Los Angeles Rams @ Arizona Cardinals
Final Score: Rams 45, Cardinals 17
Writer: Kevan Downs (kdsportsnet on Instagram)
This game was looking like we might have an entertaining one early. The Rams had multiple unsuccessful attempts in the red zone and the Cardinals were moving the ball against a tough Rams defense, leaving the score at 10-7 Rams at the end of the first quarter. After that, though, the Rams’ offense and defense were far too much for the Cardinals to keep up with. The ground game was very efficient with Kyren Williams and Blake Corum seeing a lot of work while the opposite was true for the Cardinals. Bam Knight and Michael Carter struggled to get anything going, leaving it in the hands of Jacoby Brissett and the pass game to try to generate any offense. The pass rush was getting to Brissett most of the day and the secondary was able to limit the damage from Michael Wilson and Trey McBride as much as they could.
Three Up
- Blake Corum — Matching Kyren Williams in touches and being efficient while doing it. Corum is still at best the 1B to Williams’ 1A, but if you’re desperate for a running back, he does have the potential for weekly upside.
- Puka Nacua — One of those days where the Nacua-Matthew Stafford connection looked unstoppable. You just knew when Stafford chucked it down the field to Nacua, he was coming down with it. He remains one of the highest-upside receivers the rest of the season.
- Michael Wilson — He is Brissett’s guy. Even on days when the offense struggles as a whole, he still gets fed. We’re looking at at least 15 targets in three of the last four weeks, and if the offense continues to struggle in the run game, and go down early, they will need to keep passing.
Two Down
- Bam Knight — Once again, the Cardinals struggled to establish a run game. If you’re starting Knight, you are hoping he can make his way into the end zone.
- Trey McBride — I hesitate to even think of putting McBride on this list. If you have him, you’re starting him. He did receive more defensive attention this week so you could question if, moving forward, defenses will key in on limiting him more than Michael Wilson in the receiver group.
Los Angeles Rams
Quarterback
Matthew Stafford: 22/31, 281 Yards, 3 TDs
After a rocky-looking start, missing Davante Adams multiple times on throws to the end zone, Matthew Stafford dialed in and it was business as usual from there bolstering his MVP case. The Rams have such a balanced attack with both the pass and run games being very efficient and Stafford is playing the best ball of his career.
Notes
- Aside from a couple mistakes early, Stafford was incredible again, this time connecting with Puka Nacua for 167 yards, his most since Week 4.
- The Rams’ offensive line has been great at keeping Stafford up, but he also navigates the pocket so well, giving more chances for his elite route runners in Nacua and Adams to get open.
Missed Opportunities
- On their first drive of the game, Stafford missed touchdown passes, both targeting Adams. One was thrown a bit high and Adams was unable to get his feet down in the back of the end zone. The other, the typical end zone fade that has been so successful this year, again, Stafford slightly overthrew it.
Running Back
Blake Corum: 12 Carries, 128 Yards, 2 TDs | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 3 Yards
While I’m listing Blake Corum as the game RB1, this is still Kyren Williams‘ backfield. Williams received more touches early, with Corum working in on drives where Williams already had a handful of touches, or getting the occasional full drive for himself. If both running backs are going to be efficient, the Rams seem like they won’t hesitate to keep them both worked in the rotation.
Notes
- Corum likes to bounce it outside. In this game it worked well for him. He also showed willingness to find his cutback lanes as opposed to continue pushing out.
Missed Opportunities
- Not necessarily resulting in a missed opportunity for Corum in this game, the Rams will alternate between backs in red-zone and goal-line plays. With Adams’ excellence up close to the goal line taking touchdown chances as well, this can very easily swing points that Corum and Williams might see in a given week.
Kyren Williams: 13 Carries, 84 Yards, 1 TD | 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 13 Yards
Efficiency. The amount of times Kyren Williams starts the drive with a positive play, 4-, 5-, 6-, 7-yard gain, makes life so much easier for the offense looking at a second- or third-and-manageable situation. It also helps take pressure off of Stafford and the passing game and makes their play-action more effective (the Rams are leading the league in play-action rate).
Notes
- Williams received more work than Corum earlier in the game. Between amassing a large lead quickly, and Corum’s efficiency, they ended the day even in workload. In closer games down the stretch, I fully expect Williams to see more usage, although both will continue to stay involved to keep each other fresh.
Missed Opportunities
- As stated above, at times Corum is given chances in the red zone and near the goal line. Both were able to get at least one touchdown in this game.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Puka Nacua: 11 Targets, 7 Receptions, 167 Yards, 2 TDs
A typical Puka Nacua showing of dominance. He gets open all over the field, and you just knew he was coming down with some of these the second you saw Stafford throw to him. While Adams usually dominates the receiver room in touchdowns, Stafford connected with Nacua on a great stop-and-go route down the sideline.
