St. Louis Rams vs. Arizona Cardinals: Full Report Card Grades for Arizona
The Arizona Cardinals beat the St. Louis Rams on Sunday to improve to an NFL-best 8-1, but all eyes will be glued to news reports regarding the left knee of starting quarterback Carson Palmer. The 12-year veteran crumbled to the turf as he avoided heavy pressure in the fourth quarter and limped to the sideline, ultimately needing a cart to get to the locker room.
"Cardinals QB Carson Palmer feared to have torn his left ACL, which would end his season. Will have tests to confirm.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) November 10, 2014"
The team rallied from behind in the fourth quarter once again, improving to 4-1 on the season when trailing after three quarters. Backup Drew Stanton came in and led an impressive four-play, 89-yard drive to give the Cardinals the game-winning score before the defense took over and put the game out of reach late.
If you have to ask what the play of the game was, you didn't watch the game. With 7:40 remaining, Stanton's 48-yard strike to John Brown, in which the rookie receiver dived to reach the pass, will make every highlight reel on every NFL show for the next week.
Defensively, pressure was key. The Cardinals came away with a season-high six sacks of quarterback Austin Davis, which was three-quarters their season total leading up to the game.
How did each Cardinals positional unit fare in Sunday’s win over the Rams? Let’s find out.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Palmer was under a lot of pressure against a great Rams front seven. He was sacked a season-high three times, including on the play in which he was injured.
"Here's the play. @NFLChurch https://t.co/7puuQV2qwH
— Julian Nikolovski (@j_nikolovski) November 10, 2014"
As you can see above, right tackle Bobby Massie missed a blitzing Mark Barron. Right guard Paul Fanaika saw it and slid to his right to block Massie's man, but Barron came in untouched and caused the pressure that crumbled Palmer.
Overall, Palmer was just average in the game. He completed 25 of 36 passes (69.4 percent) for 241 yards, no touchdowns and an interception for a 76.3 passer rating. He had his six-game streak of throwing at least two touchdowns snapped in the process.
Stanton stepped in and delivered the game-winner to Brown, so for that the grade improves. But this is a forgettable day if you're Palmer, for more reasons than the injury.
Grade: B-
Running Back
2 of 10
This was the worst the run game has looked in quite some time. Andre Ellington couldn't get anything going all afternoon. For every decent gain, the next play netted nothing.
His three longest carries covered 14 yards. The other 15 carries? Nine yards.
You read that correctly. But who's to blame? Is it all on the line, or is some of it Ellington's fault? As of now, we can blame everyone for that horrible rushing total. Coaching, too. Marion Grice carried once and was a part of only a handful of plays.
Massive coaching fail.
How do you expect your slightly built running back to make it through a game—let alone an entire season—as the only threat in the run game and be productive? Save him some blows by getting others touches.
Grice isn't going to be a star, but he could have done what Ellington was doing. Then you'd save your star back from taking so many hits.
Grade: F
Wide Receivers and Tight Ends
3 of 10
All he does is catch big touchdown passes. The rookie Brown had five receptions for 73 yards (14.6 yards per catch), but it was his last catch that sealed the game for the Cardinals.
His 48-yard game-winning touchdown set University of Phoenix Stadium on fire just moments after being able to hear a pin drop in the wake of the Palmer injury. He has five touchdown catches this season, which leads the team.
Four of them were game-winners in the second half, which leads the NFL.
"WR John Brown on making big plays in clutch situations: "That's what I'm here for."
— Kyle Odegard (@Kyle_Odegard) November 10, 2014"
Larry Fitzgerald had another big game, hauling in nine receptions for 112 yards (12.4 YPC). He was open early and often, as Palmer hit him with regularity. The only time he was targeted by a quarterback that led to an incompletion, Stanton threw the ball into the dirt in front of him.
Absent most of the day was Michael Floyd. He had one catch for 11 yards. Over his last six games, Floyd has 13 receptions for 148 yards (11.4 YPC) and two touchdowns. That's not what we expected from him after his hot start.
Tight ends were average in run blocking and virtually nonexistent in the passing game. John Carlson dropped yet another pass, raising his team-leading total to six on the year.
Overall, Fitz and Brown carried the receiving corps once again. The team is winning games, but that's not good considering all the weapons.
Grade: C+
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
Bad news, Cardinals fans. The Rams have one of the best defensive lines in the NFL. Next week's opponent, the Detroit Lions, may have a better one.
Palmer was under too much pressure on Sunday and, as mentioned, took a season-high three sacks in the process. Couple that with a terrible performance in the run game, and this is going to be an ugly grade.
An offensive line breakdown led to what could be the end of Palmer's 2014 season.
There really is nothing else to say about it.
Grade: F
Defensive Line
5 of 10
Spoiler alert: The defensive line gets an A+ for its work against the Rams.
These guys were animals all afternoon. From stopping the run (3.3 yards per carry for Rams running backs) to rushing the passer (three of the team's six sacks), Arizona's defensive line stepped up in a big way to limit what St. Louis could do on offense.
Led by two sacks from defensive end Calais Campbell and the first in the career of his protege, rookie Kareem Martin, the line did its job to near perfection on Sunday. The only thing it did not do is drop into coverage and pick off Austin—though rookie defensive end Ed Stinson very nearly did intercept the Rams signal-caller...he dropped it.
