Arizona Cardinals vs. St. Louis Rams: Full Report Card Grades for St. Louis
The St. Louis Rams (6-8) suffered a 12-6 loss to the Arizona Cardinals (11-3) in a hard-nosed NFC West battle dominated by defense.
Both offenses were completely held out of the end zone. It was a fight for field position and field goals, and Arizona was fortunate enough to win it.
St. Louis' offensive performance was dreadful. The Rams walked away with just three points in the first half, and the offense failed to get a first down in its first five drives of the second half. With that type of offensive production, even an elite defense won't make a difference.
The play-calling was questionable, and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer will certainly take some heat.
When the Rams were a foot outside of the end zone on third down, Schottenheimer, rather than punching it in, called a pass play that immediately fell apart. It seems that he's obsessed with calling pass plays at the goal line when the game is on the line. That's how the Rams lost to the San Diego Chargers three weeks ago, and that's how they lost to the Seattle Seahawks at home in 2013.
Not to mention, Tavon Austin—the guy St. Louis gave up a second-round pick for to trade up and draft in the first round of 2013—finished the game with three touches on offense, including one rush. There's no reasonable explanation for giving the top playmaker the ball three times. No excuse.
The defense, on the other hand, put forth an enormous effort. It's too bad it was totally wasted.
The Rams held Arizona to 139 passing yards. The pass rush was weak early on, but the pressure was kicked up in the second half. The group finished with just one sack, but the defenders were certainly in the backfield disrupting the passing game.
The Cardinals were able to run the ball at times, but Kerwynn Williams finished as the team's top rusher with a modest 75 yards.
It was an ugly game for the Rams, but they'll move on and play a lighter team next week when they take on the New York Giants.
In the meantime, this article will grade St. Louis' performance against Arizona.
Quarterback: C+
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It's impossible to accurately grade Shaun Hill's performance in this game. He wasn't at the top of his game, but the lack of protection prevented him from doing anything worthwhile.
He finished 20-of-39 with 229 yards and an interception (the pick came off of a Hail Mary on the very last play).
Hill was sacked just twice, but he was also pressured practically every time he dropped back, and he took numerous shots throughout the game.
The effort was there, as was the desire, but the support was not. No quarterback in the NFL could have saved the St. Louis offense in this game.
Running Back: D
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The run game was completely dominated by the Arizona defense.
When the Rams were six inches away from the end zone in the fourth quarter, the coaches called a pass play. It was a terrible call regardless of Arizona's run defense, but it shows just how little faith the coaches had in the run game.
Tre Mason finished as the leading rusher with 33 yards, and the Rams were held to a combined 69 yards on the ground.
However, the lack of production was not the most troubling aspect. Mason fumbled in the first half deep in St. Louis territory, and that led to an easy field goal.
The Rams entered this game knowing that points would be hard to come by, so Mason's error was inexcusable.
Wide Receiver/Tight End: C
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The receivers made some pretty nice plays, but the mental errors were frustrating to watch.
Kenny Britt and Jared Cook were both flagged for offensive pass interference. It's a penalty we've seen over and over again this season, and two of the most veteran players on offense should know better.
Following the second-half field goal, the Rams were driving downfield attempting to get the game-winning touchdown with less than two minutes remaining. On first down, Stedman Bailey dropped an easy pass that hit his hands. It would have gone for a big gain, but instead the Rams turned it over on downs three plays later.
There were some positives. Bailey had a big 38-yard grab, and Britt had two catches for over 20 yards. Cook also added a 10-yard first-down grab on the second-to-last drive.
The group made some plays, but the errors were obvious.
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Offensive Line: F
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The offensive line has jelled at times this season, but the group has been absolutely dreadful against solid defenses. This game was an example of the latter.
The running backs were forced to work with nonexistent run games, which forced the Rams to become one-dimensional. The constant passing allowed the Cardinals to tee off, and the St. Louis line did nothing to stop them.
Hill was running for his life basically every time he dropped back. He had no time to properly scan the field, and he took numerous shots throughout the game.
If that's not enough, the group also committed penalties and mental errors, such as Scott Wells' bad snap that nearly resulted in a killer turnover.
Honestly, the performance could not have been any worse from this group. It seemed as though quarterback was St. Louis' top offseason need, but no NFL passer is capable of succeeding behind the line we saw Thursday night.
Defensive Line: A-
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The defensive line struggled to create an intimidating pass rush early in the first half, but the group stepped it up as the game progressed and made a big impact.
The line finished with just one sack—quite a mediocre showing after recording a combined 12 sacks in the two previous games—but the pressure was there, and offense struggled as a result.
The Arizona offensive line got away with more than a few holding calls throughout the game. Had the refs been willing to call holding, it would have been even uglier for the Cardinals offense.
Linebackers: A
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The linebackers had a solid outing, and they deserve credit for this excellent defensive performance.
James Laurinaitis made a nice pass-coverage play in the end zone when the Cardinals were attempting to punch in a first-half touchdown. His play was a big reason why the Cardinals were unable to get it.
Alec Ogletree, who has emerged as star in the second half of this season, had another promising showing. He had a tackle for a loss and batted away two passes.
At times, the Arizona running backs got some yards after contact, but overall, the linebackers did an excellent job. In fact, they were possibly the best group to step on the field for the Rams in this game.
Secondary: B+
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Janoris Jenkins was burned by Michael Floyd for a 49-yard reception, but Jenkins managed to contribute a handful of nice plays.
Jenkins tackled Larry Fitzgerald for a four-yard loss on the opening drive. He also nearly picked off two passes. Had Jenkins been able to secure the first interception, he would have taken it back for a pick-six, and this would have been a very different game.
Outside of the 49-yard grab, the secondary did not allow a single pass play of 20 or more yards. We saw too many first-down receptions to warrant an "A" grade, but it was still a nice showing.
Special Teams: B
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Johnny Hekker did a nice job punting the ball and averaged 50.5 yards per punt, and Greg Zuerlein nailed both field-goal attempts after missing three kicks last week.
Unfortunately, the Rams needed a big special teams play to win this game, and the group was unable to make it happen.
On Austin's final punt return before St. Louis' final drive, he was drilled almost immediately due to poor blocking from the return team. A punt-return touchdown by Austin was St. Louis' only shot at winning the game at that point, and the effort was horrible.
There weren't many mistakes from special teams, but the group was unable to help the Rams win the field-position battle, and it didn't make the necessary game-changing plays.
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