INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — The Arizona Cardinals had been through a month of drama and disappointment since they opened their season with a surprising victory at SoFi Stadium.
When the Cards returned to the home of the next Super Bowl on Sunday with a four-game losing streak and a badly struggling defense, almost nobody expected them to leave with another upset win — particularly if they couldn't even score a touchdown.
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Instead, Arizona demonstrated enough grit and guile to pull off one of the NFL's more shocking results of the young season.
Chad Ryland kicked his sixth field goal, a 43-yarder as time expired, to complete the Cardinals' rally for a 18-16 victory over the foundering Los Angeles Rams.
Jacoby Brissett passed for 218 yards to balance the Cardinals' superb defensive effort after yielding 148 points in its past four games. New Cards coach Mike LaFleur won his first meeting with former boss Sean McVay and earned Arizona's second win this season at SoFi, where it also beat the Chargers in Week 1.
“These guys are a resilient group,” said LaFleur, McVay's offensive coordinator for the previous three seasons. “We’re learning how to play 60 minutes, and we hadn’t done that yet. Some people might disagree with me, but there’s been times when we looked like a really good football team. We’ve got to finish better in the red zone, stuff like that, but I’m happy for these guys. They put in a lot of work, they heard a lot of (stuff), and they just went to it.”
Punter Ethan Evans kicked a go-ahead extra point after Colby Parkinson caught a touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford with 47 seconds to play for the vaunted Rams (2-4), whose NFL-leading offense struggled all day before mounting that desperate final drive.
But the Cardinals immediately moved 36 yards into field goal range on Jalen Brooks' long reception and an unnecessary roughness penalty on Josh Wallace. Three snaps later, Ryland buried his final kick to seal the upset for Arizona (2-4), a double-digit underdog after four straight losses by a combined 66 points.
“This locker room, it’s been unbelievable, because we know how hard we work,” Brooks said. “We know hard we train, and we block out the noise. Essentially, we know what people are saying about us, but we know how good of a team we are.”
Matthew Stafford passed for 222 yards and two scores for the preseason Super Bowl favorite Rams, who are in complete disarray after three losses in their last four games, including this setback at home to a rebuilding team McVay that had beaten 16 times in 19 meetings.
Los Angeles still rallied, and Evans even came through with his first career placekick after new Rams kicker Blake Grupe injured his knee making a tackle in the first quarter — but Ryland and the Cardinals cashed in their final chance.
“There were some gutsy individual efforts that I am appreciative of, but collectively, even if we had come away with the result, it’s not good enough,” McVay said. “There’s just so many things that aren’t in alignment with what we need to be able to do. We've got to figure it out, and it starts with me.”
Stafford hit Blake Corum for an early touchdown for the Rams, who came in leading the NFL in total offense. Although being forced to play without a kicking game didn’t help, the Rams struggled to move the ball all day, and they turned it over twice in Cardinals territory in the fourth quarter.
Arizona’s defense had been one of the NFL’s worst this season until it held McVay, Stafford and their talented unit to 286 yards. All-Pro receiver Puka Nacua had half of his six receptions on that final drive.
After Ryland's fifth field goal, Cody Simon forced a fumble by Rams tight end Tyler Higbee deep in Cards territory with 7:47 to play. Los Angeles' defense quickly got the ball back, but Arizona stopped the Rams on downs.
The Rams got one last chance from their 15 with 2:48 to play, and Stafford stepped up in the pocket to find Nacua for a rambling 42-yard gain.
Parkinson was awarded a touchdown upon video review after initially being ruled down at the 1 — and 29 extra seconds put back on the clock came back to haunt Los Angeles.
“Thank God he did score,” LaFleur said.
With Rams left tackle Alaric Jackson suspended, backup David Quessenberry and the left side of LA’s line were repeatedly targeted by the Cardinals, with the 38-year-old Stafford taking several big hits.
Grupe hit a 44-yard field goal in the first quarter, but the newcomer injured his knee when he was forced to make a downfield tackle on the ensuing kickoff in the Rams’ latest special teams nightmare.
Cardinals: DT Walter Nolen III injured his ankle in the second half. Rookie RB Jeremiyah Love (ankle) did not play.
Rams: WR Davante Adams hobbled to the sideline favoring his left knee after LA's penultimate offensive play. McVay gave no postgame update on the six-time Pro Bowl selection's apparent noncontact injury. ... Played without star CB Trent McDuffie (groin).
Cardinals: Host Denver next Sunday.
Rams: At Las Vegas next Sunday.
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