GLENDALE, Arizona — The Los Angeles Rams looked so astonishingly incompetent in their 41-10 loss to Arizona on Sunday, and right off the bat, that the players left the field and went to the locker room in stunned, miserable silence.

“It was one of those days that’s really humbling,” head coach Sean McVay said after the game. “Luckily, we didn’t feel a lot of those things. But tough times pass, tough people don’t. A lot of things in the first couple of weeks … didn’t necessarily go according to plan. Today was something I didn’t expect. …

“I’ll be honest, there’s nothing positive about it. The only positive is that this game is over now and we can move on.”

This is a football team that hasn’t started a season 0-2 since 2011, six years before McVay was hired as head coach. In fact, it’s the worst losing streak in general manager Les Snead’s 12 years in LA and a clear example of what injuries, inadequate depth, lack of preparation, lack of technique or fundamentals can do to a football team that entered the 2024 season with positive momentum and sky-high expectations.

In fact, in the last five seasons, only two teams – the 2023 Texans and the 2022 Bengals – have made the playoffs after starting 0-2. Since 2015, 74 teams have started 0-2. Of those 74, eight have made the playoffs.

GO DEEPER

Key takeaways from Cardinals’ Marvin Harrison Jr.’s win over the Rams

“I think you have to get back to work,” McVay said after the game. “There’s a lot of football left. There’s a lot of things you’re experiencing for the first time. How you deal with it is the most important thing. … This is one of those days. That sinking feeling in your stomach is a bitter pill to swallow. That’s what we decided to do, not just the positive moments — keeping the team healthy. I just know how to get back to work and keep my head up. Find better solutions. There clearly weren’t enough answers for our players to be successful today. …

“The 0-2 doesn’t worry me. I’m worried about how we can play better football. It wasn’t a good result today. We’re not happy with that.”

The Rams are missing their left tackle (third-stringer Warren McClendon started Sunday because Alaric Jackson was suspended), their left guard (Jonah Jackson, who began the season at center, is filling in for the injured Steve Avila, but it’s clear the screen and stretch game isn’t the same without Avila) and freshman Beaux Limmer is starting at center. Big-bodied right guard Kevin Dotson is playing despite a lateral ankle sprain/foot injury. Right tackle Rob Havenstein just returned and yet was limited in practice for most of the week. Star receivers Cooper Kupp (who left the game limping at halftime and then got a walking boot on his left leg in the locker room) and Puka Nacua (PCL sprain) are out, in Nacua’s case likely longer than the four-game minimum. Cornerback Darious Williams is on the injured list with a hamstring injury. Backup Cobie Durant is battling a toe injury and was unable to finish the game. All of this, of course, has a huge impact on the overall level of the Rams’ play.

Still, Arizona was clearly the better-coached and better-coordinated team on Sunday. They were physically stronger and more versatile on both sides of the ball. They had more dimension; their running game wore down the Rams from a variety of personnel groups and points of contact for 231 yards (5.8 per run). LA’s defensive line missed tackles, couldn’t consistently win the point of attack, looked really undersized and couldn’t bring down quarterback Kyler Murray on the edges on his first snap. The pass rush and then the defensive layers unfolding behind it didn’t seem prepared to protect Murray from falling out of structure — that is, he could create passing plays on the move and take advantage of the missed takedowns to then target cornerbacks and safeties who had lost sight of their receivers further down the field.

“We just couldn’t tackle him,” McVay said. “There were opportunities. Look at some of the plays, I mean, we had three guys around him (and) he ended up escaping and scoring an unplanned touchdown. Did the same thing on a third down on our sideline. We just couldn’t get to him, his athleticism was outstanding. He made a lot of plays. You have to give him credit and we have to be able to learn from that.”

Murray had five passes of over 20 yards against the Rams defense, including two of his three touchdowns (on the third, an 18-yard pass to Elijah Higgins, Murray held the ball for a whopping 8.55 seconds, according to Next Gen Stats). Murray also finished the game – he was taken out early for backup Clayton Tune – with a perfect passer rating of 158.3.

