Arizona Cardinals vs. St. Louis Rams: Full Report Card Grades for Arizona
In the wake of the Arizona Cardinals' Thursday night win over the NFC West rival St. Louis Rams, the Cardinals (11-3) emerged more tattered than they came in. But after a 12-6 win that put the team within arm's reach of a playoff berth, not all is gloomy for Big Red.
You just knew it was going to be a hard-fought game—it was. You knew both defenses would show up—they did. You knew it would come down to the kickers making big kicks—rookie Chandler Catanzaro outdid Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein and led his team to victory.
Quarterback Drew Stanton was sharp early but tapered off toward halftime. He completed his first eight passes before seeing one hit the Edward Jones Dome turf and then connected on only four of his final 12 before leaving with a knee injury.
He would not return.
Backup Ryan Lindley, who hadn't played a snap since 2012 under then-head coach Ken Whisenhunt and his comedy of an offense, took over from there and was as accurate as you would expect a blind archer firing arrows at a target 30 yards away to be.
The defense played perhaps its best game all season in a contest the team needed. Getting the win at St. Louis is something not even Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos could do, and Arizona did so with a backup's backup quarterback playing the final quarter-and-a-half.
How did each Cardinals positional unit fare in Thursday’s win over the Rams? Let’s find out.
Quarterback
1 of 10
We know Stanton left with a knee injury and was replaced by Lindley. Given the fact Lindley hasn't taken a snap with the first-team offense this season, it was perhaps expected he'd struggle against a tough defense such as the Rams.
Before he left, Stanton was his usual self: up-and-down with some really good throws and some that left you scratching your head (is "pulling out your hair" a better way of putting it?). He completed 12 of his 20 passes (60.0 percent) for just 109 yards for a 74.8 passer rating. He did not throw a touchdown or an interception.
In his relief effort, Lindley went 4-of-10 (40.0 percent) for 30 yards. His passer rating of 47.9 was just a hair higher than his career rating of 46.7. It wasn't pretty—at all.
He did do a nice job of handing the ball off to his running backs, so we'll give him some credit there.
Grade: C-
Running Back
2 of 10
That little-known running back the Cardinals signed to the 53-man roster last Friday before the Chiefs game is quickly making a name for himself in Arizona's backfield. Much like last week, Kerwynn Williams impressed throughout the Rams game, ending his night carrying 15 times for 75 yards (5.0 YPC).
But he wasn't the only one to have success against a strong Rams front. Stepfan Taylor, who now starts in place of an injured Andre Ellington, added 61 yards on 14 carries (4.4 YPC).
Neither player was much help in the passing game.
The running game has been given a shot of adrenaline the past two games, and it has helped the Cardinals grind out two straight wins, winning the time-of-possession battle in each game. Big plays on the ground helped move the sticks, as Williams broke six runs of five yards or more, while Taylor notched three such carries.
It was another solid effort from the rushing attack. Good grades abide here.
Grade: A-
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
Larry Fitzgerald led the team with 10 targets against the Rams. The rest of the wide receivers? They totaled 10 targets between them. Jaron Brown wasn't targeted at all, and Michael Floyd—though he led the team with 55 yards receiving—was looked at just three times.
Not much was had in the passing game Thursday night. The Rams did a fine job of limiting what the Cardinals could do through the air. Dink-and-dunk routes were there, but the over-the-top stuff was closed off by St. Louis' secondary.
Stanton and Lindley took their shots regardless, and Stanton hit Floyd for a 49-yard bomb in the second quarter that made it look like the deep ball would be there, at least at times. But once Stanton left, that option went out the window—Lindley, though he's not afraid of slinging it deep, struggles with accuracy at all levels of the field.
It was a tough game for the receiving corps. The pass-catchers did a nice job of blocking in the run game (especially tight end Rob Housler), however, so that will lift the grade slightly.
Grade: C+
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
You can't blame Stanton and Lindley's misfires on lack of time to throw, because the offensive line played perhaps its best game of the season against a Rams defense that had sacked the opposing quarterback 29 times since Week 9—four more than anyone else over that time.
The only time a Cardinals quarterback went down happened to be when Stanton left with a knee injury. But other than that one play and a couple of others where he had to escape a collapsing pocket, both quarterbacks had ample time to diagnose the defense.
Then there's the run game. Williams and Taylor had truck-wide lanes through which to run on multiple occasions, which just doesn't happen against the Rams. Their defensive line is composed of four first-round picks (all in the top 15) and two Pro Bowlers.
That didn't matter Thursday night.
Grade: A+
Defensive Line
5 of 10
You're looking at the team MVP for Week 15. Defensive tackle Frostee Rucker dominated the Rams interior offensive line Thursday night, recording a sack, a quarterback hit and three tackles for loss—and a forced fumble to top it all off.
But he wasn't the only one along that line who was throwing his weight around. Defensive tackle Tommy Kelly and nose tackle Dan Williams also played vital roles in moving the line of scrimmage off the snap.
Star end Calais Campbell was around quarterback Shaun Hill much of the night as well. Though he did not record a sack, he did notch two quarterback hits and a few extra pressures for good measure.
