The Los Angeles Rams had been winless at SoFi Stadium to begin the 2023 season going into Week 6 as they dropped games to the San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles.
However, they finally snapped that streak when they came back to beat the Arizona Cardinals 26-9 and move to 3-3 on the season.
Los Angeles had a slow start to the game on both sides of the ball as they allowed Arizona to get on the scoreboard first after allowing an explosive run to Joshua Dobbs. The Rams wouldn’t get points themselves until the end of the first quarter when Brett Maher knocked in a 29-yard chip shot set up by a 37-yard reception from Cooper Kupp.
The Cardinals wasted no time responding as they answered with their own field goal less than three minutes into the second quarter after Austin Trammell muffed a punt. Matthew Stafford and the rest of the offense struggled to move the football from there, but both teams traded field goals to make it a 9-6 lead in favor of the Cardinals at halftime.
However, Sean McVay and the coaching staff did a complete 180 in the second half as they decided to finally flex their muscles up front and punish Arizona in the run game. McVay called eight consecutive run plays to begin the third and it worked as the Cardinals couldn’t keep Kyren Williams and Ronnie Rivers from gashing them on the ground.
The first touchdown of the night went to Cooper Kupp, who found himself open on a 13-yard strike from Stafford to give the Rams their first lead of the night. Following the offense’s lead, the defense finally stepped up as they forced a three-and-out to give the ball back to Los Angeles.
The Rams were able to rattle off a couple of explosive plays thanks to Tutu Atwell and Kyren Williams, though the drive ended in another Maher field goal. At the end of the third quarter, L.A. was nursing a 16-9 lead.
The top of the fourth quarter was another massive moment for the Rams as they intercepted Dobbs. Los Angeles would put together a six-minute drive that resulted in a Williams one-yard touchdown to essentially seal the game. The Rams wound up kicking one more field goal for good measure, and walked away with the victory.
Williams ended up having a career day for the Rams after their renewed focus on the run game coming out of the halftime locker room, carrying the ball 20 times for 158 yards and a touchdown while Kupp had seven receptions for 148 yards and a touchdowns.
On the defensive side of the ball, Christian Rozeboom picked up the first interception of his career while Aaron Donald was in the backfield all day, recording three tackles for loss and two quarterback hits.
Up next for the Rams…
Los Angeles has another sneakily tough matchup in Week 7 as the Pittsburgh Steelers, who just had a bye week, come to town.
