Rams give boot to division rival
Cardinals’ season ends with whimper
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Matthew Stafford passed for 202 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score in his first playoff victory, and the Rams roared out of the wild-card round with a 34-11 win over the Cardinals on Monday night.
Odell Beckham Jr. and Cooper Kupp made touchdown catches for the NFC West champion Rams (13-5), who will visit the defending Super Bowl champion Buccaneers on Sunday for a spot in the NFC championship game. The Rams advanced in the postseason for the third time in the last four years under coach Sean McVay.
David Long also scored on a 3-yard interception return while the Rams’ defense harassed Kyler Murray into a calamitous playoff debut. The Rams jumped to a 28-0 lead and cruised in the first playoff game at SoFi Stadium, which will host Super Bowl 56 next month.
Stafford was outstanding in his first playoff game with the Rams, completing 13 of his season-low 17 passes without an interception and despite three drops. He coolly directed LA’s offense while seizing his first playoff win in 13 NFL seasons — the first 12 spent in Detroit, where his Lions went 0-3 in the postseason.
“I thought he did a great job leading the way,” McVay said of Stafford. “He’s still the same great player to me, and he always was before this game. I think it’s good so you guys don’t have to talk about that anymore. So pleased be able to do this with him. He’s our leader out there, and we wouldn’t be here without him.”
After an inconsistent finish to the regular season, the Rams’ constellation of big stars came together brilliantly around Stafford on the postseason stage.
Beckham had four catches for 54 yards, including his first career playoff touchdown catch for the Rams’ first points. He also threw a 40-yard pass during his own first postseason victory. Linebacker Von Miller added six tackles and a key early sack in his first postseason appearance since winning the MVP award in Super Bowl 50.
Murray went 19 of 34 for 137 yards and two interceptions for the Cardinals (11-7), who followed their 10-2 start with a 1-5 slide. The Cardinals lost on the road for only the second time in 10 games this season under coach Kliff Kingsbury, but fell to the Rams for the 10th time in the NFC West rivals’ last 11 meetings.
“We didn’t do anything right the first two quarters,” Kingsbury said. “The Rams handled the game and the atmosphere well. ... As an offense, we were just out of sync on a couple of things early that could have changed the game. We never got in a rhythm.”
James Conner rushed for a TD for the Cardinals, who have one playoff victory since the 2009 season. Murray went 7 for 17 for 28 yards and threw two interceptionsinanawfulfirsthalf that left the Cardinals trailing 21-0 with just 40 yards of offensebeforetheymanaged to get their first first down.
“I feel like we were dominant out there,” All-Pro Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald said. “I feel like the quarterback wasn’t comfortable at all.”
The Rams went up by three touchdowns when linebacker Troy Reeder’s pressure prompted Murray to fling the ball blindly out of the end zone to avoid a safety. Long made a shoetop interception and took one stride to score the shortest pick-6 in playoff history.