AdamSchefter@AdamSchefter
NFL is replacing the Pro Bowl with a multi-day skills competition and flag football game that will be played in Las Vegas the Sunday before the Super Bowl

Terrific rep from Rams OLB Terrell Lewis (#52)–discipline + athleticism on display in containing and pursuing Murray. Lewis hasn't been healthy for a full season but he's been excellent so far this year. pic.twitter.com/gaFgqAqvct

— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) September 26, 2022

To make “I’m a Cop,” I spent over two years reading every statement I could find from U.S. police union leaders–reading transcripts of press conferences, Twitter accounts, and Facebook posts. Here’s some of what I found. A 🧵. pic.twitter.com/qNiEnbJ2yl

— Johnny Damm (@dammjohnny) September 25, 2022

WE HAVE THE FIRST EVER ‘BUTT PUNT’ pic.twitter.com/1183HbEqpt

— NFL Memes (@NFL_Memes) September 25, 2022

Matthew Stafford completed 10 of 11 passes on play action for 168 yards in the Rams 20-12 victory over the Cardinals.

Stafford's 46.2% play action rate was his highest in a game over the last seven seasons.#LARvsAZ | #RamsHouse pic.twitter.com/uRzGo4Xd5z

— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) September 25, 2022

Same old song, deja vu, pick your theme. That's the story of the Cardinals' first three games of the season. Here's my story and remember to use promo code HOWARD when subscribing: https://t.co/T09Gc2KE8B

— Howard Balzer (@HBalzer721) September 26, 2022

Inside Rams’ ‘strange’ win at Arizona, and what they can build with it

By Jourdan Rodrigue

https://theathletic.com/3628662/2022/09/26/rams-win-week-3-cardinals/

PHOENIX — Last week, it was cornerback Jalen Ramsey who shook a few cobwebs out of his system with a game-sealing interception not just to stave off a resilient Falcons team, but also a mess of self-inflicted Los Angeles Rams mistakes.

This week, it was a vintage Matthew Stafford play that rattled out some of the fog that had seeped into the Rams’ offense in the middle quarters of an unnerving 20-12 win at Arizona. Between a mess of injuries and, as much as they didn’t want to admit it, some evident new-season rust, both were plays the Rams needed badly in flat-out weird games.

After building an early lead Sunday, the Rams’ offense stalled, going three-and-out on three consecutive drives between the second and third quarters.

But late in the third quarter on a crucial third down, Stafford spun away from a pass rusher who had one arm around his shoulder, and side-armed a dart of a throw to receiver Cooper Kupp for the first-down conversion.

“I thought that was the play of the game,” Rams coach Sean McVay said. “They ended up having a delayed add-on (rusher) right there and he’s free off that left side. He did a great job. To be able to spin out, keep his eyes downfield, change his arm slot and hit Cooper right over the middle for 11 on a third-and-10 was big. We had to have that.”

The Rams revived their run game on that same drive behind running back Cam Akers, who had two 14-yard carries (including the Rams’ final touchdown; more on Akers in a moment). The touchdown put away a Cardinals team that had been creeping back in slow drips, one field goal at a time, with 4:10 left in the third quarter. Overall, Stafford was 18 of 25 with 249 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions.

“I think, over the last two weeks, you’ve really seen some examples of ‘good’, and then ‘how do we continue to establish and finish through all four quarters,’” said McVay. “We’ve got to score more than 20 points, obviously … we’ve got to be able to finish those drives. We’re capable of it, and I believe that we will moving forward.”

On the other side of the ball, the Rams’ defense held firm through the gray. Even when the quarterback Kyler Murray and the Cardinals’ offense started moving the ball in the second half, the defense (between the pressure they got and the perimeter/explosive contain they played) forced Murray to pick away at them in small pieces. The Cardinals had 26 net yards of offense at the end of the first quarter, but even a 19-play, 65-yard drive that shaved 9:30 off the clock in the second quarter ended in an Arizona field goal, and they didn’t score a touchdown throughout.

The Rams know what Murray, ultra-quick as a runner with an arm that can do just about anything out of structure, is capable of and they watched him take over the end of the Cardinals’ Week 2 win at Las Vegas with his legs. Instead of creeping closer to the line of scrimmage, they stuck to a specific plan dependent on their multi-score lead: Keep the ball, and Murray (2 carries for 8 yards), in front of them and encourage him to throw short and in-bounds, especially late in the fourth quarter in order to kill the clock — or slide down in-bounds, which Murray did on his final drive and which took about 40 seconds off the clock. The Cardinals converted 4 of 5 fourth-down attempts throughout the game, but on their final drive settled for a field goal from the Rams’ 13-yard line when down 11 points, with 1:10 left in the game.

