Rams vs. Cardinals: St. Louis Grades, Notes and Quotes
The St. Louis Rams (2-2) shocked the Arizona Cardinals (3-1) by defeating them on their home turf. The end result was a 24-22 victory for the Rams.
St. Louis struck early and got off to a flying start. Arizona fumbled the football on the opening kickoff, which set up the Rams for an early touchdown to start the game. That event immediately put the momentum in St. Louis' favor, and Arizona struggled to get it back.
Outside of that early touchdown, the offense stalled in the first half and only managed a field goal. Luckily, the St. Louis defense stepped up in a big way by limiting the Cardinals to three field goals, giving the Rams a narrow 10-9 lead at halftime.
The second-half emergence of rookie running back Todd Gurley—who made his first NFL start Sunday—sparked the offense late in the game.
During the second drive of the third quarter, Gurley had runs of 23, 12 and five yards to set up a touchdown pass to Stedman Bailey. In the fourth quarter, Gurley broke free for a 52-yard run, which set up the offense for a Tavon Austin touchdown.
Arizona answered back with a touchdown pass to David Johnson, which assisted in making the score 24-22, with nearly five minutes still on the clock. The Cardinals got the ball back with 2:51 remaining, but luckily, the defense stepped up. The Rams forced three straight incompletions, and the Cardinals turned it over on downs.
Still, the game was not over. Arizona—down by less than a field goal—had all three timeouts with 1:44 on the clock. The Rams needed to move the chains and kill time, and, luckily, the team's newest playmaker stepped up yet again.
Gurley had carries of 20 and 30 yards on that final drive, which closed the coffin for Arizona.
It was an excellent victory for St. Louis. Every unit made contributions, and the key playmakers thrived during the critical moments. As a result, the Rams managed to take down the NFC's toughest team.
Next week, the Rams will attempt to shock us again as they travel to Green Bay to take on the Packers. Meanwhile, Arizona will try to regain its momentum as the Cardinals take on the Detroit Lions a week from now.
For now, we'll take a closer look at St. Louis' latest win, including position grades, key takeaways and quotes on the game.
Position Grades for the Rams
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| Position | Grade |
| QB | A |
| RB | A |
| WR | B |
| TE | D |
| OL | C+ |
| DL | A |
| LB | A |
| DB | C+ |
| Special Teams | B+ |
| Coaching | A |
Nick Foles' arm helped carry the offense, and he had a great outing. He finished 16-of-24 with 171 yards and three touchdown passes—making him the first quarterback this season to throw for multiple touchdowns against the stingy Arizona defense.
The highlight was Foles' beautiful 18-yard dump to Stedman Bailey in the corner of the end zone during the third quarter, as well as his fourth-quarter touchdown strike to Tavon Austin. He also hit Austin on a 47-yard play-action fake—a phony handoff so convincing that even the camera man was fooled.
The running backs had some hiccups—Benny Cunningham and Todd Gurley both coughed up the ball—but fortunately neither incident resulted in a turnover. Overall, Gurley, who finished with 161 yards from scrimmage, had a mind-blowing debut.
As usual, the receivers were quiet. Even so, we saw enough big plays to spark hope. Austin's touchdown and his 47-yard grab, as well as Bailey's touchdown, were all clutch plays.
However, the pass-catchers did have some issues. Tight end Jared Cook had two drops in the game, including a potential touchdown that hit him in the hands. It was a difficult catch for any receiver, but it was one he should have secured. His hands are becoming a major issue for the offense.
Kenny Britt also dropped a would-be first-down pass on St. Louis' second-to-last drive in the final quarter. The Rams needed to move the chains and kill the clock, but Britt's drop forced the punt. He had a drop against Pittsburgh in a similar situation last week, and it basically cost St. Louis the game.
The offensive line has held back the Rams every week this season, but the unit stepped up in a big way. Foles was kept clean and sacked just once. The run blocking was sloppy at times, but the front five opened enough lanes for Gurley to carry the offense.
On defense, we witnessed a dynamite performance—at least for the first three quarters.
The defensive line harassed Carson Palmer all afternoon. Aaron Donald and Robert Quinn did not record any sacks, but their presence was felt on every play. Chris Long also got involved and secured his first sack of the year.
