Depleted Rams beat Cardinals to keep NFC West race alive

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Rams’ crippled against the Arizona Cardinals connected Monday nighttime was ever going to beryllium a trial of their spot successful the playoff pecking order. But successful the hours earlier kickoff, it became thing more. A trial of their resources, resourcefulness and resolve.

Taking the tract astatine State Farm Stadium without 5 important players mislaid to the COVID-19 reserve list, the Rams got large games from Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp and the defence – and a roster of understudies.

The Rams bushed the Cardinals, 30-23, to soundlessness a red-clad assemblage that wanted to cheer the location squad person to an NFC West part title.

The triumph by the Rams (9-4) – their astir notable triumph since a September location triumph against Tampa Bay – chopped Arizona’s (10-3) pb to 1 crippled and gave them a accidental astatine the part rubric with 4 games near successful the regular season, portion besides solidifying their presumption astatine the apical of the league wild-card race.

Stafford passed for 287 yards and 3 touchdowns, without an interception. Kupp caught a career-high 13 of Stafford’s 23 completions for 123 yards and a touchdown. Arizona’s Kyler Murray was intercepted doubly and held without a scoring pass.

Tied astatine halftime, successful information of wearing down arsenic the undermanned team, the Rams alternatively came retired and got touchdown passes from Matthew Stafford connected their archetypal 2 bid of the 3rd quarter, helped by the defense’s 2nd takeaway of the night.

A 52-yard onslaught to Van Jefferson astatine the extremity enactment came 1 play aft the Rams benefited from an unnecessary-roughness punishment pursuing a drawback by Kupp.

After linebacker Leonard Floyd continued an inspired show by intercepting a Murray pass, the Rams took implicit astatine the Cardinals’ 19-yard enactment and went up, 27-13, erstwhile Kupp went down and caught a 4-yard walk wrong the close end-zone pylon.

The Cardinals got 1 backmost connected James Conner’s 2nd touchdown run.

But Matt Gay’s 3rd tract extremity of the night, and 18th consecutive palmy field-goal attempt, made it a two-score crippled again with 7:20 left.

As the play has progressed, the Rams person been confronted much and much by injuries, nary bigger than wide receiver Robert Woods’ season-ending genu injury.

But they had been unscathed by COVID-19 going into this week. Then, Friday, Rams starring rusher Darrell Henderson went connected the database for players who trial affirmative oregon person adjacent interaction with idiosyncratic who did. And Saturday, close tackle Rob Havenstein and cornerback Dont’e Deayon were placed connected the list.

The assemblage stroke came Monday day erstwhile the Rams announced that All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey and starting choky extremity Tyler Higbee were going connected the COVID-19 database too.

That near the Rams without 4 starters due to the fact that of coronavirus protocols, successful summation to injured starting halfway Brian Allen.

If their assurance was frayed, they began to stitch it unneurotic arsenic the archetypal fractional proceeded.

The Cardinals, seeking to repetition their 37-20 triumph astatine SoFi Stadium successful October, had scored archetypal connected a nine-play thrust to a tract goal. The Rams went 3 and retired connected their archetypal series, and they were astir to autumn down 10-0 erstwhile Arizona made different sustained thrust wrong their 10. Murray targeted choky extremity Zach Ertz successful the extremity zone.

But Aaron Donald (three sacks) got a manus connected the pass, and linebacker Ernest Jones intercepted it adjacent the extremity line.

The Rams went 68 yards to spell successful beforehand for the archetypal clip connected a 2-yard walk from Stafford to Odell Beckham Jr., giving the wide receiver touchdowns successful 3 consecutive games.

The kickers were trading agelong tract goals, Gay producing a season-best 55-yarder and aboriginal 35-yarder.

The Rams’ defence was doing amended against Murray this clip around. Donald recorded 2 of his sacks successful the archetypal half, giving him 3 successful the past 3 quarters aft helium got to Trevor Lawrence successful the 4th fourth of the Rams’ triumph implicit the Jacksonville Jaguars. The makeshift secondary was holding the league’s completion-percentage person beneath his norm.

Murray did propulsion retired a signature play by moving for 16 yards and stepping retired of bounds astatine the Rams’ 36 with 1 2nd near earlier halftime, allowing Matt Prater to footwear a 53-yard tract extremity and marque it 13-13.

More to travel connected this story.