The Cardinals vs the Rams was one of the most anticipated matchups of NFL week four. Both team’s entered the contest at 3-0 and were looking to take the lead in the NFC West. Arizona won the game 37-20 which came as a shock to some people. Let’s take a deeper look at how this matchup fared.
Winners
Kyler Murray: Kyler Murray might be the best dual threat quarterback in the NFL and he showed that on Sunday. Murray threw for 268 yards with 2 touchdowns while completing 24/32 of his passes. He did this against a top 5 defense in the NFL as well. Kyler definitely helped his MVP case with an elite performance on Sunday.
Kliff Kingsbury: Coach Kingsbury had a great gameplay for his Cardinals heading into this matchup. Kingsbury is not known as a defensive coach but his defense held an elite Rams offense to just 20 points while his offense moved the ball with ease all day and ended up with 37 points on the board. Arizona had more time of possession by 11 minutes, 64 more total yards, 95 more rushing yards, +2 in the turnover margin, and +3 in sacks. All this leads back to Kingsbury having his team ready to go and having an elite game plan for this matchup.
Jalen Ramsey: Just because LA lost doesn’t mean they can’t have a winner. Jalen Ramsey vs Deandre Hopkins was one of the most anticipated matchups of the week and Ramsey limited Hopkins to just 4 catches for 67 yards. Ramsey continues to prove he is one of the best corners in the game as he consistently limits elite wide receivers. Ramsey faces DK Metcalf next week so expect another great WR vs CB matchup.
Losers
Los Angeles defense: Although Ramsey had a solid game, the defense as a whole had a pathetic performance. Kyler Murray and co. did whatever they want all afternoon against this top Rams defense. Whether they just weren’t prepared or weren’t ready to play, the Rams need to figure out what went wrong before Thursday night’s matchup with Seattle.
Chase Edmonds: Although Edmonds averaged 10 yards per carry on 12 carries, he is still a loser this week because James Conner got 18 carries and 2 touchdowns. Conner is getting more volume and more red zone touches than Edmonds which puts Edmonds under the loser category for this week.
Cooper Kupp: There is no doubt Cooper Kupp has been a top wide receiver so far this season. However, he is in the loser category this week because he couldn’t do much with a very high volume. Kupp had 5 catches for 64 yards which isn’t a bad stat line by any means, but he only mustered that off of 13 targets. Kupp will be able to bounce back but for this week he had disappointing production considering the volume of targets Matthew Stafford gave him.
Looking Ahead
Arizona will host a San Francisco team that has dropped two consecutive games at home. If Arizona doesn’t sleep on their divisional foe, expect the Cardinals to improve to 5-0 and expect Kyler Murray to have another impressive week.
Los Angeles will travel to Seattle to take on the Seahawks on Thursday Night Football. This should be a great game between two very good team’s. Expect a tight, hotly contested game this Thursday night.
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