Cardinals Stun Rams 18-16 on Last-Second Field Goal

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Arizona never reached the end zone Sunday, and it still left SoFi Stadium with an 18-16 upset of the Los Angeles Rams after Chad Ryland split the uprights from 43 yards as the clock hit zero.

The loss drops the Rams, a popular preseason Super Bowl pick, to 2-4 and into last place in the NFC West. Los Angeles was favored by 12.5 points against a Cardinals team that had won just once and came in allowing the most points in the league.

Ryland accounted for all of Arizona scoring with six field goals, several of them at the end of long, clock-draining drives. One possession to open the second half ate up 8 minutes and 35 seconds before his 38-yard kick put the Cardinals ahead 12-9.

The Rams led for only 49 seconds after halftime. Matthew Stafford finished 25 of 33 for 222 yards and two touchdowns, but a string of mistakes stalled the offense. Tyler Higbee lost a fumble deep in Arizona territory early in the fourth quarter, the Rams were stopped on fourth-and-1 at the Cardinals 27 in the third, and a false start turned a fourth-and-3 into fourth-and-8 on a drive that ended in an incompletion.

Kicking also became a problem. New kicker Blake Grupe made a 44-yard field goal in his first try for the team, then hurt his knee making a tackle on the kickoff that followed. Punter Ethan Evans took over kicking duties, and the Rams missed a two-point try after their first touchdown.

Stafford rallied Los Angeles in the final minutes, hitting Puka Nacua for 42 yards and throwing a 6-yard touchdown to Colby Parkinson for a 16-15 lead with 47 seconds to go. Jacoby Brissett answered with a 21-yard completion to Jalen Brooks, an unnecessary roughness flag tacked on 15 more yards, and Ryland finished it.

Coach Sean McVay said afterward that his team keeps beating itself with unforced errors, especially on offense, and that he has to do a better job. The Rams earlier lost to San Francisco, Denver and Buffalo.

Filed under: Clinton SC Sports News