Rams face Cardinals again with division-title hopes on line

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Everything astir the Rams was clearer going into their archetypal gathering with the Arizona Cardinals this play than it is going into the second.

Both teams were 3-0 earlier into the crippled successful October, but it was the Rams who were seen to person the precocious manus successful the NFC West, an wrong way connected getting to the Super Bowl astatine SoFi Stadium, and a Most Valuable Player contender successful Matthew Stafford.

All that began to alteration erstwhile the Cardinals bushed the Rams 37-20.

As the teams footwear disconnected Monday nighttime astatine State Farm Stadium, the Rams (8-4) are looking up astatine Arizona (10-2) successful the NFC West, their hopes for location tract successful the playoffs bent by a thread, and they’ve seen Stafford eclipsed by Cardinals backmost Kyler Murray.

Now 2-4 against teams with .500-or-better records done Week 13, the Rams can’t adjacent beryllium definite however bully they are.

They’re astir to find out, going against the Cardinals, whose grounds against teams sitting astatine .500 oregon amended is 5-1.

“Without a doubt, this offers a large accidental to measurement ourselves, and I deliberation we’ll get a bully consciousness for wherever we’re astatine and person to beryllium capable to respond accordingly based connected what happens,” Rams manager Sean McVay said Saturday.

A triumph would clinch McVay’s 5th winning grounds successful 5 seasons with the Rams, springiness them a three-game cushion successful the NFC wild-card standings with 4 to play, and make immoderate anticipation of catching the Cardinals for the part title.

A nonaccomplishment would enactment them 3 games down Arizona and mean their quest for a home-field Super Bowl astir surely would statesman connected the roadworthy arsenic a wild-card team, apt against the Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers oregon Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

With the playoff implications successful mind, Rams antiaircraft person Aaron Donald said he’s reasoning of this arsenic a playoff game.

“I consciousness similar it’s a playoff game, truthful that’s however we got to instrumentality it,” the antiaircraft tackle said Friday. “We got to win.”

McVay, who usually treats each adjacent crippled arsenic particularly big, was asked if helium agrees that this feels similar a playoff game.

“If Aaron says that, I agree,” McVay said, drafting uncommon genuine press-room laughter. “I do. I recognize precisely what helium said. What helium means, though, is there’s a heightened consciousness of consciousness and urgency.

“You’re not naive to the information that a batch of the goals excessively are, ‘Hey, let’s enactment ourselves successful presumption to effort to triumph the division.’ And if you don’t instrumentality attraction of this game, you enactment yourself mode down the 8 ball.”

Behind the 8 shot is the operation McVay besides utilized to picture wherever the Rams enactment themselves successful the nonaccomplishment to the Cardinals successful Week 4 with, well, miscues.

Murray outplayed Stafford and the Arizona outplayed the Rams that afternoon, but an aboriginal interception thrown by Stafford and a fumble by moving backmost Sony Michel helped the Cardinals to a 21-10 pb successful the 2nd quarter.

After Stafford was spectacular successful the Rams’ three-game triumph streak to unfastened the season, that was the archetypal glimpse of the occasionally erratic backmost they’d spot again successful their three-game losing streak successful November.

On the different broadside of the ball, the Rams couldn’t halt Murray from passing oregon running, and Cardinals moving backmost Chase Edmonds gained 120 yards connected 12 carries.

Neither squad saw that result, which broke the Cardinals’ losing streak against the Rams astatine eight, arsenic definitive astatine the time.

“It wasn’t a woody wherever we thought we’d arrived oregon thing similar that,” Arizona manager Kliff Kingsbury said Wednesday successful a league telephone with Rams bushed writers. “I deliberation it was a measurement successful the close absorption (to spot we) could bushed a squad with that talented of a roster.

“We knew we’d person to play them again, and we’ll get their champion changeable this week.”

Since then, the Cardinals person added choky extremity Zach Ertz, portion the Rams person added extracurricular linebacker Von Miller and wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., but released DeSean Jackson and mislaid receiver Robert Woods to a genu injury.

The Rams were hoping to get starring rusher Darrell Henderson backmost against the Cardinals aft helium missed the Jaguars crippled with a thigh injury, but that got analyzable erstwhile the moving backmost went connected the COVID-19 reserve database Saturday.

Unless Henderson records 2 antagonistic tests successful a 24-hour play earlier Monday, he’ll miss a 2nd consecutive crippled and Sony Michel volition beryllium called connected to effort to lucifer his 121-yard effort against Jacksonville.

Having to juggle lineup changes is 1 crushed McVay, asked Saturday what helium would accidental the individuality of the Rams’ discourtesy is successful Week 14, replied: “I deliberation we’re moving done that.”

On the different broadside of the ball, Rams antiaircraft coordinator Raheem Morris thinks his radical has improved. Analytics would agree: Football Outsiders rated the Rams’ defence 20th successful the league aft the archetypal Cardinals game, and rated it sixth aft past Sunday’s 37-7 triumph implicit the Jacksonville Jaguars.

“I deliberation we’ve developed. I deliberation we’ve grown. I deliberation we’ve got a batch better,” Morris said. “I deliberation everybody’s much comfy with each different and I deliberation we’ll bash a batch of bully things to spell retired determination and effort to triumph this shot game.”

The Rams came into the archetypal Cardinals crippled stamped arsenic Super Bowl contenders aft beating the defending champion Bucs, portion the Cardinals came successful arsenic a squad with thing to prove.

Ten weeks later, the roles person switched.

Stafford said helium enjoys the puzzle of trying to hole what went wrong.

“I deliberation some teams person astir apt changed a small bit,” the Rams’ backmost said. “So, it truly boils down to it’s a truly talented shot squad that’s truly good coached that we’re playing against. I consciousness similar we’re the same, and we’ve conscionable got to spell retired determination and play well, play to our standard.

“If we bash that, we’ll springiness ourselves a bully accidental of beryllium successful it.”