At linebacker, Alec Ogletree was a tackling machine. He led the team with 10 tackles, despite missing most of the second half. He now has 35 tackles in the last three games and entered the game ranked fourth in the NFC in tackles with 32.
James Laurinaitis, who has been somewhat of a liability in recent weeks, also had a nice showing at middle linebacker. He finished with five tackles but he also had a sack and forced fumble.
In the secondary, we saw too many big plays. Palmer finished with 352 yards in the air, and Larry Fitzgerald tore up the field with 99 yards. However, Janoris Jenkins had a pick and Trumaine Johnson had some nice pass breakups. Additionally, safeties T.J. McDonald and Lamarcus Joyner each recorded a sack, so the defensive backs helped tremendously with the pass rush.
The special teams unit made its presence felt early on. The group forced a fumble on the opening kickoff, setting up St. Louis' first touchdown. Benny Cunningham had a nice 39-yard kickoff return, but there were some instances where he should have taken a knee.
As for coaching, you have to give Jeff Fisher credit. The team was pumped up and ready to play, the discipline was much-improved and the game plans worked well. The Rams were 100 percent ready for Arizona.
Todd Gurley Showing His Value
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Todd Gurley suffered a major knee injury late in the 2014 season—his final year at Georgia.
Few people have questioned his overall talent, but the injury certainly added a level of mystery to his draft status. He's an elite prospect through and through, but a first-round investment on an injured player seemed like a major gamble for any team.
However, Fisher and the Rams rarely shy away from gambles. As such, St. Louis selected Gurley with the No. 10 overall pick—for better or worse.
It's still too early to know if the gamble paid off, but the early results are looking good.
Gurley was held to nine yards on six carries in his NFL debut last week in Pittsburgh. The low production stemmed mostly from poor offensive line play. Even so, the performance naturally sparked a few negative knee-jerk reactions from the fans.
Needless to say, those concerns were put to rest this afternoon.
Gurley rushed for 146 yards on 19 carries—good for 7.6 yards per carry—against a defense that entered the game allowing an average of 88.7 rushing yards per week.
Rams fans saw everything they wanted to see. His breakaway speed and ability to reach the next level was a thorn in Arizona's side. That, combined with his power and strength, made it clear why the Rams thought so highly of him in the draft.
It's still early in his career. It's too hard to tell what his true potential is. Then again, average backs seldom pick up 161 yards from scrimmage against a good defense in their first NFL start.
If the early signs are any indication, Gurley will be a star for the Rams.
Arizona Offense Met Its Match
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A week ago, the Pittsburgh Steelers had significant hype surrounding their offense after a 43-point showing against San Francisco. The Rams lost last week's game to the Steelers but silenced the hype after holding Pittsburgh to 12 points.
The Cardinals received a similar rude awakening.
Entering this game, we heard a lot of praise directed at Arizona's high-powered offense. The Cardinals just hung 47 points on the 49ers the previous week, and every Arizona win this season has been thorough.
In fact, entering this game, the Cardinals scored 11 touchdowns in 12 red-zone appearances. With targets such as Fitzgerald at Palmer's disposal, they're a tough team to stop inside the 20.
Even so, the Rams were not intimidated. Outside of Arizona's late-game touchdown, the Cardinals were unable to take advantage of a single red-zone appearance and settled for field goals instead. St. Louis is equally tough in the red zone, so Arizona finally met its match.
The Rams' strategy calls for conservative play in the middle of the field, but the defense tightens up inside the red zone. The fact St. Louis was able to maintain this strategy against perhaps the best red-zone offense in the league is a positive sign moving forward.
After solid back-to-back showings against two very dangerous offenses—Pittsburgh and Arizona—it appears this St. Louis defense is for real.
It will be interesting to see how the defense performs a week from now against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. If the Rams can stop Green Bay, they can stop anyone.
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Nick Foles Remains Quietly Competent
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When the Rams traded Sam Bradford to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for Nick Foles, it was undoubtedly the most shocking move of the St. Louis offseason.
Foles saw a Pro Bowl year in 2013 and a mediocre one in 2014, so many were unsure how to feel. We didn't know which Foles the Rams were getting.
