Rams barely hold on to defeat Cardinals and move closer to NFC West crown
Hold on a minute.
Actually, make that at least 24 hours. Maybe even 48.
After 16 games it’s now hurry-up-and-wait for the Rams, who moved closer to clinching the NFC West title on Saturday with a 13-9 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in front of 73,051 at SoFi Stadium.
Rookie safety Kamren Kinchens and veteran cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon intercepted passes in the fourth quarter as the Rams extended their winning streak to five games and improved to 10-6.
“We got away with a great effort from our defense,” coach Sean McVay said.
Ahkello Witherspoon interception seals Rams victory over Cardinals
🏈 Rams 13, Cardinals 9 — FINAL
Ahkello Witherspoon intercepted a pass in the end zone that deflected off the helmet of Cardinals tight end Trey McBride to seal the Rams’ fifth consecutive win and move the team to the edge of the NFC West crown and a playoff berth.
Kyler Murray drove Arizona 59 yards to the Rams’ five-yard line before Witherspoon’s interception allowed the Rams to avenge their loss to the Cardinals earlier this season. After making the pick, Witherspoon rolled out of the end zone before being down by contact at the one-yard line.
Matthew Stafford and the Rams had to battle off the goal line on the ensuing three plays, utilizing a couple tush pushes to secure the win.
The Rams (10-6) could clinch a playoff berth via a “strength of victory” tiebreaker Sunday if three of four teams — the Cleveland Browns, Washington Commanders, Buffalo Bills and Minnesota Vikings — can win.
Stafford completed 17 of 32 passes for 189 yards and Kyren Williams rushed for 56 yards and a touchdown in 13 carries. Puka Nacua had 10 receptions for 129 yards.
Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray connected on 33 of 48 passes for 321 yards, with a touchdown and two interceptions. McBride caught 12 passes for 123 yards and Michael Carter rushed for 70 yards in 13 carries for Arizona (7-9).
Check out the game summary from the Rams’ win Saturday.
Kamren Kinchens interception comes at critical time
🏈 Rams 13, Cardinals 9 — 3:02 left in the fourth quarter
Rams safety Kamren Kinchens intercepted a deep pass from Kyler Murray at the goal line to put the ball back in Matthew Stafford’s hands at L.A.‘s 11.
The Rams’ pass rush flushed Murray out of the pocket and he heaved a deep pass intended for Marvin Harrison Jr. into double coverage. Kinchens made the pick over the top.
L.A. went three and out on the ensuing possession. The Cardinals will get the ball back with two minutes on the clock and two timeouts.
Rams settle for another field goal late in fourth quarter
🏈 Rams 13, Cardinals 9 — 6:33 left in the fourth quarter
Joshua Karty kicked a 25-yard field goal to make it a four-point game after a 13-play, 60-yard Rams drive fizzled near the goal line.
Matthew Stafford tried to find Puka Nacua for a touchdown on third and goal, but Cardinals cornerback Max Melton knocked the pass away.
Nacua caught a 21-yard pass that moved the Rams into the red zone. He has 10 catches for 129 yards.
Stafford has completed 17 of 31 passes for 189 yards and Kyren Williams has 50 yards and a touchdown in 11 carries.
Cardinals field goal makes it a one-point game in fourth quarter
🏈 Rams 10, Cardinals 9 — 14:00 left in the fourth quarter
Chad Ryland kicked a 28-yard field goal for the Cardinals to make it a one-point game early in the fourth quarter.
The field goal came at the end of a 14-play, 80-yard drive that looked on track to reach the end zone until the Rams’ defense stopped Kyler Murray in the red zone. The drive included a 23-yard reception by Marvin Harrison Jr.
Murray has completed 27 of 38 passes for 258 yards and a touchdown.
Cardinals cut into Rams’ lead on Trey McBride TD catch
🏈 Rams 10, Cardinals 6 — 8:31 left in the third quarter
Kyler Murray tossed a one-yard touchdown pass to tight end Trey McBride, but Michael Hoecht blocked the extra-point attempt.
The Cardinals drove 68 yards in 13 plays for the touchdown.
Murray has completed 19 of 28 for 165 yards. He has rushed for 32 yards in four carries.
McBride has six catches for 68 yards.
Rams add field goal to lead Cardinals 10-0 at halftime
🏈 Rams 10, Cardinals 0 — HALFTIME
Joshua Karty kicked a 53-yard field goal to give the Rams a 10-point lead at the break.
Karty’s kick ended an eight-play, 42-yard drive.
Receiver Puka Nacua keyed the drive with receptions of 10, 25 and seven yards.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford has completed eight of 20 passes for 123 yards.
