Los Angeles Rams vs Arizona Cardinals
This was an ugly game for the Cardinals, and even though they only turned the ball over once they only managed seven points and 198 total offensive yards. The Rams defensive line created problems for the Cardinals offense by disrupting the running game and pressuring Kyler Murray, and the Cardinals secondary was no match for the Rams receiving group allowing the Rams to rack up over 400 passing yards. The Rams scored on five of their first seven drives, with one ending in a missed field goal, and then took their foot off the gas in the second half including pulling Jared Goff after the third quarter. Overall the Rams looked like a hungry team gearing up for a playoff push and the Cardinals looked like a flawed, young team with a lot of growing still to do. The Rams won 34-7 and won the time of possession battle 34:37 to 25:23.
Los Angeles Rams
Quarterback
- Jared Goff: 32/43, 424 yards, 2 TDs
This looked like a good bounce-back spot for Jared Goff, and he delivered with over 400 passing yards and two touchdowns in just three quarters of work. When Goff has time to throw, which he did today, he looks closer to the player we saw leading one of the best offenses in the NFL last season as opposed to the struggling version of him we’ve seen this year. He threw two short touchdown passes and was mostly locked into targeting Robert Woods as opposed to spreading the ball around. Goff did not do anything spectacular to give us faith in starting him in tougher matchups, but it was good to see him come through in a favorable matchup and he can be counted on as a streaming option against weak defenses.
Running Backs
- Todd Gurley: 19 carries, 95 yards, 1 TD | 1 target, 1 reception, 20 yards
- Malcolm Brown: 6 carries, 30 yards | 1 target, 0 receptions
- Darrell Henderson: 4 carries, 17 yards
Todd Gurley dominated the touches while this game was competitive, and he looked impressive. He does not seem like the same running back we saw dominating last season, but he looked more athletic than he did earlier this season and with the Rams fighting for a playoff spot he should see all the work he can handle. Malcolm Brown and Darrell Henderson were not really involved until the game was put out of reach. Brown is still valuable as a Gurley handcuff but Henderson should not be rostered in re-draft leagues.
Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends
- Robert Woods: 19 targets, 13 receptions, 172 yards
- Cooper Kupp: 6 targets, 6 receptions, 65 yards, 1 TD
- Josh Reynolds: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 39 yards
- Brandin Cooks: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 24 yards
- Tyler Higbee: 8 targets, 7 receptions, 107 yards, 1 TD
Robert Woods was Jared Goff’s favorite target, which made sense given how open he was on most of his routes. His highlight came on a screen pass that he caught on the left side of the field before reversing to the right side and going for a long gain thanks to a nice lead block from Goff. 19 targets in a game are incredible, and while Woods won’t see that much work against more talented defenses he should be firmly in the WR2 conversation. Cooper Kupp was also open a lot, although not as much as Woods, and remains one of Goff’s go-to options in the red zone. He hasn’t been as impressive as he was earlier in the season but Woods and Kupp have established themselves as the two top options in this passing attack. Tyler Higbee was the starting tight end with Gerald Everett injured, and he continued the trend of tight ends dominating the Cardinals secondary. This will probably be his best game of the year by far, but with Everett out he is a starting fantasy tight end.
Arizona Cardinals
Quarterback
- Kyler Murray: 19/34, 163 yards, 1 INT | 4 carries, 28 yards, 1 TD
Kyler Murray was under pressure a lot in this game and really struggled as a result. He threw a really bad interception into coverage and well short of his intended target that was returned for a touchdown and had another interception called back on review because of defensive pass interference. He did not lead a scoring drive until the fourth quarter, he was sacked six times, and never got into any kind of rhythm in this game. He did score a rushing touchdown to help boost his final fantasy score, but overall this was a really tough performance in a home game for an offense that had been trending upwards. Next week the Cardinals host the Steelers, who have one of the better pass rushes in the NFL, so if you’ve been starting Murray it might be a good idea to look elsewhere.
Running Backs
- Kenyan Drake: 13 carries, 31 yards | 5 targets, 2 receptions, 20 yards
- David Johnson: 4 carries, 15 yards | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 9 yards
The Cardinals said Kenyan Drake would be the starter over David Johnson, and that proved to be the case as Drake saw much more of the backfield work today. He was not particularly effective as the entire offense struggled, but if he’s going to see this much work he should be started. Johnson was also ineffective, and he still looks to be physically limited. It’s a tough situation to be in given where Johnson was drafted, but he should not be started until we see him regain a prominent role in this offense.
Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends
- Larry Fitzgerald: 7 targets, 6 receptions, 56 yards
- Christian Kirk: 7 targets, 3 receptions, 23 yards
- Pharoh Cooper: 6 targets, 4 receptions, 26 yards
- Charles Clay: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 29 yards
As with the rest of the offense, all of the Cardinals pass catchers struggled to get anything going today. Larry Fitzgerald appeared to be Kyler Murray’s favorite target as Murray tried to force him the ball. That resulted in the pick-six as well as another interception called back on penalty as the Rams secondary did a good job of taking away passing lanes. Christian Kirk tied Fitzgerald for the team lead in targets but he seems to be struggling as he plays more on the outside. Both should be secure in their target volume, but aside from an outlier game from Kirk earlier this season, neither receiver has a particularly high ceiling. Pharoh Cooper saw six targets and makes sense as a desperation play in deeper leagues due to the volume of plays the Cardinals run when they’re having success.
- Dan Adams