As Chad Ryland's 43-yard field goal went through the uprights as time expired, the Cardinals capped a wild finish and opened up a whole new set of questions for Los Angeles. The kick, which gave the Cardinals an 18-16 win over the Rams, marked the largest upset of the season. Arizona, which entered as 13.5-point underdogs, also tied for the largest upset of any game in the past five years. It was the largest upset loss of Matthew Stafford's career thus far.
The Cardinals, who did not score a single touchdown, led 15-12 with under three minutes left. Stafford led a quick touchdown drive, fueled by big completions to Puka Nacua and capped by a 5-yard touchdown pass to Colby Parkinson with 47 seconds left. Punter Ethan Evans made the extra point after new kicker Blake Grupe got hurt making a tackle earlier in the game.
The Rams then kicked off into the end zone — sending the ball to the Cardinals' 35-yard line — and Jacoby Brissett found Jalen Brooks for a 21-yard play on the first play of the drive. Add in a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty on Josh Wallace, and that was all it took to set up Ryland's game-winner.
Give tons of credit to the Cardinals, who earned their first win since the season opener. The maligned defense had a major bounce back after allowing 45 points last week to the Lions, and the offense rolled up 338 yards and scored on six of its 10 drives. Yes, all the scores were field goals, but Arizona's ability to stay on track — Brissett didn't take a single sack and didn't turn it over after the first possession — was key. Arizona had nearly 10 minutes more of possession time than Los Angeles did.
But this is really on the Rams, who are 2-4 after entering the season as the Super Bowl favorite. In fact, it's the same record as the Cardinals.
The offense was disjointed, the defense failed to make the big plays, and special teams issues loomed large again.
Matthew Stafford not finding explosives — and not really looking
Before the madness at the end of the game, it looked like this would be the defining play of the game: fourth-and-8, and the Rams do this.
A running back screen — and a failed one at that — in that situation sums up the Rams offense's woeful day. Stafford finished 25-for-33 for 222 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, but before that, it was an absolute slog: 18-for-26 for just 137 yards. Add in three sacks, and Stafford had a putrid 4.2 yards per attempt.
Stafford was getting rid of the ball in 2.50 seconds. He had thrown two deep passes. He was averaging 4.6 yards downfield per throw; for reference, Bo Nix is at 4.9 yards, and that's the lowest number through six games in the past 20 years.
In other words, basically nothing in the explosive department. The Rams had only two plays of 20+ yards, and both came on the last drive. Keep in mind this is a defense that allowed five plays of 20+ yards in three quarters against the Lions in Week 5.
There were a few opportunities for big plays — Stafford missed an open Nacua on one notable one — but largely, the quick-passing game appeared planned, and the Cardinals dominated it.
More mistakes: Turnovers, penalties loom large
If big plays aren't on the menu, there's no margin for error elsewhere. The Rams had plenty of mistakes, though. Arguably, the biggest was a Tyler Higbee fumble.
The play before that, Stafford stumbled and fumbled — untouched — when trying to wheel out of the pocket. He recovered the ball, but it set the Rams way behind the sticks on another unforced error. And in another key moment, Los Angeles failed on a fourth-and-1 on a run by backup tight end Davis Allen, a curious play call at best.
The Rams also committed four penalties, three crucial:
Byron Young was offside on a third-and-1.
Warren McClendon had a false start on the fourth-and-3 that preceded the failed screen pass above.
The Wallace penalty set up the Ryland game-winner.
The Rams are tied for the 12th-most offensive penalties and tied for the fourth-most defensive penalties this season.
Defense can't make plays
After a Brissett interception on the first drive, the Rams did not have another takeaway. They also recorded zero sacks against a quarterback who's among the more statuesque in the game and an offense down its top offensive lineman (Paris Johnson Jr.) and its top running back (Jeremiyah Love).
The Rams have eight sacks all year. Entering "Sunday Night Football" that is tied for the third-fewest in the NFL. And four of those eight came in one game, against the offensively hapless Eagles. Myles Garrett's absence is a major issue, but several other talented pass rushers aren't getting it done.
Special teams issues
Grupe nailed his first field goal attempt, a 44-yarder, in the first quarter. Good news! But the Rams gave up a 40-yard return to Devin Duvernay on the ensuing kickoff, and Grupe hurt his knee making the tackle.
The Rams have now lost games by two, three and four points, and special teams problems have featured heavily in all three. The Grupe injury is out of their control, but it came after they allowed yet another huge kickoff return.
Simply put, the Rams have huge problems in all three phases, a truly stunning sentence to type. A team all-in on a Super Bowl just lost to a team that's been counted out for months. Sean McVay's nightmare start continues to get worse.
