Rams hit rock bottom with loss to Arizona Cardinals

INGLEWOOD — All day, it had been the Rams’ defense holding them in the game, limiting the Arizona Cardinals to field goals as the team’s offense and special teams sputtered. Finally, the offense came to life, driving to take a one-point lead with 47 seconds to play on a stretching Colby Parkinson touchdown and punter Ethan Evans’ first-ever point-after attempt following an injury to kicker Blake Grupe.

But after the Cardinals picked up 21 yards on their first play of the next drive, the defense made its first critical mistake. Josh Wallace was flagged for unnecessary roughness, the penalty putting the Cardinals into field-goal range.

And Chad Ryland’s 43-yarder sailed true as time expired, sending the Rams plummeting to 2-4 with an 18-16 loss.

For a moment, this could have been a normal game. You could hear the exhale in the cheers from the 72,573 fans at SoFi Stadium. A week after two missed field goals sank the Rams, Grupe was true on his first attempt.

Then, the Rams’ nightmare run on special teams continued. Bad coverage on a kickoff return left Grupe as one of the last lines of defense. He made the tackle, but stayed down on the field. He tried to limp across to the Rams’ sideline, but went down at midfield before trainers came to his aid.

Grupe soon went to the locker room with a knee injury. Evans began practicing place kicking with receiver Jordan Whittington holding for him.

That absence quickly trickled down to the rest of the game. The Rams went for two after their only touchdown of the day, only for quarterback Matthew Stafford to get pummeled from behind. McVay called timeouts at the end of the second quarter to give his offense a chance to score, only to hand the ball off twice with 46 seconds left, drawing boos from the disgruntled home crowd as the team went into halftime.

But the Rams’ problems ran deeper than special teams on Sunday.

The offense came out completely lifeless, with one first down and zero third-down conversions in its first three possessions. Even after a Quentin Lake interception at the Arizona 32, the Rams couldn’t get more than a field goal.

Stafford was under constant pressure, but not even from the left side where David Quessenberry filled in for the suspended tackle Alaric Jackson. Instead, blitzes and bull rushes from everywhere across the line led to two sacks and six hits, one of which left Stafford dazed on the turf before returning to his feet.

Then it was as “have to have it” as a play in the third quarter could be. Fourth-and-inches, down three, struggling to string anything positive together all day. The Rams had to have it. So head coach Sean McVay trotted out his 13-personnel, with heavy hitters Kyren Williams and Puka Nacua ready and available.

Instead, the Rams handed the ball to tight end Davis Allen for his first career carry. Parkinson crashed down to double-team a defensive lineman, as linebackers Mack Wilson and Jack Gibbens crashed down to tackle Allen for no gain and a turnover on downs.

The play – simultaneously trying too hard in its design and lifeless in its execution – was the perfect summary of everything wrong with the Rams.

The defense did what it could. A third-and-one offsides penalty on Byron Young – the Rams’ first of the game – led to an Arizona field goal and the tackling often left much to be desired, but overall the Rams kept Arizona out of the end zone. After a Tyler Higbee fourth-quarter fumble, the defense forced a three-and-out to give the Rams the ball back with 6:55 to play.

But on fourth-and-three, right tackle Warren McClendon committed a false start. The ensuing screen pass bounced off Williams’ hands, and the Rams turned it over on downs.