It's still too early to tell, but the early hints tell us that St. Louis made the right move.
Foles had very average showings against Pittsburgh and Washington, but he had very little support from his offensive line and playmakers in those two games.
In Week 1, Foles started strong with a 297-yard performance against the tough Seattle Seahawks. He had two touchdowns in that game—one passing and one rushing.
This week, despite being held to just 171 yards, Foles was excellent. He completed 66.6 percent of his passes and had a season-high three touchdowns. With five touchdown passes on the year, he's on pace to become the first Rams quarterback to hit 20 touchdowns since Bradford in 2012.
It's also worth mentioning that Foles still only has one pick this season. Last year, quarterback Austin Davis was notorious for coughing up terrible turnovers, so this has been a nice change of pace. Foles' ability to protect the ball yet still show aggressiveness has been a major asset.
We'll have to see how Foles performs down the stretch. But for now, it looks as though St. Louis has found its long-term quarterback.
Thom Brennaman on Jeff Fisher's Desire to Punch in the Touchdown
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"Like Fisher said yesterday, 'We can not take field-goals, we have to get touchdowns when we get the chance.'"—commentator Thom Brennaman, per Fox broadcast.
The Rams settled for two field goals last week against Pittsburgh and failed to punch in a single touchdown. The offense was incapable of surpassing the Steelers' 12 measly points and cost St. Louis the game.
After that debacle, it's easy to understand why Fisher put on emphasis on scoring the touchdown this week. The opportunities are too few for this young offense, so field goals are not acceptable.
Sure enough, the Rams managed three touchdowns in four red-zone trips and settled for just one field goal. St. Louis' ability to capitalize on opportunities was the difference in the ballgame.
Punching in the touchdown and doing away with field goals must remain the offense's primary focus for the remainder of the season.
Jim Thomas on Alec Ogletree's Injury
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"Very tough for Ogletree and team; he was playing great football."—Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch via Twitter.
When Ogletree went down with an ankle injury in the second half, it appeared St. Louis was in big trouble.
As mentioned, Ogletree is a tackling machine and has 35 tackles in his last three games, counting the Arizona game. That total would be higher had he finished the game.
Ogletree—a former first-round pick from 2013—had his struggles early on in his career, but he appears to have worked out the kinks. Outside of Donald and Quinn, he's been the most active and productive player on defense. He's playing at a Pro Bowl level.
Fortunately, St. Louis was able to hang on despite Ogletree's absence. Even so, the news is not all good.
According to ESPN's Nick Wagoner, Ogletree's ankle injury will require surgery, which will surely sideline him for a while. A return in 2015 is certainly possible, but the defense will suffer for as long as he's absent.
The defense still has plenty of key pieces in place and should thrive regardless. Backup Daren Bates will have to step up and provide the Rams with a suitable replacement.
Shane Gray on St. Louis' Consistency
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"With the Rams, one can never base a win-loss prediction on their opponent. It all depends which (Rams) team shows up."—Shane Gray of CBS Sports 920 via Twitter.
St. Louis' win over Arizona is a welcomed surprise, but it's also a source of confusion and frustration for Rams fans. Fans are obviously pleased with the victory, but they're also baffled over the team's inconsistency.
The Rams choked big time against a very beatable Washington team in Week 2. Last week, despite knocking Ben Roethlisberger out of the game and trailing by just six points at home, the Rams failed to step up and secure another winnable game.
Then again, the Rams beat Seattle in Week 1 and just took down one of the league's hottest teams in Arizona.
How can a team be so unbelievably inconsistent?
Clearly, the team is talented enough to take down some of the league's top teams. But despite that, the Rams drop games against very mediocre opponents.
If the Rams want to take the next step and become a playoff team—certainly a possibility still this early in the year—the inconsistency has to end.
Defeating high-end opponents is great for style points, but it's meaningless if the Rams can't take care of business against lesser teams. St. Louis needs to put forth the same effort every single week, regardless of the opponent.
Whether it's youth, coaching or focus, Fisher has to get to the root of the problem and fix it. The Rams are talented enough to have a successful year, but they need to learn how to win.
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