Bob McManaman and Theo Mackie discuss the Cardinals’ win over the Rams
The Arizona Cardinals scored a brilliant 41-10 win over the Los Angeles Rams. Republic sportswriters Bob McManaman and Theo Mackie talk about the victory.
As the final seconds of the third quarter ticked away, the Arizona Cardinals were essentially able to relax. Their performance over the 45 minutes was so dominant, so complete, so overwhelming that the Los Angeles Rams’ hopes were dashed prematurely and with a loud bang. It was everything Arizona could have wanted on Sunday – and more.
And after a crushing Week 1 loss at Buffalo, they pulled out a 41-10 victory to move to 1-1 with the Cardinals. Here’s what we learned from that incredible afternoon in Glendale:
Cardinals master week 1 confidently
As promising as the Cardinals’ performance in Week 1 was, it was also disappointing, which begs the question of how they would respond.
On Wednesday, head coach Jonathan Gannon spoke about his players’ reaction – how focused they were during filming before their week of practice. At the time, it was easy to dismiss it as a necessary dose of optimism for a head coach.
Now it seems to be true. The Cardinals held on tight on Sunday, jumping out to a 21-0 lead within 23 minutes. They were nearly flawless in every phase of the game and ultimately earned their biggest win since New Year’s Day 2017. And they certainly looked like a team that viewed their Week 1 performance as a sign of progress — not one marred by a disappointing result.
“I’m happy for the players,” Gannon said. “They put a lot of effort into it and had to get back up after the first round and give it their all in the second round.”
Welcome to the NFL, Marvin Harrison Jr.
For six days, the NFL world was in a panic about Marvin Harrison Jr. He started Week 1 as one of the most promising receivers of all time and finished with a single catch for four yards.
It didn’t take long for that concern to look silly. Kyler Murray and Harrison were hitless on their first pass attempt of the day, but they were solid after that. The freshman finished the game with four catches for 130 yards and two touchdowns on eight attempts.
Each reception was impressive in its own way.
On the first, he made an incredible over-the-shoulder catch while bouncing his feet in the back of the end zone. The play had a 13.7% probability of success—the most unlikely touchdown of the season, according to Next Gen Stats.
On the second, Harrison ran a long crossing route that he kept shallow enough to lure the Rams’ defenders to the line of scrimmage. Then, with Murray’s gaze locked on him, Harrison broke deep where his quarterback found him for another score.
On the third, Harrison faked a scramble drill to return to the line of scrimmage before dropping deep. The move took a safety out of the play and allowed Murray to easily find Harrison.
In the fourth inning, Murray hit Harrison with a perfect back-shoulder fade – exactly the play they had failed to pull off last week, which was attributed to too few joint training sessions in the preseason.
All in all, he was everything the Cardinals hoped Harrison would be.
“He didn’t prove anything to me,” Murray said. “You all make such a big deal out of it. It was a game. A game.”
That was Kyler Murray at his best
Sunday was everything the Cardinals drafted Murray to be five years ago. He completed 17 of 21 passes for 266 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. On the ground, he had five carries for 59 yards.
He became the first Cardinals quarterback to finish a game with a perfect passer rating since Kurt Warner in 2008. It was only Murray’s third career game with at least 250 passing yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.
He looked good doing it, too. His long ball was the best he’s looked since returning from a torn ACL, and the Rams were unable to bring him down in the pocket. Every time it looked like they might succeed, Murray would escape for a magical finish or scrum.
“When something goes wrong, God has blessed me with the ability to make something happen,” Murray said.
Game rewind: Arizona Cardinals win in no time against LA Rams
The offensive was excellent
There were many concerns about the Cardinals’ offensive line this week as Kelvin Beachum replaced the injured Jonah Williams, but those concerns were not present on Sunday.
Murray suffered only one sack and had time in the pocket to find his favorite receivers. However, the offensive line’s performance in the running game was even more impressive. They regularly created gaping holes for James Conner, especially when they used pulling linemen to split the Rams’ defense. Conner finished the game with 21 carries for 122 yards, after managing just 3.1 yards a week ago.
“I thought the rush was overwhelming,” Gannon said. “I thought the plan was good, it was implemented in practice all week and we had a lot of guys winning one-on-ones.”
The Cardinals defense took full advantage of the Rams’ injuries
It’s difficult to make any overall statements about the Cardinals’ poor defense based on Sunday’s performance. The Rams were without two offensive linemen and star receiver Puka Nacua. Then, in the first half, they lost Cooper Kupp.
One thing is for sure, though: The Cardinals took advantage. They recorded five sacks – three of them by Warren McClendon, the Rams’ third left tackle. Dennis Gardeck had three of those sacks, while Zaven Collins and Krys Barnes each had one.
“I thought the rush was overwhelming,” Gannon said. “I thought the plan was good, it was implemented in practice all week and we had a lot of guys winning one-on-ones.”
The Cardinals also stifled running back Kyren Williams, holding him to 25 yards on 12 carries. And they didn’t let Matthew Stafford use his secondary weapons without Kupp and Nacua. No Rams pass catcher managed more than 50 receiving yards.