Nose tackle Dan Williams and ends Frostee Rucker and Tommy Kelly were great in holding running back Tre Mason in check most of the afternoon.
Grade: As mentioned, an A+
Linebacker
6 of 10
Not only was the defensive line great, so was the linebacking corps. The other three sacks netted by Todd Bowles' defense came from the linebackers—that is, if you consider rookie safety Deone Bucannon a linebacker. He was playing linebacker on the play in which he recorded his first career sack, so for all intents and purposes, he's a linebacker today.
Outside linebacker Alex Okafor sacked Davis, and so did rotational edge-rusher Marcus Benard.
Sunday could be a turning point in the pass rush for the Cardinals this season. They have been close to notching multiple sacks in most games, but until Sunday against the Rams those sacks had mostly eluded them—or opposing quarterbacks had eluded the sacks, to be more accurate.
Not only did the linebackers record three sacks, they had five of the eight quarterback hits as well.
Overall, it was a very good day for Bowles' linebackers. They played hard, and it showed in the success they had limiting both the run and pass for St. Louis.
Key stat: The Rams, thanks in large part to the pass rush of the linebackers, were held to 1-of-10 (10.0 percent) on third downs.
Grade: A-
Secondary
7 of 10Patrick Peterson all but shut out Dallas Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant last week. He played great, but he didn't pick off Cowboys quarterback Brandon Weeden.
This week, he notched his first interception of the 2014 season when he picked off Davis in the fourth quarter. He wasn't finished, though. His second interception just minutes later went for a touchdown—the first defensive score of his career.
Cornerback Antonio Cromartie got into the scoring spirit moments later, picking up the fumble forced by Martin and returning it 14 yards for the game's final points.
The secondary held great coverage all afternoon, limiting Davis to 17-of-30 passing (56.7 percent) for 216 yards, a touchdown and two picks for a 62.6 passer rating.
Grade: A
Special Teams
8 of 10
We saw a missed field goal for the first time since Week 17 of last season on Sunday. Rookie kicker Chandler Catanzaro had a 53-yard chance the play after Palmer went down, and he could not hook it through, missing wide right.
It's likely he was under immense pressure from just witnessing the starting quarterback leave with a serious knee injury, so he gets a partial pass for the miss.
Other than that, nothing major took place in the transition game. Ted Ginn Jr. was below average as a returner, as usual.
Grade: C
Coaching
9 of 10
Keeping with a struggling run game was the right call despite the Cardinals having so many issues with it. Ellington averaged just 1.3 yards per carry, but it was not getting Grice more involved that will drop this grade.
That, and continuing to rely on Ted Larsen as the starting left guard. Larsen did not make any massive gaffes on Sunday, but Arians' unwillingness to potentially improve the offensive line is troubling.
"Bruce Arians was asked if Cooper might play next week. "No" was the answer.
— Jess Root (@senorjessroot) November 10, 2014"
OK, then.
Defensively, Bowles was a master once again with his blitz calls. Davis faced heavy pressure from the front seven and even from the secondary at times. Cromartie came off the edge a few times, as did Jerraud Powers and Tyrann Mathieu.
The Rams are not fire-starters on offense, but they can score if given the opportunity to gain yards in chunks—mainly from speedy receiver Tavon Austin. He was held in check most of the afternoon, but tight end Jared Cook did beat Bucannon deep for a 59-yard touchdown.
That was the only major goof from the defense. Not bad. Bowles helps out the grade, but Arians' stubbornness with both the run game and his offensive line drops it.
Grade: C+
Final Grades
10 of 10
| Positional Unit | Grade |
| QB | B- |
| RB | F |
| WR | C+ |
| OL | F |
| DL | A+ |
| LB | A- |
| Secondary | A |
| Special Teams | C |
| Coaching | C+ |
| Cumulative Grade | B- |
Defensive grades save the day and make the overall grade palatable, but the offense definitely had some issues against one of the better front sevens in the NFL. It won't get any easier next week as the Lions come to town.
If you're looking for something good from this game because you have a sick feeling in your stomach after the Palmer injury, here's this:
"Tyrann Mathieu on Peterson's two INT: "Everybody is saying Honey Badger is back. I guess Patrick is back, too."
— Kyle Odegard (@Kyle_Odegard) November 10, 2014"
Having those two playing well in the secondary, along with Cromartie, who has been one of the best cornerbacks in the entire league all year, will help down the stretch. The offense may not ever play to its potential this season—especially if Palmer is out for the remainder of the season—but the defense will keep the team in games and may even win it a couple.
All Stanton and Co. will have to do is put up 15 to 20 points, and that should be enough any given week.
Take a deep breath, Cardinals fans. Everything will be OK. There's a reason Arians wanted Stanton with him here in the Valley, and it's because of what we saw on Sunday in the quarterback's relief effort. He is unafraid of taking shots deep, he is able to avoid heavy pressure and he can get yards with his legs if nothing is open downfield.
With an 8-1 record and a two-game lead in the NFC West, things are looking good for the Cardinals right now. Yes, the Palmer injury could potentially hurt for the rest of the season, but this team adopted the cliché "next man up" mantra not because it's the popular thing to do, but because it really means it.
It doesn't matter who is in the game at what time, he is expected to do his job and contribute for the good of the team. For the most part, that has been the case this season. Stanton is already 2-1 as a starter in 2014.
Everything will be OK.
All stats gathered from Pro-Football-Reference.com and ESPN
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