After a tough loss to the Detroit Lions in Week 1, the Los Angeles Rams were given a nice bounce-back opportunity in Week 2 when they traveled to take on the Arizona Cardinals.
Sean McVay has had the Cardinals’ number since taking over the Rams, winning 12 of 13 games against them. L.A. was extremely shorthanded in this one, however, and Arizona took it to them from the jump.
The Rams didn’t have any answers on either side of the ball and as a result, suffered a rough 41-10 defeat to fall to 0-2 for the first time in the McVay era.
Some key players that were out for the Rams were Puka Nacua, Alaric Jackson, Joe Noteboom, Steve Avila and Darious Williams, and it it was clear that they were missed.
On defense, the Rams had no chance guarding Cardinals first-round draft pick Marvin Harrison Jr. He had two touchdowns before many people even knew the game started and wound up finishing with four receptions for 130 yards.
The Cardinals scored five touchdowns and only punted once on the day. The Rams defense has now struggled to stop the run in back-to-back weeks, which will likely continue to be a problem moving forward.
Additionally, while the defense line was able to get some pressure on Kyler Murray, they weren’t able to get him to the ground, which allowed him to make big plays off-script.
One of the only positives all day on either side of the ball was this sack from Kobie Turner:
Cue the music. First sack of the season for The Conductor @TurnerKobie!
(via @RamsNFL) pic.twitter.com/mqMJJCqOJg
— Rams Newswire (@RamsNewswire) September 15, 2024
On offense, the absence of the left side of the Rams’ line was glaring as Matthew Stafford faced pressure in his face all day. He was sacked five times on the day with Dennis Gardeck recording three of them after constantly beating Warren McClendon Jr. at left tackle.
The offensive line wasn’t able to open up any holes in the run game either as Kyren Williams had just 12 carries for 25 yards. He had his best games against the Cardinals last season, so this was a concerning game to say the least.
The good news is that Jackson will be back from his two-game suspension in Week 3 to help sure up the left side of the offensive line.
Unfortunately though, the Rams could be without their top two playmakers on the outside after Cooper Kupp left this game around halftime with an ankle injury. It remains to be seen just how serious the injury is, but the Rams will already be without Nacua for the foreseeable future.
With the Cardinals outgaining the Rams 489-245 on the day, this was truly a humbling loss and hopefully one McVay’s team can learn from to avoid it happening again, regardless of who is in or out of the lineup.
What’s next for the Rams
Things don’t get any easier for the Rams as they have another tough decision matchup in Week 3, taking on the San Francisco 49ers in their home opener.
The 49ers are coming off a disappointing loss to the Minnesota Vikings as well so both teams will be angry and looking for revenge in this rivalry matchup.