Nacua has six catches for 88 yards.
Braden Fiske has two sacks and Byron Young also has a sack.
Kyren Williams touchdown run gets Rams on scoreboard
🏈 Rams 7, Cardinals 0 — 3:23 left in the second quarter
Kyren Williams scored on a one-yard run to give the Rams the lead.
The Rams drove 60 yards in nine plays, with quarterback Matthew Stafford making several key plays.
Stafford’s 29-yard pass to Cooper Kupp started the drive. On a third down, Stafford hung in the pocket and absorbed a violent hit while delivering a 15-yard pass to Puka Nacua.
Stafford also had an 11-yard scramble to the five-yard line.
Three plays later, Williams scored.
Rams stop Cardinals on fourth down to keep it scoreless
🏈 Rams 0, Cardinals 0 — 11:04 left in the second quarter
The Rams defense came up big.
The Cardinals were driving, and had a fourth-and-one at the Rams 14-yard line after opting not to kick a field goal.
Rookie edge rusher Jared Verse stopped running back James Conner short of the first down, giving the Rams offense a chance to finally get going.
The Rams had three possessions in the first quarter and all ended with punts by Ethan Evans.
Home will feel like home again for Rams when Cardinals visit SoFi Stadium
It’s a short week of preparation for the Rams.
But coach Sean McVay, quarterback Matthew Stafford and the rest of the offense can take comfort knowing at least one thing can be eliminated as they get ready for Saturday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals at SoFi Stadium: practicing with a silent count.
Unlike fans of the San Francisco 49ers, Green Bay Packers, Las Vegas Raiders, Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills, Cardinals followers will not fill more than half of SoFi Stadium. Or even a discernible fraction.
Omar Speights proving to be a game-changer on fourth down
It’s becoming a trend.
When a Rams opponent goes for it on a fourth-and-short play, rookie linebacker Omar Speights steps up and makes a stop.
It happened again last Sunday when Speights stopped New York Jets running back Breece Hall short of a first down in the second quarter, giving the Rams the ball for a drive that resulted in a touchdown in their 19-9 victory.
Speights made a similar play in a Nov. 3 victory over the Seattle Seahawks.
“He’s a guy that when he’s able to kind of fit you up and put his face on you, he’s a knockback tackler,” defensive coordinator Chris Shula said. “He has great timing, great instincts in the box, and it’s kind of showed on some of those plays.”
The Rams signed Speights as an undrafted free agent after he played at Oregon State and Louisiana State. Since the start of the season, Speights has been a special teams mainstay. He moved into the lineup after Troy Reeder suffered a hamstring injury.
Speights said he honed his knockback style at Oregon State during an “open window” drill that required linebackers to shuffle through cones before “you knock back” a tackling bag held by a coach or teammate.
“Any time I practice, I always try to have that power,” he said. “I don’t really like when I make a tackle and somebody falls forward.”
Tyler Higbee focused on ‘playing football and winning games’
The attention was appreciated for a day, but now it’s time to move on.
That’s what Rams tight end Tyler Higbee said this week as he prepared for Saturday night’s game against the Arizona Cardinals at SoFi Stadium.
Last Sunday, in his first game since suffering a knee injury last January, Higbee scored the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter of a 19-9 victory over the New York Jets. The outpouring of emotion from teammates, coaches, staff and fans was overwhelming.
“Now it’s back to … playing football and winning games,” Higbee said.
Higbee’s 11-yard touchdown was his only catch against the Jets. He played 14 of 52 snaps.
Higbee’s role is expected to grow exponentially against the Cardinals, against whom the ninth-year pro has a history of success.
In a late-season game in 2019, Higbee caught seven passes for 107 yards and a touchdown. It was the first of four consecutive games in which he eclipsed 100 yards receiving.
But Higbee’s value goes beyond production, offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur said.
“There are things that happen between plays, between series that a lot of people don’t see, including coaches,” LaFleur said.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford witnesses it firsthand.
“He understands this offense — he knows it inside and out,” Stafford said. “He has been here for a long time, has been part of the changing and the morphing of it as well so he understands where he fits in.”
Rams offensive lineman Rob Havenstein will not play vs. Cardinals
Rams right tackle Rob Havenstein is inactive for Saturday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals because of a shoulder injury.
Coach Sean McVay said this week that if Havenstein could not play, veteran Joe Noteboom would start at right tackle.
The line’s continuity — Alaric Jackson at left tackle, Steve Avila at left guard, Beau Limmer at center, Kevin Dotson at right guard and Havenstein at right tackle — has been a large part of the Rams’ four-game winning streak.