“They made those conversions but we were able to keep the ball in front of us and that was key and critical to be able to close out the win,” said McVay of his defense that only allowed two plays of more than 14 yards.

“That’s just knowing the game of football, and being savvy,” said Ramsey. “We played very conservative, but if they were going to keep going short and letting us tackle in-bounds, we’re good with that.”

The Rams are 2-1 and have notched their first NFC West win — “a strange game”, as McVay referred to it. Welcome to The Pile. Let’s start poking around.

The tale of two touchdowns

The Rams scored two touchdowns Sunday, and they were the same. Except they were different.

Let me explain: The first, a Kupp 20-yard carry on a misdirection sweep, came out of a pre-snap alignment the Rams rolled out for the first time in Week 2. They lined up second-year receiver Ben Skowronek at fullback in the I-formation 19 times against Atlanta, during which their EPA per play increased to 0.23 from 0.13 according to TruMedia (a significant uptick). They largely ran the ball out of that formation.

Against Arizona, the Rams used Skowronek in the I-formation again, with an identical look pre-snap. But instead of handing the ball to a running back, Stafford flipped it to an in-motion Kupp for the sweep around the left side. Allen Robinson assisted in clearing space inside the 10-yard line, and per Next Gen Stats, Kupp hit 20.45 miles per hour on the carry. That first touchdown was in the first quarter.

On their second and final touchdown in the second quarter, the Rams did all of that again (including sending Kupp on a fake route/at-snap motion to the right side this time), but handed off to Akers. He ran up the left side, behind a major hole opened for him by Skowronek — who blocked linebacker Zaven Collins to help grade the road.

“This guy’s a maniac,” said McVay of Skowronek. “You love what he does for our football team.”

The Rams have gotten creative with their personnel usage in the passing game over the past couple of weeks, including with Skowronek at fullback and double-backfield looks featuring a receiver and a running back, with the receiver going in motion or on a sweep, or running a route. In part, it has been due to necessity. Not only are teams trying to keep extra defensive backs on the field against them at all times (and in Sunday’s case, the misdirection appeared to help move the nickel player), the Rams are also without No. 3 receiver Van Jefferson, an every-down player who also stretched the field for them. Jefferson went on injured reserve this week, so must miss the next four games at minimum.

“I think we’re just continuing to learn our identity,” McVay said. “It’s really figuring out how to best utilize a lot of moving parts that is different from what we’ve had in years past. That’s part of our job as coaches.”

Jalen Ramsey’s huge day (in yellow socks)

Minus several starters and depth players in their secondary Sunday, the Rams needed Ramsey to set the tone for the defensive backfield early and he did in a big way.

Ramsey had two pass breakups, both on third down, eight tackles (including one for a loss), and a couple of pressures on Murray out of the “star” position. Ramsey’s first pass breakup was against Cardinals receiver A.J. Green on the outside, and his second was on a diagnosed and matched route on the inside.

“It didn’t mean anything for me, personally,” Ramsey told me postgame. “I’m doing it for the team.”

Before the game, he said, he and the Rams’ core defensive leaders met briefly and asked each other, “Which one of us is it going to be? Which one of us is it going to be? Somebody has to pop it off, (set the tone), somebody’s got to make the plays. Let’s do it.”

Ramsey said that he especially took pride in how prepared some of the young defensive backs were for their opportunity, after a week in which starting cornerbacks Troy Hill and David Long, rotational cornerback Cobie Durant and safety Jordan Fuller all were inactive due to injury (Hill went on what is likely to be short-term injured reserve). Derion Kendrick (a rookie late-round pick) and Grant Haley (a practice squad player signed to the active roster over the weekend) both took on a substantial role in place of Hill/Long and Durant and both made their first start for the Rams. Defensive backs coaches Jonathan Cooley and Chris Shula did commendable work in getting the less experienced players ready for action, but Ramsey’s involvement in their development in training camp and through the week of practice stood out, too.

“It means a lot, just because … I take a lot of pride in that, being able to pour into these guys and give them as much knowledge and confidence as I can,” he said. “So they can just go and play lights-out, hair on fire, knowing that I got their back.”

Ramsey has been wearing yellow socks in practice and wore them in the game Sunday, though the league is known to fine players for uniform changes and the rest of his teammates were in blue pants and blue socks.

“I just think it looks good,” he said, laughing. “I just try to practice like I play, even my swag. Honestly, I saw USC wearing them. They wear yellow pants. I saw USC wearing them, I think after Week 1, the yellow pants with the yellow tights and I was like, ‘I’ll try to get some.’ I got them from USC, I know their DB coach a little bit. I went up there on our off day two Tuesdays ago. So now we’re gonna order some.”