Rams rookie running back Tre Mason averaged a career-low 2.5 yards per carry against the Cardinals; that is a testament to how well the line played. Eight of Mason's 13 carries went for two yards or fewer, which just further proves the defensive line's dominance.
Grade: A+
Linebacker
6 of 10
He's old for an NFL player, and he's not as quick as he used to be, but Larry Foote at age 34 can still get it done. And for these Cardinals, he is playing some of his best football.
Foote had only three tackles against the Rams, including a sack of Hill (pictured above), but he made his impact most in the run game, as he closed off rushing lanes and forced Mason to choose elsewhere.
As a whole, the Thursday Night Football clash with the Rams was not a shining moment for Arizona's linebackers. In coverage, tight ends Jared Cook and Cory Harkey beat them. In rushing situations, they did not generate much pressure.
But the unit was solid overall and part of two successful goal-line stands that led to St. Louis' only points of the game. That raises the grade a bit.
Grade: B
Secondary
7 of 10
Despite leaving last week's game with what was originally thought to be an Achilles injury, cornerback Antonio Cromartie started the Rams game and played well throughout. His ankle injury did not appear to hinder his performance in any way, because he was with his receiver all night and had better positioning on a couple of deep balls. With more accurate throws from Hill, Cromartie likely would have had two interceptions.
Patrick Peterson picked off Hill, but it came on the final play of the game on a Hail Mary prayer. That doesn't mean it was worthless, but it means less than if it had come in the end zone as the Rams were set to score from close range on, say, either of St. Louis' two red-zone appearances.
Cornerback Jerraud Powers had a mixed bag of a performance, but he came up with multiple big stops throughout the contest.
He stopped receiver Stedman Bailey one yard short of a third-down conversion in the second quarter. Then, at the end of the half with the Rams driving, he blitzed off Hill's blind side and hit him, causing what was ruled an incomplete third-down pass.
His biggest play was on fourth down with just over a minute to play. Powers knocked away a Hill pass attempt to receiver Chris Givens to turn the ball back over to the offense.
Overall, both the cornerbacks and safeties played a whale of a game. The Rams don't have the best receiving corps in the league, but any day you limit what Tavon Austin does is a good day.
Grade: B+
Special Teams
8 of 10
This will be short, but that's not because the transition game was bad, and it's being avoided. It was so good that there's nothing bad to point out.
Rookie kicker Chandler Catanzaro bounced back to have a great day kicking the ball. He connected on all four of his attempts, including a 51-yard boot midway through the third quarter.
Punter Drew Butler has improved dramatically over the past two games. Thursday night, he averaged only 38.4 yards per punt, but that's because the offense moved the ball to the area of the field where long punts were a bad thing.
Of his eight punts, six were downed inside the St. Louis 20-yard line. Twice, he pinned the Rams inside the 10, including on the play of the day by long snapper Mike Leach, who downed Butler's punt at the 6-yard line by kind of half-diving at the ball as it hit the ground.
Then we get to punt returner Ted Ginn, who had a rare good day on special teams. He had a season-long return of 42 yards during the third quarter, but Stanton and the offense could not take advantage of the great field position.
OK, so this section wasn't short at all.
Grade: A+
Coaching
9 of 10
With all the key players that head coach Bruce Arians has lost from his roster this season, you'd think there would be a breaking point somewhere down the road where enough players had been lost that the season is simply a wash.
That's not the case with these Cardinals, and it's because of the offseason preparation Arians and general manager Steve Keim did to stock the roster with players who are ready to step up when needed.
Thursday night was no different. Though he played poorly for the most part, Lindley stepped in and finished what Stanton had started.
Arians has used four quarterbacks this season, and his team leads the NFL with 11 wins and is on the cusp of clinching a playoff spot.
What a job he did against a Rams team that had shut out its last two opponents. No, his offense didn't reach paydirt. But the Cardinals ran the ball down the throat of a defense that prides itself on strong defensive line and front-seven play.
And on the other side, defensive coordinator Todd Bowles once again had his defense playing lights-out ball from start to finish. Other than two drives at the book ends of the game, St. Louis had zero chance of scoring any points.
Two red-zone visits? You'll have two field goals and nothing else—and you''ll like it.
Grade: A+
Final Grade
10 of 10
| Positional Unit | Grade |
| QB | C- |
| RB | A- |
| WR | C+ |
| OL | A+ |
| DL | A+ |
| LB | B |
| Secondary | B+ |
| Special Teams | A |
| Coaching | A+ |
| Cumulative Grade | A- |
Just last week, the Cardinals were on a two-game losing streak. Everyone with a mouth and a prominent role on national sports television wrote off the then-nine-win team that had four games to play, including three against division foes.
After two wins over the past five days, the Cardinals are suddenly hot stuff again.
This was yet another ugly win for Arizona, but that's just the theme of the 2014 season for these Cardinals: Winning ugly is better than losing pretty.
All stats gathered from ESPN.com and Pro-Football-Reference.com.
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