Getty ImagesThe Arizona Cardinals are no longer among the ranks of the undefeated.
Arizona’s offense couldn’t do much of anything on Thursday night in St. Louis, stalling repeatedly on the ground and through the air as the Rams won 17-3. Their first loss of the season drops the Cardinals to 4-1, while the Rams improve to 3-2, already topping their win total from their 2-14 season in 2011 and having their first winning record at any point during any season since Week Eight of 2006.
The Rams’ pass rush was ferocious, pressuring Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb all night, sacking him nine times and keeping him from ever getting comfortable in the pocket. Although Kolb’s numbers — 28-of-50 for 289 yards, with no interceptions — don’t look terrible, he couldn’t do much of anything except dump off short passes.
On offense, the Rams struggled mightily after their best receiver, Danny Amendola, went down with a broken collarbone. But with their defense dominating the Rams didn’t need much, and when Rams quarterback Sam Bradford hit Chris Givens for a 51-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, it pretty much sealed the game. Bradford completed just seven of his 21 passes, but three of those completions were a 44-yard bomb to Amendola, a seven-yard touchdown to Lance Kendricks and that 51-yard touchdown to Givens. That turned out to be all the Rams needed from their quarterback.
After surprising everyone by starting 4-0, the Cardinals looked more like the team everyone expected them to be on Thursday night. The Cardinals may still turn out to be a good team, but they’re not going to win many games putting three points on the board.
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Last time the Rams had a winning record the iPhone didn’t exist.
Giving up 16 sacks in 2 games…welcome back to reality, Arizona.
The Cards will rebound…
Maybe next game Arizona will allow 10 sacks.
I gotta be honest, that was some of the worst offensive line play I’ve ever seen.
Felt bad for Kolb, he was getting absolutely destroyed.
Robert Quinn is going to be a sack monster in this league.
Scary thing is he doesn’t know how good he can be.
with an o line like that…im surprised they went undefeated through the first 4 games…now they have ryan williams hurt…cards never really had a running game going…it was all about their defense and special team…seems like the NFC West is still up for grabs for now….let’s see how this all ends up midseason.
What an awful game!!!
where is the headline of Bradford and amendola shouting at each other over a missed route early in the game? you mean it is ok for quarterbacks and receivers to yell at each other without outrage as long as the qb is not Jay Cutler? yea there is nothing personal in the coverage of Cutler is there?
It’s one loss…only one team has ever gone undefeated…the Cards are a good team and the extra time off will help…4-1 folks…not too bad.
Rams r starting to jell….with waiver wire wonder offensive line. Brockers will catchup to speed soon…..NFC WEST force. Great job D !
niners816 says: Oct 4, 2012 11:44 PM
Giving up 16 sacks in 2 games…welcome back to reality, Arizona.
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Every Cards fan knew our offensive line blew; it was only a matter of time. Personally, I was hoping the time would be after week 8…
49ers, 2012 NFC West Champs!
Cards are frauds, no surprise there. They were torn up by Miami’s offense for +500 yds. “Undefeated” means so little at 4-0, doesn’t it?
One of the most fraudulent 4-0 teams in recent history. 2012 version of the 2011 Bills.
Still buying that Kolb stock, are you, suckers?
Kolb and Skelton are the Batman and Robin of bad quarterbacking.
The Cards are who we thought they were.
As a Ram’s fan..great win but I have to give credit to Kolb and feel bad for him. NO qb could survive that horrible O-line
Good pick Mr. Glorious
50 pass attempts for a total of 3 points????
Come on, “Whiz”. That was an incredibly annoying television viewing experience.
Arizona got exposed!
Way to go St. Louis, you brought down the two supposedly more dominant teams in the NFC West.
Can’t wait to hear the Cardinal fans on Tuesday after the look at the Power Rankings.
Winning games by 3 points or less, relying on the other team missing field goals or throwing interceptions, is not a sustainable trend.
Cardinals need to address their terrible O-line if they expect to do anything in the playoffs this year.
The Cards need better pass protection if they want to rebound. There worse this season than last season!
Why do you think Kurt Warner did not want to play another year? Look at O-Line?
The Cardinals can’t consistently win in today’s NFL with a bad quarterback and the NFL’s worst offensive line.
They’re still a good team but it’s just a matter of time before their entire offense catches up to them, their defense is super bowl caliber though so there’s that.
