The Los Angeles Rams are in the divisional round of the playoffs. In the 34:11 against the Arizona Cardinals everything was decided early on.
No escape: Kyler Murray (left) throws the pick six under pressure to 0:21.
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In the run-up it was considered to be perhaps the most exciting of the six wildcard duels, in the end it became a clear affair: From the start in the SoFi Stadium, where the Super Bowl takes place in mid-February, only the home team dominated – especially defensively. Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray was barely able to cope with the pressure from the Rams in his first playoff game and had a pitch-black day on his finals debut.
His counterpart Matthew Stafford is completely different. Although the Cardinals initially had their favorite pass station Cooper Kupp under control, the experienced Rams quarterback received support from a well-structured running game around running back Cam Akers, who had returned from his Achilles tendon injury – and simply distributed his passes elsewhere . Odell Beckham Jr., who came by trade from Cleveland, stood out at the beginning, caught the first touchdown of the game on a fade route before Stafford himself added a quarterback sneak.
Cardinals offense in a lost position: Only in the third quarter over the center line
For the Cardinals, it was now becoming more and more bitter. Murray, who hadn’t made a single first down with his offense at the beginning, threw a pick six from his own end zone to Rams corner David Long and shortly afterwards another interception.
The Rams were already leading 21-0 at halftime, and shortly after the break star receiver Kupp caught his obligatory touchdown – and the game was already decided. Particularly striking from the Cardinals’ point of view: Arizona’s offense only got the ball over the center line once in the middle of the third quarter (!). After all, running back James Conner then provided the first and only touchdown of the clearly inferior team.
But it was already too late for a big catch-up race, after three field goals in the fourth quarter it was 34:11 for Los Angeles, which is now traveling to Tampa Bay in the divisionals to challenge the defending champion around Tom Brady. In the regular season, the Rams won the duel 34:24 – the dream of the Super Bowl in their own stadium lives on.