Cardinals 18, Rams 16: Ryland's six field goals, the last as time expires
Arizona scored no touchdowns and still beat Los Angeles at SoFi Stadium, with Chad Ryland's 43-yarder on the final play deciding it.
The Arizona Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Rams 18-16 at SoFi Stadium on Sunday without scoring a touchdown. Kicker Chad Ryland made six field goals, accounting for all 18 Arizona points, the last a 43-yarder as time expired, according to Yahoo Sports.
The finish
Both Yahoo and Sports Illustrated's Cardinals site describe a chaotic final stretch. Yahoo reports that a Colby Parkinson touchdown was initially ruled down at the one-yard line before the call was overturned, which left Arizona 47 seconds to work with. On the first play of the final drive, Jalen Brooks caught a 21-yard pass, and the Rams were flagged for unnecessary roughness, a penalty Yahoo called questionable, adding 15 yards. Ryland then made the kick.
It was the first time since 2017 that Arizona won a game on field goals alone, Sports Illustrated reported.
Defence kept it close
The offence struggled in scoring position. Sports Illustrated noted Arizona went 0-for-5 in the red zone, its worst mark of the season, and 5-for-15 on third down. That is why field goals were the whole story.
The defence did the rest. Yahoo says the Cardinals stopped the Rams on fourth down twice, had a takeaway, and allowed no points across five consecutive Los Angeles series. Sports Illustrated added that Josh Sweat forced a fourth-quarter fumble by Matthew Stafford, that the defence forced two fumbles on back-to-back plays, stripping Tyler Higbee and recovering the second, and that Arizona stopped a Rams two-point conversion attempt in the second quarter.
Los Angeles still had chances. Sports Illustrated reported that Puka Nacua's 43-yard catch set up the Rams' final touchdown, and that the Rams scored two touchdowns in total.
Streaks and a first for Brissett
Yahoo reports the win snapped an eight-game losing streak against NFC West opponents and a three-game losing streak against the Rams. For quarterback Jacoby Brissett it was a first: his first fourth-quarter comeback and first game-winning drive in 18 starts with Arizona, ending a run of seven straight end-of-game drives without a win.
What it means
The two sources differ on the teams' exact records, so we are not stating them here. What is clear is that Arizona got its first divisional win of the season in a game it did not play cleanly, and that a team that kept settling for field goals was rescued by the one player who did not miss. The Cardinals host the Denver Broncos next, in a game that coincides with Larry Fitzgerald's Ring of Honor induction, Sports Illustrated reported.