What We Saw: Week 10

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Cardinals @ Rams

Final Score: Cardinals 27, Rams 17

Writer: Ryan Radel (@RadelFF on Twitter)

Don’t let the final score fool you – this game was never in doubt for the Cardinals, even without star quarterback Kyler Murray suiting up. Matt Stafford missed the game due to being in concussion protocol. Both teams were without their starting signal callers, and the play of the backup quarterbacks was clearly the deciding factor. Both teams suffered what could be a substantial blow to both offenses with injuries to star players on both sides. There wasn’t a ton of action until nearly the end of the first half, when the Cardinals scored twice within a minute and a half thanks to a Rams fumble. With both teams desperate for a win that would hopefully right the ship, the Cardinals left the city of angels with the victory to improve to 4-6 on the year, while the Rams disappointing season continues as they fall to 3-6.

Arizona Cardinals

Quarterback

Colt McCoy: 26/37, 238 Yards, TD, 2 Sacks, Fumble (recovered) | 4 Carries, 4 Yards

He definitely looked a little rusty, but otherwise, Colt McCoy did a fantastic job filling in for the injured Kyler Murray. Colt looked poised in the pocket and made the correct reads repeatedly, trying to get the ball into the hands of his primary playmakers. He did take a couple of bad sacks on his way to providing a prime example of what a game manager should do – limit risk and take care of the ball. He played within his limits and let the gameplan and play calling do their thing. Colt rarely takes risks at this point in his career as he doesn’t have the strongest arm anymore, but he can still sling it in there:

Colt Dropping DIMES! pic.twitter.com/032GnRPx90

— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) November 13, 2022

Running Back

James Conner: 21 Carries, 69 Yards, 2 TD | 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 17 Yards | 1 Fumble (Recovered)

Keaontay Ingram: 1 Carry, 5 Yards

The Cardinals leaned on James Conner in the red zone and he rewarded that trust by plunging in two scores to go with 86 scrimmage yards. To put it simply, they fed Conner the rock. His efficiency wasn’t that great (which is pretty typical for Conner) but when you find the endzone twice in a victory, that doesn’t really matter as much. It was good to see the coaching staff trust Conner in the red zone. He was kept in check otherwise, averaging 3.3 yards per carry with a long of 9 yards. He was involved throughout the game and dominated the backfield snaps, which is a great sign for future games.

King James 👑@JamesConner_ x #BirdCityFootball pic.twitter.com/iNzoSjJEDb

— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) November 13, 2022

Wide Receiver/Tight End

DeAndre Hopkins: 14 Targets, 10 Receptions, 98 Yards

Rondale Moore: 13 Targets, 9 Receptions, 94 Yards

Zach Ertz: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 12 Yards

A.J. Green: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 10 Yards, TD

Trey McBride: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 7 Yards, 1 Fumble (Recovered)

Stephen Anderson: 1 Target

The first drive for the Cardinals didn’t go as planned, as Zach Ertz was carted off the field with a knee injury – later spotted in a brace and expected to miss several weeks – but thankfully avoided structural damage per reports. Trey McBride stepped into those shoes early but failed to deliver, as he brought in his lone target for seven yards, then fumbled the ball. He should have plenty of opportunities moving forward in Ertz’s absence. The leftover targets that would’ve likely been for Ertz were funneled to Moore and Hopkins, who combined for a whopping TWENTY SEVEN targets, with almost all of them on short routes. DeAndre Hopkins was targeted 14 times, bringing in 10 of them for 98 yards, falling just short of the century mark. Rondale Moore followed suit, bringing in nine of his 13 targets for 94 yards, also falling just short of the century mark. He didn’t do much otherwise, but A.J. Green looked like his younger self as he went up and got this dime in the edge of the end zone:

Up & Over.@ColtMcCoy x @ajgreen_18 pic.twitter.com/SPRtelcsy6

— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) November 13, 2022

Los Angeles Rams

Quarterback

John Wolford: 24/36, 212 Yards, TD, INT, 3 Sacks | 3 Carries, 3 Yards, 1 Fumble (Lost)

Bryce Perkins: 1/1, -3 Yards | 3 Carries, 4 Yards

With Matthew Stafford in concussion protocol and missing this matchup, the Rams looked to a combination of John Wolford and Bryce Perkins to lead the team. Perkins was only used as a change-of-pace quarterback, if that makes sense, as it looked like he wanted to tuck and run all of his snaps. Unfortunately, Perkins didn’t do much of anything. After attempting just four regular-season passes in his career, Wolford uncorked 36 attempts with rather disappointing results. Wolford looked uncomfortable in the pocket almost all game and was eager to roll out at the first sign of pressure. Unfortunately, he isn’t fast enough to make the defense pay. He took a couple of bad sacks and made a few bad reads, one of which lead to a bad interception. Wolford also hung a ball up on the sideline that ended up injuring his target. He was able to score in garbage time on this twinkle-toed pass as the game came to a close:

.@VanJefferson12 finds the endzone for 6️⃣

📺 @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/r0khBrbrzx

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) November 14, 2022

Running Back

Cam Akers: 6 Carries, 22 Yards | 1 Target

Darrell Henderson Jr.: 6 Carries, 21 Yards, TD | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 11 Yards | 1 Fumble (Recovered)

Kyren Williams: 1 Carry, 9 Yards | 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 30 Yards

Without Stafford under center, the Cardinals’ defense was able to stack the box and basically eliminate the run game of the Rams as they were held to around three yards per carry with a long of just 10 yards. This group was game scripted out very early on. In his first action of the season, Kyren Williams turned his one carry into nine yards, but was active in the passing game as a safety valve for Wolford as he brought in all three of his targets for 30 yards. Cam Akers was pedestrian at best, with almost half of his yardage coming off of a single carry while failing to bring in his lone target. Darrell Henderson Jr. was more of the same, finding no room to run while bringing in his lone target for 11 yards. Henderson was able to slam in a score from four yards out to give him a somewhat respectable stat line:

HENDOOOOO 💪😤@DarrellH8 | 📺 @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/uCnNpFc8Ad

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) November 13, 2022

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Tyler Higbee: 8 Targets, 8 Receptions, 73 Yards

Allen Robinson II: 6 Targets, 4 Receptions, 44 Yards

Van Jefferson: 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 27 Yards, TD

Ben Skowronek: 7 Targets, 2 Receptions, 14 Yards

Brycen Hopkins: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 11 Yards

Cooper Kupp: 5 Targets, 3 Receptions, -1 Yard

Brandon Powell: 1 Carry, 7 Yards | 1 Target

In the fourth quarter, Cooper Kupp was helped off of the field with a lower leg injury after going up for a ball near the sideline as a defender hit him low. I hate using the term, but it was a hospital ball. I hope Kupp doesn’t miss any substantial time, but as of this writing, I have not read an update. Kupp was targeted five total times, bringing in three for a total of negative one yards. Definitely not the game you would expect from Kupp even with a backup quarterback under center.

Ben Skowronek was peppered with targets but only managed to bring in two of his seven for 14 yards. It was a combination of good coverage and bad concentration on most of his missed opportunities. Van Jefferson was generally quiet all game until his touchdown grab late in the fourth; until then he was only targeted twice. Allen Robinson II was also held in check as he brought in four of six targets for 44 yards. In general, the entire Rams offense was kneecapped without Stafford under center. The only position player to deliver on the day was Tyler Higbee, who put up 73 yards while bringing in all eight of his targets. Higbee moved better on this screen than I thought he could: