But like most of the Cardinals first quarter drives, Arizona ended up punting the ball to the Rams.
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“I knew that was the key”, Austin said.
The win improved the Rams to 3-1 for the first time since 2006, when they won four of their first five games.
They’ve gotten there in the most unusual way, exemplified by the way the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday almost doubled up the Rams in offensive yards, had 26 first downs to the Rams’ 12, ran 75 plays to the Rams’ 55 and had six penalties for 45 yards to the Rams’ nine for 85 – yet still fell to the Rams 17-13.
The Cardinals’ offense was ineffective yet again on Sunday in a loss to the Rams that left them 1-3.
Before we get to the ugliness that was this game, we have to discuss the injuries that mounted for the Cardinals late in the contest.
– Keim called it “embarrassing” the Cardinals had already lost two home games. The Rams played an admirable game on defense, and quarterback Case Keenum squeezed everything he could out of the Rams’ offensive potential, but it was clearthe Cardinals had more talent on the field. “There was definitely anger in the locker room after the game”, Keim said. With Jameis Winston last week, he threw 58 passes and the Rams might be seeing around the same number of attempts. The plan also caused Palmer to stand in the pocket for longer, which was great when he found receivers downfield, but not so great when he was sacked and fumbled.
“(There is) a game here and there where we may win the turnover battle, but the next game, we can’t even get our hands on the ball”, safety Tyrann Mathieu said.
Arizona is set to take on the San Francisco 49ers on the road this Thursday night, and it may be Drew Stanton who gets the nod to start. “We practice it all the time”. We only have times to watch the film. “The sky is not falling for us”. It worked. I’m still not sure how, but it did.
Keenum also had a 65-yard touchdown pass to Quick in the first quarter. The Cardinals actually averaged about 5 yards a carry, but couldn’t stick with the run.
“I feel sorry for the fans in St. Louis because they have to feel the way L.A. felt when they left L.A. And they had a good following back there. He’s going good. We’re just going to put a good plan together this week”.
– Keim said he thinks Arians will be meeting with the captains and leaders, and he would guess there will be meetings among the players themselves.
Arizona made the score 7-3 on a 25-yard field goal by Chandler Catanzaro beginning the 2nd quarter. “What an experience for him from that standpoint, to have been on the other sideline last week and come over and have a chance to have an impact on special teams”, Fisher said. They miss the A+ mark due to the drive just before halftime that tied up the game at 10.
“They’re not getting that ball back”, Johnson said.
One came when the Cardinals appeared to have Los Angeles stopped, only to be hit with a defensive holding penalty against Patrick Peterson.
He finished the first half 9/14 for 159 yards and a touchdown. The Rams had to a settled for a 29-yard field goal by Zuerlein.
The Cardinals were at the Rams 33 in the second quarter when Palmer threw deep and Johnson intercepted in the corner of the end zone. Carson Palmer completed 26 of 50 passes for 287 yards, no touchdowns but with four interceptions. He had eight catches in the first three games.
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The Cardinals were a Super Bowl favorite heading into the 2016 National Football League season, yet their lone victory (which was dominant) came in the form of a 40-7 effort against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
