The Los Angeles Rams earned their second straight road victory and third straight victory overall Sunday when they traveled to Phoenix to take on the Arizona Cardinals in a divisional game and came away with a come-from-behind 17-13 win.
In what was expected to be a defensive battle, the first three series’ of the game ended in punts. The Rams finally found some offense though late in the first quarter as quarterback Case Keenum connected with wide receiver Brian Quick down the sideline for a 65-yard touchdown putting the Rams out in front 7-0.
Arizona responded quickly though with a 12-play, 68-yard drive that stalled in the red zone resulting in a Chandler Catanzaro 25-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 7-3.
Keenum, who has struggled to throw the ball down field in the first two games of the season, continued to build on the success he found in Week 3’s 37-32 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as he connected with Kenny Britt on a 34-yard pass to put the Rams in Arizona territory. Arizona’s defense was able to hold Los Angeles to a field goal though putting the Rams back up by seven.
It looked as if the Rams would take that lead into halftime, until Carson Palmer connected with Michael Floyd on a five-yard touchdown pass with 24 seconds remaining before the end of the half to tie the game at 10.
Los Angeles’ defense and special teams carried a struggling offense in the second half, recovering two fumbles and intercepting Cardinals quarterbacks twice.
With the Rams trailing 13-10 in the fourth quarter, return man Tavon Austin returned a punt 47 yards and was pulled down by his face mask, setting the Rams offense up at the Cardinals 19-yard line with five minutes remaining. Four plays later Keenum connected with Quick again on a fade route to score what ended up being the game-winning touchdown.
The defense sealed the victory by intercepting back-up quarterback Drew Stanton twice in the final two minutes, including a Hail Mary attempt as time expired.
Keenum finish with 266 yards passing and two touchdowns, both to Quick. The reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year, running back Todd Gurley, struggled to find space in the ground game, rushing 19 times for 33 yards. He found success receiving though as he caught a career-high five passes for 49 yards.
The Rams currently sit tied atop the NFC West with the Seattle Seahawks at 3-1, while the Cardinals dropped to 1-3. Next Sunday the Rams host the Buffalo Bills at 1:25 p.m. Pacific Time.
