6 initial reactions to Rams' disastrous loss vs. Cardinals

New kicker Blake Grupe made his first first-goal attempt, which put Los Angeles Rams fans' concerns to rest. Then Arizona Cardinals receiver Devin Duvernay returned the ensuing kickoff 40 yards. That was bad, but what followed next was horrific.

Grupe, all 156 pounds of him, was injured as he forced Duvernay out of bounds, the last line of defense in the Rams' kick coverage. And just like that, special teams chaos was back in the maelstrom once more.

This was a game Los Angeles had to win. Instead, the team came out slow and bewildered. Matthew Stafford failed to connect with a wide receiver for the first 17 minutes of the game.

The high-powered offense seemed to need a tune-up. Thankfully, running backs Kyren Williams and Blake Corum were part of the game plan. They may not have scored on the ground (Corum had a receiving touchdown), but they did gain yards and didn't turn the ball over.

1. Blake Grupe's knee injury spurred disaster

Is LA cursed or something? After Grupe put the first points on the scoreboard, he was injured making a touchdown-saving tackle. He went to the medical tent, then to the locker room, and just 10 minutes into the game, he was ruled doubtful to return.

Perhaps the Rams should carry multiple kickers until special teams weather the storm. His injury seemed to derail the entire team in this one.

2. Aaron Donald and Byron Young played well

It was fun to see Aaron Donald showing up big in multiple plays. He came close to a sack, made a vital tackle for loss, and was ever-present near the football. His early production forced the Cardinals to dedicate more blockers in his direction, and that allowed teammates to make plays.

Young was ready. With Arizona regularly double-teaming Donald, he took advantage and He and Donald set the tone early. Unfortunately, a lack of offense allowed the pesky Cardinals to score five field goals.

3. Punter Ethan Evans served as emergency place kicker late

Without Grupe, the Rams opted to attempt a two-point conversion after their first touchdown. On the play, Stafford suffered an embarrassing strip-sack. Can this team play any uglier on special teams?

Nearly allowing the Cardinals to score on a Rams conversion attempt was one of the worst special-teams moments fans have seen in many years.

With the score tied late, LA sent out punter Ethan Evans for a go-ahead extra point. He made the kick. But Arizona drove down the field and won on a buzzer-beating field goal.

More changes are coming. Bank on it.

4. Rams secondary sorely missed cornerback Trent McDuffie

McDuffie suffered a groin injury in practice and was inactive for the game. His absence allowed Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett a day of surprising accuracy as Arizona spent much of the game in the red zone. Brissett did exactly carry the offense, but he did connect frequently enough to keep LA's defense on its heels.

5. Rams offense sputtered early again

The offense did not come out swinging. Stafford struggled early. Unlike in previous pass-heavy games, the Rams consistently mixed in running plays and sustained an average of 4.6 yards per carry.

That, in turn, took some of the pressure off Stafford as he engineered the first touchdown drive. But as the Rams fell behind, they turned more and more to the pass.

The outcome was ugly. Arizona's offense was calm, cool, and collected. LA was hurried, worried, and buried.

6. Matthew Stafford looks old, until he doesn't

In a must-win game, it's very concerning to see Stafford come out flat. He didn't throw an interception, but he was horrifically ineffective until the final two minutes. He completed 69 percent of his passes but was stuck in a rut of dinking and dunking all afternoon.

Anything close to an average performance earlier in the game would have locked in a victory long before crunch time. But Stafford had barely reached 100 net passing yards with five minutes remaining.

A late 42-yard completion to Puka Nacua helped Stafford's box score. He returned to vintage form on the final drive. Where was that Stafford all game?

Did Los Angeles squander his arm by asking too much of him too in earlier games? You decide. Ultimately, Stafford had another slow start when anything better would have given LA the win.

As always, thanks for reading.

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