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The Los Angeles Rams and Arizona Cardinals played a crucial game on Sunday, which will go a long way in deciding who wins the extremely competitive NFC West division.
Los Angeles was able to defeat Arizona 38-28, which left them tied for the division lead with the Seattle Seahawks. The Rams and Cardinals meet again in Week 17, and several key trends presented themselves in this matchup.
5. The Cardinals' Special Teams Unit Came To Play
While it’s usually the Rams’ specialists who get most of the publicity(see Johnny Hekker), the Cardinals’ special teams unit as a whole played well in this game. The game was very much in the balance early on in the fourth quarter, and Arizona’s special teams flew down the field and forced a fumble on the return by Nsimba Webster. The Cardinals recovered, and this setup the offense with excellent field position.
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Cardinals RB Chase Edmonds also had a 54 yard kickoff return in the game, to give Arizona advantageous starting field position.
4. Cam Akers Seized Control Of the Rams' Backfield
Perhaps no backfield is less predictable on a week to week basis than the Los Angeles Rams’. Fans are never quite sure whether they’ll see heavy doses of Malcolm Brown, Darrell Henderson, or Cam Akers, but they know that they’ll see each of them for at least some work.
Against the Cardinals however, it was Akers who got the vast majority of the touches, and it wasn’t particularly close. The rookie from Florida State handled 21 out of the Rams’ 28 backfield carries, and finished off a physical run in the second quarter with a touchdown.
On a short week (the Rams play Thursday against the New England Patriots), it will be interesting to see if head coach Sean McVay dials up a similar workload for Akers.
3. No Turnovers, No Problem For Goff
There aren’t too many flaws in Rams QB Jared Goff’s game, but one area that many fans look at with skepticism is his ability to care of the football. In eight games this season, Goff had registered at least one turnover, but the Rams have largely been able to overcome those mistakes.
However, as the season wears on and the competition gets stiffer(including in the playoffs, where Los Angeles hopes to be), their quarterback’s ability to protect the football will become that much more important. Against the Cardinals, Goff didn’t turn the ball over at all, and that allowed drives to end with a much more positive result for the Rams.
2. The Rams Secondary Is More Than Just Jalen Ramsey
Rams elite CB Jalen Ramsey gets most of the headlines in the secondary, but the team has many talented defensive backs that contribute week in and week out. Cornerback Darious Williams has a total of 4 interceptions so far this season, and safety John Johnson led the team with a total of 8 tackles against the Cardinals on Sunday.
But it was CB Troy Hill who made the play that ultimately sealed the game for the Rams. Up 10 points with the Cardinals driving late in the fourth quarter, Hill intercepted a Kyler Murray pass and took it to the house for a touchdown. This was the second straight week that Hill has scored a defensive touchdown.
1. Kyler Murray Is Probably A Year Away From Being a Playoff Quarterback
Outside of Lamar Jackson or Deshaun Watson, there is probably no one more likely to deliver an athletic “wow” highlight reel type of play at the quarterback position than Kyler Murray when it comes to scrambling and using his mobility.
With that said, Murray, who is still only in his second year, has had some difficulty recently against quality opponents, and has turned the ball over a little too much for a team that has playoff aspirations. The pick six highlighted above notwithstanding, Murray also tried to escape heavy Rams pressure with the game still in the balance in the fourth quarter, and had the ball knocked loose by Rams linebacker Justin Hollins.
While the Cardinals still have a good chance to make the playoffs with a strong finish, it’s hard to have complete confidence in them knowing that their second year quarterback, while special in many regards, is still learning how to finish games at the NFL level.
