Short-handed Rams stun Cardinals
GLENDALE, Ariz. — From the first play to the last, Aaron Donald and the Los Angeles Rams showed they're still a heavyweight in the NFC West.
The six-time All-pro finished with three sacks — the first on the initial play from scrimmage and the last as time expired — while Matthew Stafford threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns to lead the shorthanded Rams past the Arizona Cardinals 30-23 on Monday night.
“That's what the best do. They play their best when the best is required,” said Rams coach Sean Mcvay, who was missing five players in the COVID-19 protocols, including running back Darrell Henderson. “We talk about competitive greatness all the time, and this guy is the epitome of competitive greatness. Really proud of Aaron. Not at all surprised.”
The Cardinals (10-3) will have to wait at least one more week before clinching their first playoff spot since 2015. Kyler Murray threw two interceptions that led to Rams touchdowns.
Cooper Kupp, Odell Beckham Jr. and Van Jefferson caught touchdowns for the Rams (9-4), who won their second straight, pulled within one game of the Cardinals in the division, and looked rejuvenated after a three-game losing streak in November.
Kupp had 13 catches for 123 yards, the eighth 100yard game this season for the NFL'S leading receiver.
The Cardinals had a chance to tie the game in the final seconds after recovering an onside kick. But a holding call wiped out a long run by Murray on the first play of the drive, and Arizona couldn't produce a last-second miracle. On the final play, Donald charged toward Murray, and the quarterback fell to the turf instead of getting run over by the 280-pound defensive lineman.
Stafford — who had plenty of protection and time to throw most of the night — hit Jefferson on a higharching
pass for a 52-yard touchdown to push the Rams ahead 20-13 early in the third quarter.
A few plays later, Murray was picked off for the second time. Leonard Floyd tipped the ball into the air, caught it, and rumbled downfield to the Arizona 19. Seven plays later, Stafford hit a diving Kupp for a 4-yard touchdown, and the Rams led 27-13.
James Conner sliced through the Rams' defense for an 8-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to 27-20, but the Cardinals got no closer.
But the news wasn't all good for the Rams, who placed Beckham and six others on the reserve/ COVID-19 list Tuesday and shut down their training complex in Thousand Oaks, Calif., for at least two days under the NFL'S intensive protocols.
Two other teams dealt with their own outbreaks Tuesday, a day after 37 players leaguewide had positive test results, the most ever for the NFL in a single day.
The Cleveland Browns placed eight players on the COVID list, including wide receiver Jarvis Landry and tight end Austin Hooper. They said all eight had been vaccinated.
And two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Chris Jones of the Kansas City Chiefs was placed in coronavirus protocols Tuesday, two days before a crucial game against the Chargers.
Autopsy: Adams had severe CTE
The brain of Phillip Adams, the former NFL player who killed six people in his hometown of Rock Hill, S.C., in April before fatally shooting himself, showed signs of severe chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the director of the Boston University CTE Center announced Tuesday.
Neuropathologist Ann Mckee said in a statement released by the Concussion Legacy Foundation that an examination of Adams's brain revealed Adams had Stage 2 CTE, with Stage 4 being the most severe stage of the degenerative brain disease caused by repetitive impact to the head.
Mckee said that among NFL players who died in their 20s and 30s whose brains her center has studied, most had Stage 2 CTE, which is associated with “progressive cognitive and behavioral abnormalities.” But Mckee noted that Adams showed signs of unusually severe CTE in both frontal lobes, similar to former NFL player Aaron Hernandez, who died by suicide in 2017 while serving a life sentence for murder.
“Phillip Adams had an extraordinary amount of CTE pathology in the frontal lobe, the area of the brain behind the forehead,” Mckee said. “Frontal lobe damage is associated with violent, impulsive or explosive behavior, a ‘short fuse,' and lack of self-control.”