How in the hell did both those teams beat Seattle?? Wow… That cardinal o line is about as bad as it gets!!! Pathetic!!! Big props to Jeff Fisher and the rams for a great effort tonight!! Thats a young team that seems to be getting a ton better!!! And as for Arizona, looks like the clock is striking midnight princess and this FAIRYTALE is OVER!!!!
In the bottom half of the division…welcome back to reality Niners.
Just like I said last week, not buying.
They are who we thought they were.
Dont feel too bad arizona fans other fraud teams will be exposed soon too
So much for the Arizona being ‘undefeated’ ..what a performance …against the rams….the Niners rule the west !!
The Cards and coming back to Earth now. Still a good team, just not a playoff one.
Thats the Kevin Kolb I Know and remember!!!
OMG…I thought Chicago had a BAD O-Line, Arizona’s makes Chicago’s look like a pro-bowl line.
Kevin Kolb = Alex Smith 2.0 if the D/ST doesn’t manufacture points he’s sunk.
“Steven Jackson wont be a factor.” – some ignorant cards fan.
Hahahaha.
As a 49er fan, I’m actually looking forward to playing the other NFC West teams. I think the Niners will come out ahead, but they’re going to be tough games.
Jags fan here -
Props to Kevin Kolb. Someone get that guy a beer ASAP.
Ugh-ly game…
I hate Thursday night games. Players are tired, make mistakes, get hurt. Teams are under prepared.
Get rid of them. Not needed.
See ya in St. Louie, Plaxico.
“The Cards will rebound…”
Totally. Don’t they have a game against the Rams coming up? The Rams are always a good team to rebound against.
That’s the worst offensive line I’ve seen in ages. SF fans don’t need to get too happy, they are going back to “reality” along with them after the so-called “upset” that Buffalo is going to hand them.
I developed a Ton of respect for Kolb tonight!
He is young, he had played in less than 20 starts which makes him just above a rookie! He has a great arm, and when he has time, he is very accurate! I totally disagree that he was holding the ball to long on the majority of the plays! The WR’s did not have separation early, then he was smothered , but hung in there. You give him time, and he will be a good QB!
As a Vikings fan, I give Kudos to Kolb, they gotta fix that Line, that’s quite unacceptable!
Hahahaha…..as predicted! Go 9ers!
Dat Gregg Williams coached D
2012 Cardinals, meet 2011 Bills.
Bradford isn’t a very good QB. Like at all.
Suddenly the nfc east isnt so weak…
NFC West brainfart
9 sacks in one game! Is that a game record for this season so far??
1-Niners
2-Rams
3-Cardinals
4-Seahawks
I see the future return of the Niners/Rams rivalry in a big way with Harbaugh and Fisher at the helms!
Perhaps…if they start playing basketball.
Time for Jeff Fischer to call Plaxico/TO.
Losing to the Vikings. Welcome back to reality San Fran.
Barely beat the dolphins last week. Man-handled by the Rams. Cards are middle of the pack team at best.
Kolb has a weak arm, has to get the ball out quickly to be effective and Cardinals have no run game. Defensive coordinators are going to blitz the hell out of him. He’s not a starter and won’t last the season.
It’s so easy for teams to start out fast and burn out.
Rams need to draft two No. 1 receivers and a couple of Offensive linemen with all of those picks they received from the Redskins. Amendola is not a No. 1
How the hell did they get to 4-0?!? They have absolutely no running game!
I lost all respect for Fitzgerald when he ran out of bounds with no contact. He could have gained more yardage had he turned it up or in. It was lame. I don’t often get to see him play and couldn’t believe what he did, my 13 yr old son said his teamates would be benched for giving up on a play as blantently as that. I have seen a few other receivers do that in the past but never a player of his caliber. SAD.
Cards defense is for real but there o line is terrible.
Rams front four is really good.
Seattles secondary is good.
All three of these teams are improving but all three of them are still a ways off of competing with the 49ers.
I got new respect for Kevin Kolb.
They are who we thought they were. Wait… They are who the Bears thought they were. No… They are who Dennis Green thought they were. Screw it… They still suck.
They are who we thought they were!!
Not as many cards fans around as there was 12 hours ago? Where did everybody go? Cardinals fans?…Hello?!?!?!