Earning it

Two under-the-radar players showed up in a big way for the Rams on Sunday.

Defensive lineman Michael Hoecht blocked a Cardinals punt on the game’s opening series, and the Rams recovered it (the following drive resulted in a field goal). Hoecht got a game ball and was a tone-setter for a special teams unit that needed redemption after a disastrous blocked punt of its own in Week 2.

“We all kind of had it on our minds after last week,” Hoecht told me after the game. “I think we’ve got a tough group out there. If last week doesn’t go necessarily the way we wanted it to, we can make plays this week and just keep swinging at it.”

Haley became the Rams’ next-man-up at outside cornerback and in the slot, an important role usually occupied by Hill that works in tandem to unlock Ramsey’s own. If another player can’t hold down the outside corner spot without substituting when Ramsey moves to the “star” — and that player can’t also play the “star” — then it changes their entire defensive plan. Haley got work in both areas for the first time in a live game, and had five tackles (including a couple of impressive diagnoses of run plays while in the slot).

“For me, it’s been an up and down journey,” Haley said, “and I don’t take anything for granted. … Every single week I kind of put it in my head that if something happens, I want to stay ready.”

Bottom of The Pile

• Rams star defensive tackle Aaron Donald became the fastest at his position to reach 100 sacks with a first-quarter takedown of Murray.

“I was just playing, honestly, just playing,” said Donald. “Didn’t think nothing of it. But obviously, it’s a blessing to accomplish something like that. Just, in the moment, (I’m) just playing the game and trying to help my team win.”

• Rams tight end Tyler Higbee was as dependable as it gets Sunday. He caught four passes for 61 yards (including a few of his signature catch-and-rumbles off of screen plays) and recovered the Cardinals’ onside kick to seal the game.

• Kendrick suffered a concussion late in the game and is in the protocol, according to the team. It is not medically appropriate to make assumptions about head injuries, but as a background note, Kendrick was in the locker room after the game and in good spirits with teammates. He had a crucial fourth-down pass breakup late in the game and led the Rams in tackles with nine.

Right tackle Rob Havenstein also suffered a leg injury in the second half, but he was able to return after a series.

• Penalties killed the Rams on multiple drives, and a couple led to baffling timeouts. They had six penalties for 35 yards, including two on third down (a delay of game and a false start), after both of which McVay called a timeout. The Rams did have one timeout left by the end of the game.

• The Rams are getting a lot of receivers worked into their offense in creative ways, especially if they can do multiple things and align in several different spots. Skowronek, for example, played fullback but also led the team in receiving yards with 66 yards on four catches. Receiver and kick returner Brandon Powell took handoffs, was a decoy on motions and sweeps and caught three passes for 27 yards.

The variety made it all the more noticeable that second-year, second-round pick Tutu Atwell again didn’t get very many snaps, and had just one target — on a deep ball in which Atwell and Stafford weren’t anywhere close to being on the same page (Atwell did get behind the top shelf of the defense). Atwell substituted back out after the play.

• It’s both a good thing, and a bad thing, that Akers looked like his old self on the field Sunday. Akers really got going in the second half with a few hard runs, including back-to-back carries of 14 and 6 yards (Kupp was the lead-blocker on the latter), and a 14-yard touchdown run. Akers finished with 12 carries for 61 yards and the touchdown.

But Akers also fumbled the ball on the goal line late in the fourth quarter, and the Cardinals recovered. Akers has had issues with fumbles, including multiple giveaways in the postseason in 2021. It appeared that Akers tried to stretch for the end zone on the play, but Cardinals safety Budda Baker was able to punch it out.

“I just got greedy,” said Akers in the locker room postgame, “tried to stick the ball out.” McVay came up to Akers on the sideline after the play and told him “I’m coming right back to you, and have all the confidence in the world. Let’s learn from it.”

• Tight end Kendall Blanton was re-signed to the Rams’ roster this week off the Kansas City practice squad, after No. 2 tight end Brycen Hopkins was suspended by the NFL for violating its abuse of substance policy. Blanton, who was cut this summer after he spent the 2021 season with the Rams and emerged as a friendly target in the postseason, caught a pass for 28 yards in his first game back.

• Outside linebacker Takk McKinley, another new addition to the Rams’ roster, got a few snaps in the third and fourth quarters.