Kyler Murray was most effective on longer developmental plays, completing 10 of 12 for 219 yards and 3 touchdowns on dropbacks over 2.5 seconds.

Murray also completed all four passes he threw while running (8+ mph) for 119 yards and 2 touchdowns.#LARvsAZ | @AZCardinals

— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) 15 September 2024

Arizona wore its plan all offseason by building up its offense, and even did so this week after the weak debut of rookie receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. in the first round. It was painfully obvious Week that Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing schemed against Harrison early and often, and he did: Harrison had two touchdowns and 130 receiving yards in his first four touches, and after that, the game seemed completely out of reach.

“We just didn’t play well enough,” said safety Kam Curl, “we just didn’t make the plays we needed to make to win the game.”

I asked McVay after the game if he felt the defense was adequately prepared for the Cardinals’ attack; he sighed but didn’t answer the question directly. Amazingly, in response to a question I asked him on Thursday, first-year defensive coordinator Chris Shula noted Arizona’s versatility in the run game this week, including how they can control the ball and the possession clock and keep the opposing offense at bay. Arizona had the ball 36-54, the Rams 23-06. Everyone knew what was coming. The Cardinals still pulled it off.

The Rams converted just two third downs on 11 attempts, and because they had no running game, their offense was off the field quickly on average. While that’s true, it’s also fair to wonder if the defense wasn’t prepared despite knowing how the modern Cardinals play football, or if they were simply unable to execute their offenses? More and more NFL teams are currently playing with stronger lineups and relying on the running game (including at quarterback), and this coaching staff has always been one step ahead of the sport’s changing cycles. Why don’t they or this squad seem ready now?

On the other side of the grim affair, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford was sacked five times – three times on third down. The Rams started 0 of 5 on third down and converted just one of their first seven attempts, and were also 0 of 2 on fourth down. Stafford stayed in the game the entire game, a questionable decision given his poor defense, the lopsided score and his health, which was crucial to saving the Rams’ season. McVay said he considered taking Stafford out of the game but decided to run the ball exclusively because backup Stetson Bennett was unfamiliar with some of the Rams’ handoffs and turnovers.

Dennis Gardeck sacks Matthew Stafford for one of the Cardinals’ five sacks on Sunday. (USA Today)

McVay called nothing but runs on the Rams’ final series, the last of the weary white flags of the day. But not before Stafford came back into the game for the offense’s penultimate series, trailing by 31 points, three dismal plays in which Stafford was sacked on second down and the Arizona defense recovered the ball.

“Today was not good. You can’t knock Matthew…” McVay paused to change his wording. “You can’t knock him that fast. We have to be able to do a good job.”

Lead running back Williams rushed for just 25 yards on 12 carries and one touchdown (2.1 yards per carry). In contrast, Williams rushed for 301 yards in two games against the Cardinals last season. The offensive line didn’t generate the pressure needed to get into a rhythm on the ground, and when the pressure finally mounted, the Rams — who were left with 11 players (No. 2 tight end Davis Allen has a back injury and didn’t play) — frequently sacrificed at least two “eligible” receivers in the form of a running back and a tight end to help block or assist.

The Rams get Jackson back next week and hope that with time they can get at least a little healthier on the right side of the line. But the San Francisco 49ers are coming up, a team that plays like a slap in the face despite its own injury problems. The style of football the Rams played on Sunday won’t be enough.

“These are the moments that test you,” McVay said. “When I look back at moments where I grew, I know they never happened in good times. They only happened in moments like this. You get a sinking feeling in your stomach. You have a choice: Do you want to attack? Or do you want to give up? And I bet a lot of those guys are going to be the kind of guys that go back to work with their heads held high. Those are humbling moments.”

(Top photo of Sean McVay: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)