I remember a year ago, when it looked like the Rams were about to turn things around. They had some bad luck early on and then it snowballed on them.
Jeff Fisher walked into a good situation there, IMO, and he’s exactly what they need.
The real cardinals have just showed up. They were a fraud 4-0 team
I could see these Rams divisional victories coming a mile away, unfortunately I can also see them getting caught in Miami next week if they arent careful.
Great physical win for the Rams though. Kudos to Jeff Fisher for getting this squad turned around.
You’ve gotta protect the QB. That is where this game was lost.
… and the wheels finally come off the Arizona Cardinals Smoke and Mirrors Express…
One of the things I can’t stand about criticism of quarterbacks. Kevin Kolb did not have any time to drop back and make his reads as Chris Long and Robert Quinn were in his face. Arizona has never valued offensive lineman, and in the state of the NFL being all about passing, and stopping the pass, you need a solid o-line. It’s comical to see how quickly people fell off the bandwagon at the networks after one loss. AZ is a solid team that has a good core, but, the o-line could be a huge issue considering how many teams have elite rushers.
Cards lost a tough one. Still 4-1, they’ll rebound
The Dolphins should have beaten them last week too. Nothing changed this week with all the sacks on Kolb. Not surprised at all they got beat. Kolb was beat up all night long. If Carpenter had made a field goal, which he is unable to do right now, Dolphins would have won too.
Looks like spending 3 first round picks on the d-line paid off after all! Fisher has this team playing their tails’ off, that’s the difference this year.
Was the great start a fluke? I bet not, they had one bad day.
niners816 says:
Oct 4, 2012 11:44 PM
Giving up 16 sacks in 2 games…welcome back to reality, Arizona.
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9 sacks, as Robert Quinn had a sack fumble on their final drive
I am not a Rams fan so just an obserservation….
If you haven’t watched Chris Long play then you haven’t seen a D-Lineman put it all on the line and play every down like it is the last one of his life. Sports would be a lot more fun to watch if every player on the field put forth the effort and sacrifice that this kid does. He is disruptive, fast, fit, tough, and smart. Baller!
Betcha the Rams win the division.
theroostercrowsloud says:
Oct 5, 2012 9:36 AM
I am not a Rams fan so just an obserservation….
If you haven’t watched Chris Long play then you haven’t seen a D-Lineman put it all on the line and play every down like it is the last one of his life. Sports would be a lot more fun to watch if every player on the field put forth the effort and sacrifice that this kid does. He is disruptive, fast, fit, tough, and smart. Baller!
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He really is, what a kid and what a player.
He’s not in the same class as his dad, but he’s a damn good player.
theroostercrowsloud says:
Oct 5, 2012 9:36 AM
I am not a Rams fan so just an obserservation….
If you haven’t watched Chris Long play then you haven’t seen a D-Lineman put it all on the line and play every down like it is the last one of his life. Sports would be a lot more fun to watch if every player on the field put forth the effort and sacrifice that this kid does. He is disruptive, fast, fit, tough, and smart. Baller!
***************************************************
He really is, what a kid and what a player.
He’s not in the same class as his dad, but he’s a damn good player.
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Just to point it out to you, Howie Long only had 10+ sacks in three seasons while playing in 13 seasons. Chris Long has seen his sack total increase every year since being drafted in 2008. Chris will surpass his Dad in the sack category I will guarantee that.
Perhaps the Cards could trade for Jamarcus Webb? Seriously, as a Bears fan, I feel your pain, Card-fans.
The game had me wondering though: “Was this the same Rams team that the Bears soundly spanked a couple weeks ago?” Rams D looked elfin TOUGH in that game. Are the Cards that bad? Or did the Rams wake up?
Webb actually looked halfway decent Monday night ha.
Just to point it out to you, Howie Long only had 10+ sacks in three seasons while playing in 13 seasons. Chris Long has seen his sack total increase every year since being drafted in 2008. Chris will surpass his Dad in the sack category I will guarantee that.
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Different style of football. I grew up in that era. The Raiders, like most of the league, played a 3-4. Bill Pickel was the man on those teams — freeing up Long to run loose on the outside.
The only defensive ends who racked up sacks were guys like Reggie White, who played in a base 4-3.
That’s if you’re going to fairly assess the way the Howie Raiders played defense and how the Chris Rams play (with a burgeoning stud opposite him, commanding double teams).