LA Rams humbled by Arizona Cardinals at SoFi Stadium

The LA Rams were never going to run the table in the 2021 NFL season. As we have said plenty of times, this was about getting one more win and getting one game closer to their magic number of 12 wins for an NFL playoff berth. So the goal is to win one more game. That just didn’t happen today. Don’t fret folks. Reload.

This was a game that was virtually all Arizona Cardinals. Not just as time wound down, but early in the game. The Cardinals did everything that they need to do. They scouted the Rams’ offense very well. They diagnosed that this offense had become fixated on throwing to Cooper Kupp and DeSean Jackson. And yet, even when confronted with stiff defense, quarterback Matthew Stafford continued to look for Kupp and Jackson.

At the end of the third quarter, Cooper Kupp was 5-12 for 64 yards, DeSean Jackson was 1-3 for 6 yards. Sometimes it just happens that way. The rest of the receivers? 12 of 16 for 141 yards and one touchdown. That’s how it works. The Cardinals gambled that this Rams offense would not adapt, would not improvise, would not target other receivers. The Cardinals won the bet.

There are plenty of areas to question the LA Rams in this one. Plenty of ‘blame’ to go around. The Rams coughed up the ball twice.  The Rams missed a field goal. The Rams tried to punch it in from fourth and goal and failed to score.  If failure creates learning lessons, then Week 4 was summer school for the Rams in every aspect.