Cardinals Takeaways From Loss vs Rams: Good Vibes Are Wearing Off
It's no secret Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay has had the Arizona Cardinals' number for the majority of his career. Dating back to 2017, Arizona has won just two games against McVay's Rams.
Today's contest was about as ugly as it could have gotten for the birds.
Here are the biggest takeaways from a brutal 37-14 Cardinals loss:
The Cardinals were much more than a QB away
Kyler Murray didn't have quite have it today.
Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
It was easy to watch Joshua Dobbs and Clayton Tune struggle heavily and think to ourselves "save us, Kyler Murray."
After leading the Cardinals on a gutsy game-winning drive against Atlanta, it's impossible to ignore the fact that the 26-year old quarterback isn't playing his best football.
While Murray absolutely needs to be better, the Cardinals couldn't possibly rely on him to carry the team, especially against tougher defensive fronts like Los Angeles.
Marquise "Hollywood" Brown is struggling, and with Michael Wilson still out, the Cardinals have almost zero sizable pass-catchers.
The offensive line not only gave Murray little time to throw, but also committed drive-ending penalties, including a special teams hold that wiped a Prater kick off the board.
This team has been stripped down to its lowest form, with little to no talent or depth on either side of the ball. Injuries have plagued already thin units, and the offensive play-calling has left plenty to be desired.
While you can't look at Murray's performances in the last two games without placing a portion of the blame on the QB, the fact of the matter is that this team had many more holes than could have been filled with the return of their franchise QB--or the drafting of a new one, either.
Drew Petzing's play-calling is declining
Cardinals OC Drew Petzing
Offensive coordinator Drew Petzing has had some ups and downs this season. Early on, we praised him for taking a very non-talented squad and drawing up creative, efficient plays.
Today's game plan was a prime example of his shortcomings so far.
On the first drive of the game, Murray took five snaps under center, matching week 11's total. RB James Conner had 6 touches for 30 total yards, and Murray scored on a 12-play, 75-yard TD drive.
Following this drive, Petzing abandoned both Conner and the under-center game plan. Conner finished the game with only 33 total yards on 10 total touches. Murray took one snap under center in the next 5 drives.
Arizona would pick up just one offensive first down until halfway through the third quarter. They only attempted 15 rushing plays, and collected only 292 total yards.
Petzing, on a notable third-and-three, called a shotgun run to Emari Demercado, who picked up one yard. On fourth down, rather than giving it to his bulldozer James Conner, or letting Murray pick up the first down himself, Petzing drew up a short pass, which fell incomplete.
This Cardinal offense is suffering on all fronts. Murray, the offensive line, and the skill positions are all having a tough stretch. There is a stark lack of talent and depth. But, for what feels like the 100th week in a row, I'm imploring Petzing to keep Murray under center, feed the ball to James Conner, and work Hollywood and McBride in the short game.
Defense is the biggest need (still)
Rams TE Tyler Higbee scored twice for the Rams today
Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
The LA Rams were 4-6 coming into today.
Now granted, they have dealt with a fair share of injuries, and are likely better than their record.
But the Arizona Cardinals allowed LA to gain 457 yards of offense. 228 of those came on the ground.
Rams RB Kyren Williams gashed Arizona's defense for over 200 total yards. He averaged nearly nine yards per carry, and over 10 per reception. Matthew Stafford completed 25 of his 33 passes for 229 yards, with four touchdowns through the air.
With a defense completely beset by injuries, it's not a shock that this was one of the defense's weakest showings. DL Leki Fotu and Kevin Strong, as well as LB Kyzir White were missing from the lineup. CB Antonio Hamilton was inactive, and CB Starling Thomas V left with an injury as well.
Injuries are a part of the game, but Arizona's defense has been a killer all season, and with little depth and limited starting-quality talent, Arizona must absolutely prioritize bolstering the defense in the off-season.
The good vibes are wearing off
Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon
Since the start of this season, the positive takeaway has been the energy the team is playing with. Sure, they've lost games--almost all of them--but the difference in effort and culture have been apparent since day one.
This does not serve as an ultimate indictment of Jonathan Gannon, but the energy is starting to leak out of this squad. Today's game was the first game of the season that looked completely hopeless after the first half, of course with the exception of the Clayton Tune start.
I don't expect Gannon to lose the locker room anytime soon, but the truth is that winning is contagious, and so is losing. The Cardinals looked completely lifeless in today's contest, and if they can't muster up some serious momentum--even if it doesn't always result in wins--this team won't be able to play like a cohesive unit.
Gannon has his work cut out for him. So far, he's looked to have the most respect and support from his team that we've seen since the Bruce Arians days, but the team can only survive on playing competitively so long.
We're in the stage of looking forward to the off-season. While one must have faith in the rebuild, it's easy to see where the glaring holes are.
There is no excuse to not solve the obvious issues in the coming months.
