They are a combined 2-4 heading into Sunday’s action.
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The Rams play a Thursday night game at Seattle on December 15 and then finish with home games against the 49ers and Cardinals.
Carolina travels to face Atlanta.
Los Angeles lined up in the shotgun.
The Cardinals not only lost the game, they lost a bunch of players. Quinn has faced Arizona nine times and recorded nine sacks.
Before Sunday, Stanton hadn’t had significant playing time since Palmer went down with a torn ACL in the 2014 season. The Cardinals recovered the ball but would not keep it for long. The Panthers have played Denver and Minnesota (both losses).
Unfortunately, that same positivity hasn’t really been seen for the rest of the team despite the improved pass rush.
Turnovers have also been an issue. With Jameis Winston last week, he threw 58 passes and the Rams might be seeing around the same number of attempts. Stanton threw two interceptions on the Cardinals last two drives.
He had eight tackles and broke up two passes against Tampa Bay in a victory that defensive end Robert Quinn preserved with a last-second tackle of quarterback Jameis Winston. In the receiving end, Kenny Britt posted 82 yards in four receptions while Brian Quick added 69 yards and two touchdowns in two receptions.
So far this season, a different playmaker has stepped up and has tried to make plays for Arizona each week this season.
Earlier this week on NFL Monday Night Football, the Bengals fought their way back to 2-2 with a solid victory over the Miami Dolphins. But a few deficiencies at critical positions has Arizona 1-3. Last season, Arizona went 13-3 in cruising to the NFC West title and advancing to the NFC Championship. All and all it was not the Cardinals day, which is becoming the theme for 2016.
Fisher didn’t specify which teams, but the Cardinals have had a series of special-teams calamities this season. 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. Palmer isn’t a star.
As he showed Sunday on a zigzagging scramble that seemed to last a minute, Rams quarterback Case Keenum can move backward and forward, this way and that, finding pockets of breathing room when everything is breaking down around him. Larry Fitzgerald had only one catch.
As for Stanton, well, the 32-year-old backup has been a mixed bag of results during his 30 games played in his career.
Arizona has many concerns at a time when the schedule only gets tougher. It’s official: Brown has returned from the abyss.
To compensate, the Rams have incorporated Gurley into the passing game and he finished with five catches for 49 yards.
Palmer’s completion percentage has dropped from 63.7 a year ago to 57.3 this season.
The Cardinals have had their fair amount of slow starts in the first three weeks of the season and it will be imperative for them to not let that happen once again.
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Yes, both Carolina and Arizona should be fine when the season hits the home stretch. That penalty led to Keenum’s game-winning pass to Quick. He looked terrible in relief against the Rams, but I have a hunch he would look better with even a short week of preparation.
