The Los Angeles Rams were able to get back into the win column with a dominant victory versus the Arizona Cardinals in Week 13. In what was a must-win game, the Rams led comfortably throughout and cruised to the 34-7 win to improve to 7-5 on the year.
The Rams wasted no time trying to bounce back on offense with a couple of promising drives to start the game. Although they were able to get points on their first drive with a 27-yard field goal from Greg Zuerlein, he was unable to convert the 41-yard attempt the second time around.
Wide receiver Robert Woods established himself as an immediate safety net for quarterback Jared Goff early on with seven receptions for 76 yards. Meanwhile, the defense was also adamant about redeeming themselves after holding the Cardinals to just 21 yards of total offense in the first quarter.
Los Angeles finally managed to get in the end zone to start the second quarter after Goff put the finishing touches on a 10-play, 81-yard drive that ended with a touchdown pass to tight end Tyler Higbee, who had also managed to etch out an integral role in the passing game right out of the gate.
The Rams followed this same blueprint once again after back-to-back catches from Woods and Higbee put running back Todd Gurley in position to punch in a touchdown at the goal line. Despite some concerns about the defense’s struggles with versatile quarterbacks, they kept Kyler Murray in check with three sacks to shut the Cardinals out and secure a 20-0 lead going into halftime.
The defense nearly kicked off the second half in spectacular fashion with safety Taylor Rapp‘s first career interception on Arizona’s opening drive, however, it was overturned after an official review declared there was pass interference by cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman. Regardless, Los Angeles quickly got the ball back and the offense was able to capitalize with a nine-play, 92-yard drive that was capped off by a spectacular connection from Goff to wide receiver Cooper Kupp to extend the lead to 27.
While Rapp may have gotten his first career interceptions taken away from him, he was able to take full advantage of his next opportunity by picking off Murray and returning it 31 yards for a touchdown. A questionable roughing the passer call on the subsequent drive prevented what would have been yet another interception for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
The Rams attempted to extend their substantial lead with a failed fourth-down conversion and the Cardinals answered back with a successful attempt of their own on the following drive. It ultimately paid dividends for them after finally getting on the board with a 15-yard scramble by Murray to make it a 34-7 game.
By then the game was out of reach though, and Blake Bortles and the rest of the Rams’ backups were able to get some playing time to finish out the victory.