.@AsapPuka MOSSED HIM!
📺:@NFLonFOX | #ProBowlVote pic.twitter.com/k7dASO2jyU
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) December 7, 2025
Colby Parkinson: 5 Targets, 3 Receptions, 32 Yards, 1 TD
Now with scoring a touchdown in four of the last five games, Colby Parkinson has been the highest-upside tight end to come from this Rams offense. He is not a target hog by any means (21 targets over the last five games), but this gives him a weekly upside albeit a lower floor.
Notes
- It seemed the Rams used fewer three tight end sets in this game. What could be a result of Nacua getting healthier following his early-season injury concerns, this leave the potential for less work for the tight end group as a whole.
Davante Adams: 6 Targets, 4 Receptions, 29 Yards
This was Davante Adams‘ first time in seven weeks without recording a receiving touchdown. He and Stafford weren’t able to connect early, and it was a relatively quiet day following those attempts.
Notes
- The Stafford-Adams goal-line connection is still looking like the favored play option for the Rams. He’ll bounce back from this one.
Missed Opportunities
- Missed twice in the end zone as stated above, Adams narrowly missed a huge day.
- On a similar play near the goal line, Stafford looked Adams’ way first, but the Cardinals had two defenders dedicated to stopping an Adams touchdown play. Stafford connected with Parkinson after moving on from the first read.
- Adams was targeted deep down the field on a pass that fell incomplete. Adams had his defender beat on the go route before being affected by an illegal contact by the defensive back.
Arizona Cardinals
Quarterback
Jacoby Brissett: 25/44, 271 Yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT | 4 Carries, 22 Yards
Jacoby Brissett has an odd combination of things that contribute to his upside. On one hand, the poor run game and defense makes it so the offense needs to pass the ball a lot more to try to stay in games. On the other hand, scoring opportunities are limited due to the lack of sustained drives.
Notes
- The offensive line did Brissett no favors in this one. They ended the day with three sacks and 11 QB hits.
- For the most part, Brissett is very willing to take what the defense gives him. Oftentimes, this means short, easy completions to Trey McBride, and intermediate completions to Michael Wilson. The defense in this game, however, looked more locked in on these types of routes, forcing incompletions on plays that are typically easy receptions, and was able to jump one of Wilson’s routes resulting in an interception, a rarity for Brissett as that is only his fifth interception of the season.
Why punch it when Nate Landman can pick it?!
📺:@NFLonFOX | #ProBowlVote pic.twitter.com/NMvxX6u8lT
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) December 7, 2025
Running Back
Bam Knight: 7 Carries, 16 Yards | 6 Targets, 3 Receptions, 18 Yards
Michael Carter: 3 Carries, 13 Yards | 4 Targets, 2 Receptions, 18 Yards
Bam Knight and Michael Carter struggle with efficiency. This results in the offense struggling to sustain drives and be forced into throwing more. Knight and Carter are looking like they’ll need to find the end zone to have a productive fantasy week. Start Knight if you must choose between the two, but neither are looking like attractive options at this point. With things looking grim for Trey Benson, it looks like it will be this tandem the rest of the season.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Michael Wilson: 16 Targets, 11 Receptions, 142 Yards, 2 TDs
Michael Wilson is showing he has one of the higher upsides the rest of the season. Even when the offense isn’t uber-efficient, he gets open and gets his targets. Especially with the run game being as poor as it has, the offense continues to lean on the passing attack which Wilson has been the favorite target of.
Notes
- Brissett loves to target Wilson on intermediate comeback routes. They’ll take what the defense gives them and Wilson is great at settling into the open spaces in zones. However, the defense was able to recognize and jump one of these chances and turn it into an interception.
🧑🍳🤌
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/zxVAQkjz5w
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) December 7, 2025
Trey McBride: 9 Targets, 5 Receptions, 58 Yards
A mildly disappointing day relative to what Trey McBride has been doing recently. Regardless, this game shouldn’t raise any concern (not that you’d be considering moving McBride out of your lineup anyway) as he and Wilson absorb the majority of the passing work. McBride will still get his when Marvin Harrison Jr. returns to action as well.
Notes
- McBride was more heavily covered in this game. Even in the short routes that he excels at, he consistently had multiple defenders near him, forcing incompletions that would normally be easy receptions. With this passing attack, it’s pick your poison between Wilson and McBride for who to give extra attention, and the Rams seemed committed to limiting McBride.
Jalen Brooks: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 32 Yards
With both of Harrison and Greg Dortch out this week, Jalen Brooks was in line for potentially more work to fill the void left from those receivers. Nearly all of the usage went to Wilson and McBride, leaving Brooks with a quiet day. He shouldn’t be expected to see enough work even with a depleted receiver group as the offense still struggles to sustain drives against better defenses.