Meltdown in Los Angeles: What went wrong for the Rams as the Cardinals pull off the biggest upset of the season

As Chad Ryland’s 43-yard field goal went through the uprights as time expired, the Cardinals capped a wild finish and opened up a whole new set of questions for Los Angeles. The kick, which gave the Cardinals an 18-16 victory over the Rams, marked the biggest upset of the season. Arizona, which entered as a 13.5-point underdog, is also tied for the biggest upset of any game over the past five years. This is the biggest loss of Matthew Stafford’s career thus far.

The Cardinals, who scored no touchdowns, led 15-12 with less than three minutes remaining. Stafford led a rushing touchdown drive, fueled by big completions to Puka Nacua and capped by a 5-yard touchdown pass to Colby Parkinson with 47 seconds left. Punter Ethan Evans scored the extra point after new kicker Blake Grupe was injured while making a tackle earlier in the match.

The Rams then started in the end zone – driving the ball toward the Cardinals 35-yard line – and Jacoby Brissett found Jalen Brooks for a 21-yard play on the first play of the drive. Add in an unnecessary 15-yard roughness penalty on Josh Wallace, and that was all it took to set up Ryland’s game-winning field goal.

Give a lot of credit to the Cardinals, who picked up their first win since the season opener. The much-maligned defense had a major rebound after allowing 45 points last week to the Lions, and the offense racked up 338 yards and scored on six of its 10 drives. Yes, all the scores were field goals, but Arizona’s ability to stay on track — Brissett didn’t take a single sack and turn it over after the first possession — was key. Arizona had nearly 10 minutes more time of possession than Los Angeles.

But it’s really on the Rams, who are 2-4 after starting the season as a Super Bowl favorite. In fact, it’s the same record as the Cardinals.

The offense was disjointed, the defense failed to make big plays and special teams issues once again loomed large.

Matthew Stafford doesn’t find explosives – and isn’t really looking

Before the late-game madness, it looked like this would be the defining play of the game: fourth-and-8, and the Rams do just that.

A running back screen – and a miss at that – in this situation summed up a sad day for the Rams offense. Stafford finished 25 of 33 for 222 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, but before that it was absolute slog: 18 of 26 for just 137 yards. Add three sacks and Stafford had a putrid 4.2 yards per attempt.

Stafford got rid of the ball in 2.50 seconds. He had thrown two deep passes. He averaged 4.6 yards per throw; For reference, Bo Nix is ​​at 4.9 yards, and that’s the lowest number through six games in the last 20 years.

In other words, practically nothing in the explosives department. The Rams only had two plays of 20+ yards, and both came on the final drive. Keep in mind that this is a defense that allowed five plays of 20+ yards in three quarters against the Lions in Week 5.

There were a few opportunities for big plays — Stafford missed an open Nacua on one notable play — but for the most part, the quick passing game looked planned and the Cardinals dominated it.

More mistakes: turnovers and penalties are important

If big plays aren’t on the menu, there’s no room for error anywhere else. The Rams made plenty of mistakes, though. The biggest was probably a Tyler Higbee fumble.

The previous play, Stafford stumbled and fumbled – untouched – trying to get out of the pocket. He got the ball, but that put the Rams well behind the sticks on another unforced error. And in another key moment, Los Angeles failed on a fourth-and-1 on a run by backup tight end Davis Allen, a curious play call at best.

The Rams also committed four penalties, three crucial:

• Byron Young was offside on a third-and-1.
• Warren McClendon had a false start on fourth-and-3 leading up to the failed screen pass above.
• Wallace’s penalty allowed Ryland to score the winner.

The Rams are tied for 12th in offensive penalties and fourth in defensive penalties this season.

Defense can’t play

After an interception by Brissett on the first drive, the Rams had no other conclusion. They also recorded zero sacks against a quarterback who is among the most statuesque in the game and an offense against its best offensive lineman (Paris Johnson Jr.) and its best running back (Jeremiyah Love).

The Rams have eight sacks all year. Enter “Sunday Night Football” which is tied for third in the NFL. And four of those eight came in a single game, against the offensively hapless Eagles. The absence of Myles Garrett is a major problem, but several other talented passers aren’t making it happen.

Special teams issues

Grupe made his first field goal attempt, a 44-yarder, in the first quarter. Good news! But the Rams gave up a 40-yard return to Devin Duvernay on the ensuing kickoff, and Grupe injured his knee on the tackle.

The Rams have now lost games by two, three and four points, and special teams issues have been largely present in all three. Grupe’s injury is out of their control, but it came after they allowed another huge kickoff comeback.

Simply put, the Rams have huge problems in all three phases, a truly astonishing sentence to type. An all-in team in a Super Bowl just lost to a team that has been counted out for months. The beginning of Sean McVay’s nightmare continues to get worse.