second quarter, Stafford was repeatedly forced to throw underneath, finishing with 216 yards on 19-of-27 passing.

Stafford also was sacked five times — three by Dennis Gardeck — and lost a fumble.

“I had some opportunities to get the ball out of my hands and didn't,” Stafford said. “It's frustrating as a player to do that.”

The retirement of Donald, one of the best defensive players of a generation, left a huge hole, but the Rams had some good moments against the Lions last week.

Nothing seemed to go right against the Cardinals.

The shifty Murray repeatedly escaped pressure to extend plays, giving his receivers time to break free. He hit Marvin Harrison Jr. on a 60-yard touchdown on a rollout late in the first quarter and dodged three tackles in the second before hitting Elijah Higgins in the back of the end zone for an 18-yard TD that put Arizona up 21-0.

Murray also scrambled for 59 yards rushing on five carries, while James Conner gouged the Rams for 122 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries.

“He was moving around the pocket, doing Kyler Murray things, scrambling around,” Rams linebacker Michael Hoecht said. “We've just got to keep him bottled up, continue to take one more step, get him on the ground and not let him extend plays because that's when he's Kyler Murray.”

Even when the Rams got something right, it went wrong.

With Arizona driving, Rams linebacker Jared Verse stripped Conner around the 4-yard line for a fumble. The ball rolled forward and tight end Trey McBride fell on it in the end zone for a touchdown that put the Cardinals up 41-10 early in the fourth quarter.

“This was one of those days that was really humbling,” McVay said.

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