St. Louis Rams vs. Arizona Cardinals: Full Report Card Grades for St. Louis
The St. Louis Rams (3-6) suffered a 31-14 loss against the Arizona Cardinals (8-1), and it was a brutal showing for the Rams.
St. Louis actually had the upper hand for most of the game. The Rams owned the lead for the first three quarters and entered the final quarter with a 14-10 lead. When Carson Palmer left the game with an apparent knee injury, it appeared a win was likely, even inevitable, but that was surprisingly far from the case.
Arizona pieced together a wild uprising in the final quarter, starting with a touchdown strike from Drew Stanton to John Brown to gain the lead.
The Rams tried to answer back, but the next three St. Louis drives all ended in turnovers, including two defensive touchdowns for Arizona. The Cardinals turned a three-point game into a blowout in mere minutes.
It was a freakish and frustrating turn of events for the Rams, who are surely miserable after coughing up a potential victory against an excellent opponent.
This article will outline St. Louis' devastating performance by grading each unit. The grades will be determined by stats, consistency and game-changing moments.
Quarterback: D
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Austin Davis has struggled in recent weeks, and it initially appeared that he was going to bounce back with a promising performance in the opening half.
Davis completed 80 percent of passes in the first half for 110 yards and a touchdown. That production took a sharp decline in the second half, and it had humiliating results.
Davis missed wide-open receivers, showed horrible pocket awareness and coughed up two picks. In reality, he threw about five passes that hit Arizona defenders in the hands, so his two interceptions are actually quite fortunate.
It's becoming painfully clear that Davis is not the answer for the Rams. Eventually, the Rams will need to strongly consider benching Davis for veteran Shaun Hill.
Running Back: C
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The Cardinals entered the game with the third-ranked run defense, and they've allowed just 79 yards per game on average.
After 43 rushing yards in the first half, it appeared that the Rams were well on their way to crushing that 79-yard average, but the Rams were held to just 70 total yards on the ground after abandoning the run late in the game.
Tre Mason's 48 yards on 14 carries made for a very pedestrian performance, but he deserves some slack for facing a tough front seven.
Benny Cunningham contributed a three-yard rushing touchdown, but he was held to just 12 total rushing yards.
It was an inconsistent performance, but the run blocking was lacking, and there was not enough of a commitment to the run.
Wide Receiver/Tight End: D
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Tight end Jared Cook had a bad drop in the first quarter that cost the Rams a first down, but he made up for it shortly after with an excellent 59-yard touchdown on a catch and run.
Cook took another reception into the Arizona red zone, but the play was called back due to a ridiculous illegal-block penalty called against Lance Kendricks.
Mason also had a good day as a receiver, contributing 33 yards on four receptions out of the backfield.
Outside of Cook and Mason, the receivers were completely contained by the Arizona defense. Kenny Britt led the wide receivers with 31 yards on three catches, but he also failed to secure a pass that hit him in the hands in the fourth quarter, and that ball was picked off and returned for a touchdown.
The wide receivers combined for a mere seven catches and 53 yards, which is inexcusable. The group has been rudderless without Brian Quick in the lineup.
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Offensive Line: F
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The performance on offense was a total disaster, and it all starts with the play up front.
The run blocking was nonexistent, at least in the second half, and Davis was under constant and relentless pressure for the entire game.
The Cardinals tallied six sacks, and the Rams backs averaged just 3.6 yards per carry. That type of terrible production clearly points to incompetence up front.
Arizona blitzes heavily and is great at stopping the run, but there's no excuse for being completely manhandled up front, and that's exactly what happened.
Defensive Line: A
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If there was one group for St. Louis that didn't disappoint, it was undoubtedly the defensive line.
The Rams were able to supply constant pressure, and the team racked up three sacks—the second-highest total against Cardinals this year and the most sacks taken by Palmer in a single game this season.
The front four played a very tough and productive game. Keep in mind that the St. Louis defense only allowed 17 points in the game, so it deserves just a small portion of the blame.
Linebacker: A
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Like the defensive line, the linebackers also had a productive game that will go totally unnoticed thanks to the loss.
The front seven was able to contain the Arizona run game to a mere 28 yards on the ground. Andre Ellington's 23 rushing yards was his lowest total of the season.
Alec Ogletree, who has struggled in recent weeks, had an excellent game at linebacker for the Rams. He recorded an interception that he returned 44 yards (he nearly made it a pick-six), and he also forced a fumble.
The linebackers are starting to come alive in St. Louis after a slow start to the season, and the defense has improved drastically as a result.
Secondary: C+
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The secondary had a mixed game with positives and negatives, but in the end, it wasn't the pass coverage that lost the game for the Rams.
Larry Fitzgerald ran circles around the young St. Louis defensive backs and had a remarkable 112-yard performance. The secondary was also torched on the 48-yard touchdown by John Brown.
However, there were some positive moments as well. Palmer threw a pass in the end zone to an open Rob Housler, but the rookie cornerback E.J. Gaines managed to get a hand on the ball and knock it out of bounds, preventing the touchdown.
Gaines, a rookie sixth-round pick, has been a steal for the Rams and continues to prove that he's a starting-caliber cornerback.
The secondary gave up some big plays, but that's not what killed the Rams—it was the inept play on offense.
Special Teams: C
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Special teams were a total non-factor in this game, at least for the Rams.
Greg Zuerlein had zero field-goal attempts in the game, and there were no big plays that truly altered the momentum or outcome of the game.
Johnny Hekker had several bad punts that fell short of what he's capable of, but that's probably the only negative from this group.
Cunningham had a nice 32-yard kickoff return, and that was basically the primary highlight from the special teams unit.
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