Rams, Cards meet for NFC West lead
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Kliff Kingsbury knows more than enough about offensive football to appreciate — and to fear — what the Los Angeles Rams have done in the first three games of Sean McVay’s partnership with Matthew Stafford.
“It’s kind of the perfect storm when you get a play-caller like McVay and a guy like [Stafford] who has played at such a high level for so long,” the Arizona head coach said. “They’ve really got it going.”
But Kingsbury and Kyler Murray are rolling as well for the Cardinals, and the NFC West rivals’ meeting on Sunday is more than an eye-catching showdown between unbeaten teams. It’s a chance to see two of the sport’s top passing offenses trading touchdowns for what both teams expect to be a difficult afternoon.
“There’s a reason they’re a 3-0 football team,” Stafford said.
Stafford has been the NFC’s Offensive Player of the Week twice already this season in his sensational start with Los Angeles (3-0). He has passed for 942 yards and nine touchdowns with just one interception while taking a fluid command of the offense designed by McVay.
But Murray has racked up 1,005 yards and seven touchdowns while leading the Cardinals, showing off his increasing maturity and decision-making skills at a key point for the Cardinals’ hopes of ending their five-year playoff drought.
Both quarterbacks are throwing to two of the most impressive receiving groups in the NFL, too.
Stafford already has a formidable connection with Cooper Kupp, the league’s leading receiver and the NFC’s Offensive Player of the Month for September. Steady Robert Woods, deep threat DeSean Jackson and tight end Tyler Higbee have all made game-changing plays during the Rams’ roll to three consecutive wins over 2020 playoff teams while trailing for only a grand total of 124 seconds.
The Cardinals’ road has been a bit rockier, but similarly impressive. Murray is throwing to DeAndre Hopkins, A.J. Green and Christian Kirk in a passing game that’s been the third-most productive in the league.
“Kyler is playing out of this world, and those guys on the outside are making great catches and getting open,” Stafford said. “It’s a tough, tough task for our defense.”
McVay has never lost to the Cardinals, going 8-0 in his coaching career. He dismisses the record as a meaningless statistical quirk, but the Cardinals know a road victory over LA would do wonders for their status as serious contenders.
Arizona was blown out by a combined 132 points in its first five meetings with McVay, but the past three losses have been by only a combined 29 points.
When asked if the Cards were more prepared to face the Rams this season than in previous campaigns, Murray swiftly replied: “It’s not even a question. Night and day.”