Matthew Stafford has not been sacked in the last three games, and running back Kyren Williams has rushed for more than 100 yards in each of the last two.
Here are the players who will not be suiting up for the game:
Rams inactives: QB Stetson Bennett, WR Tyler Johnson, RB Cody Schrader, OL Dylan McMahon, OL Rob Havenstein
Cardinals inactives: S Jammie Robinson, S Joey Blount, RB Trey Benson, LB Milo Eifler, LB Benton Whitley, TE Travis Vokolek, WR Xavier Weaver
Q&A: Eric Dickerson on Saquon Barkley pursuing his record: ‘I don’t think he’ll break it’
The NFL single-season rushing record has stood for 40 years, far longer than Saquon Barkley has been on this planet.
But now, with two games to play, the Philadelphia Eagles running back is 268 yards from eclipsing the mark of Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson, who set the league record of 2,105 with the Rams in 1984.
Barkley, 27, who signed with the Eagles last offseason after spending the first part of his career with the rival New York Giants, is also 162 yards from becoming the ninth player to run for 2,000 yards in a season.
Matthew Stafford earning his ‘Mr. December’ nickname
Quarterback Matthew Stafford helped the Rams make the playoffs in two of his first three seasons with the team — and with another late-season run he has them on the verge of doing it again.
Since the Rams traded for Stafford in 2021, he is 12-1 in games in December.
Stafford can polish that mark on Saturday when the Rams play the Arizona Cardinals at Sofi Stadium. With a victory, the Rams can clinch the NFC West title.
“Hopefully,” coach Sean McVay said, “we’ll keep calling him Mr. December.”
Stafford, a 16th-year pro, is 28-25 in December games, according to Profootballreference.com. Stafford, 36, played most of those games during 12 seasons with the Detroit Lions.
But he has been nearly perfect in his three-plus seasons with the Rams.
“He understands what it takes, especially in that month when that’s such a critical time for you to be able to try and peak at the right time,” McVay said.
In 2021, the season the Rams won Super Bowl LVI, Stafford led the Rams to December victories over the Jacksonville Jaguars, Cardinals, Seahawks and Minnesota Vikings.
In 2022, Stafford was sidelined for the final seven games because of a spinal bruise.
In 2023, Stafford led the Rams to a December victory over the Cleveland Browns before the Baltimore Ravens defeated the Rams. He finished the month with victories over the Washington Commanders, New Orleans Saints and New York Giants.
This season, the Rams have won December games against the Saints, Buffalo Bills, San Francisco 49ers and the New York Jets.
“It’s nice to be on a little bit of a run right now,” Stafford said.
Receiver Cooper Kupp joked that Stafford’s years living in the cold climes of Detroit “weathered” the quarterback in a positive way.
Others also have contributed to the December success when Stafford is under center.
“We’ve done a good job over the last few years of finding ways to win in these meaningful times,” Kupp said, adding, “That a nod to the coaches, the guys that we’ve had here, the culture that guys have built here, the process of continuing to grow and continuing to get better and knowing that the beginning of the season is not who you’re going to be at the end.”
Rams have revenge, NFC West title in mind for Cardinals game Saturday
It seems like ages ago. Week 2 of the NFL season was in September but for the Rams, the memory remains fresh.
A 41-10 rout by the Arizona Cardinals made it so.
“An ass whuppin’,” defensive lineman Bobby Brown III said this week.
“Embarrassing,” defensive coordinator Chris Shula said.
In all phases.
Rams vs. Arizona Cardinals: How to watch, prediction and betting odds
The Rams, riding a four-game winning streak, could be positioned to clinch the NFC West if they beat a Cardinals team that routed them 41-10 in Week 2.
The Rams are coming off a 19-9 victory over the New York Jets, a win highlighted by the return of veteran tight end Tyler Higbee, who scored the go-ahead touchdown on a pass from Matthew Stafford. He has passed for 20 touchdowns, with eight interceptions, this season. Since he was traded to the Rams in 2021, the 16-year pro has a 13-1 record in December games.
Receiver Puka Nacua did not play and receiver Cooper Kupp suffered an ankle injury in the first game against the Cardinals. Both are back to full strength. Running back Kyren Williams has rushed for 1,243 yards and 13 touchdowns. Williams also has two touchdown catches. Against the Jets, Williams rushed for a season-best 122 yards and touchdown in 23 carries, the second time in as many games he eclipsed 100 yards rushing. The offensive line has cleared the way for Williams and has not given up a sack in three games. Right tackle Rob Havenstein suffered a shoulder injury in practice this week and is listed as questionable. If Havenstein cannot play, veteran Joe Noteboom will start at right tackle, coach Sean McVay said.