The flag was thrown for a facemask and then picked up after the refs had a discussion. Not sure how, it’s pretty clear. pic.twitter.com/m5VVL8XuLv

— 𝕋𝕠𝕞 (@TL_LARams) September 25, 2022

Cardinals vs. Rams score, takeaways: Defense spearheads Los Angeles to road victory in Arizona
The Rams didn’t allow a touchdown while improving to 2-1

Bryan DeArdo

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/cardinals-vs-rams-score-takeaways-defense-spearheads-los-angeles-to-road-victory-in-arizona/live/

After a so-so first two games, the Rams put together their best game of the young season during Sunday’s 20-12 win over the Cardinals. Los Angeles enjoyed an efficient offensive performance while leaning on a defense that did not allow the Cardinals to cross the end zone.

The Rams are now 2-1 on the season after dropping their season opener to Buffalo. The Cardinals fell to 1-2 following last Sunday’s thrilling comeback win against the Raiders.

The visiting Rams took control of the game after taking a 20-9 lead on Cam Akers’ 14-yard touchdown run with over a minute left in the third quarter. The Rams were on the doorstep of icing the game midway through the fourth quarter before Budda Baker forced a fumble of Akers just inches away from the goal line. The Cardinals drove down the field but had to settle for Matt Prater’s fourth field goal of the game with 1:07 left. Arizona’s hopes of a win were extinguished after Los Angeles recovered the ensuing onside kick.

The Rams jumped out to a 13-0 lead on Matt Gay’s two field goals and Cooper Kupp’s 20-yard touchdown run with four minutes left in the first quarter. After punting on their first four drives, the Cardinals put together a 19-play drive on their fifth possession. The long drive had a disappointing finish, however, as the Rams defense were able to hold the Cardinals to a field goal in what was a foreshadowing of things to come.

Arizona trimmed its lead to 13-9 before Kyler Murray misfired on a fourth-down pass to Marquise Brown with 11:35 left. The Rams scored on their ensuing drive on Akers’ touchdown run.

The Rams’ win came with some history, as Aaron Donald became the fastest defensive tackle in NFL history to reach 100 career sacks.

Here’s a closer look at what went down in the desert.

Why the Rams won

The Los Angeles defense did not allow a touchdown while holding Arizona to 0 of 2 in the red zone. The Rams were especially tough against the run, as they held the Cardinals to just 70 yards on 21 carries.

The Rams offense enjoyed a solid performance from Matthew Stafford, who was sacked just once while going 18 of 25 for 249 yards. With Kupp drawing most of the attention, Stafford had success getting the ball to Ben Skowronek and Tyler Higbee, who combined to catch eight passes for 127 yards. His fumble notwithstanding, Akers made several key runs and finished the game with 61 yards on 12 carries.

Why the Cardinals lost

Murray and the Cardinals offense failed to score a touchdown. While he threw for 314 yards, Murray had several throws he surely wishes he had back from Sunday, including his incomplete pass to Brown on fourth-and-4 from the Rams’ 26-yard line with 11:35 left and the Cardinals trailing by 11 points.

Turning point

The Cardinals trimmed their deficit to 13-9 with 5:10 left in the third down. Their defense, while solid for most of the game, was unable to stop the Rams offense on their ensuing drive. The big play was an 11-yard completion from Stafford to Kupp on third-and-11 on the Rams’ 24-yard line. Stafford hit Higbee for a 26-yard gain on the next play, followed by Akers’ four consecutive carries for 39 yards that included his touchdown run.

Play of the game

Akers’ touchdown put the game away while showcasing the Rams’ ever-improving rushing attack. Akers’ run was impressive, but so was Skowronek’s key block that helped Akers on his way to the end zone.

Quotable

“It’s a blessing. Any time you the body of work in, things come into fruition and you accomplish great things, you’re going to be proud of it. But my job is just to go out there, play ball and try to help my team win through slide protection, double teams, triple teams, trying to be consistent and try to help my team win.” — Donald to Fox Sports on becoming the fastest defensive tackle in NFL history to reach 100 sacks

What’s next

The Rams will travel to San Francisco to take on the 49ers, the team they defeated in last year’s NFC title game. Arizona will head to Carolina to face a Panthers team that picked up its first win of the year after upsetting visiting New Orleans on Sunday.

The Rams are now 11-1 vs. the Cardinals and McVay has never lost in Arizona. @LauraOkmin is with @AaronDonald97 following the @RamsNFL Week 3 win against the Cardinals. pic.twitter.com/reOyuJkgr9

— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) September 25, 2022

BIG PLAY BY DK!

🙅‍♂️ @_rayshawnnn_ | 📺 @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/D6A0cbeYV3

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) September 25, 2022

Here are 6 immediate takeaways from the Rams’ 20-12 win over the Cardinals https://t.co/AdA1drr8o0

— Rams Wire (@TheRamsWire) September 26, 2022

Absolutely filthy by Stafford 🌪 pic.twitter.com/bvH00tghus

— Cesar 🥱 (@ClappedCesar) September 25, 2022