Rams (8-4) move top of NFC West by virtue of having the tiebreaker over Seattle (8-4), who were upset 17-12 by the Giants in Week 13; L.A. head coach Sean McVay improves to 7-0 against the Cardinals in four seasons, with his team scoring at least 31 points in each win
Monday 7 December 2020 06:35, UK
Jared Goff passed for 351 yards and one touchdown, also running in for a score, as the Los Angeles Rams got back to winning ways in the NFC West with a convincing 38-28 victory over the Arizona Cardinals.
One week after falling out of first place with defeat to the San Francisco 49ers, the Rams (8-4) move top of the division by virtue of having the tiebreaker over the Seattle Seahawks (8-4), who were upset 17-12 by the New York Giants in Week 13.
Goff was 37 of 47 in the air without a turnover, bouncing back from that home loss to the 49ers in which he threw two interceptions and lost a fumble. The fifth-year QB had 10 turnovers (six interceptions) in his previous four games.
The Cardinals (6-6), meanwhile, have now lost four of their last five games to see them in danger of slipping out of the NFC Wild Card race. Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray completed 21 of 39 passes for 173 yards and three touchdowns, but also threw a pick six in the fourth quarter to essentially clinch victory for the Rams.
The Cardinals had scored a pair of second-half touchdowns to remain within striking distance, one coming on a four-yard pass from Murray to DeAndre Hopkins in the third quarter after converting a fourth-and-12 earlier in the 15-play drive.
After recovering a fumble by the Rams' Nsmiba Webster on a punt return, Arizona had a four-yard touchdown run from Kenyan Drake early in the fourth to again pull within three of the Rams, trailing 24-21, but L.A. comfortably closed out the contest thereafter.
The Rams offence answered with a quick-strike drive that covered 76 yards on seven plays and finished with a 38-yard touchdown run by Darrell Henderson. Then the defence took over from there as Justin Hollins first forced a Murray fumble and then Troy Hill picked off the Cardinals QB on the next series, running it back 35 yards for the score.
Arizona tight end Dan Arnold had two touchdown receptions to bookend the game, his first a 59-yarder that gave the hosts the lead in the first quarter, while his second from two yards was no more than a consolation late in the fourth quarter.
After that early Arnold TD, the Rams opened the second quarter with a nine-yard scoring run from rookie Cam Akers and a one-yard touchdown toss from Goff to Tyler Higbee. They wouldn't relinquish their lead for the rest of the game.
The win sees Rams head coach Sean McVay improve to 7-0 against the Cardinals in four seasons, with his team scoring at least 31 points in each victory.
Sky Sports NFL is your dedicated channel for NFL coverage through the season - featuring a host of NFL Network programming, a new weekly preview show as well as at least five games a week and NFL Redzone, you won't miss a moment. Don't forget to follow us on skysports.com/nfl, our Twitter account @SkySportsNFL & Sky Sports - on the go!
