6 takeaways from Rams’ statement win vs. Cardinals on Monday night

The Rams were starting to fall out of favor in the NFC after their three-game losing streak, which dropped their record to 7-4. But with a bounce-back win over the Jaguars last week, they got back on track – just in time to upset the Cardinals on the road without six of their starters.

They beat Arizona 30-23 on Monday night, holding off a late charge by the Cardinals, who recovered an onside kick in the final minute to at least make things interesting. Aaron Donald stepped up, as did Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp.

There were also role players who rose to the occasion, helping the Rams come away with a much-needed win against the NFC leaders.

This was arguably the biggest win of Matthew Stafford’s career

Stafford didn’t play in many important, late-season games with the Lions. After all, they had a winning record just three times under Stafford and made the playoffs in three seasons, going one-and-done each time.

This wasn’t a division-clinching game or one that secured a first-round bye for the Rams, but it was probably the biggest win of Stafford’s career – which is saying something considering he’s in his 13th NFL season. With six starters missing and the Rams facing the team with the best record in football, Stafford needed to be great for Los Angeles to have a chance.

He was excellent and kept the Rams’ NFC West hopes alive. It was his first career win against a 10-win team and also his first against a team that was five-plus games above .500, so these have been difficult wins for him to come by.

Rams finally have a signature win

All season, the Rams have heard about their lack of impressive victories. They beat up on teams like the Jags, Texans, Lions and Giants, but they lost to the Packers, Titans, 49ers and Cardinals. Their only truly good win came against the Bucs in Week 3.

But they silenced many of their doubters by beating Arizona on the road Monday night. It was as big a statement as any team has made this season, especially with all the hurdles they were forced to overcome due to COVID-19.

No one can say the Rams only beat bad teams anymore. No one can question whether they’re able to beat the top teams when it comes playoff time. They just beat the team with the best record, and did so fairly easily despite being short-handed.

Odell Beckham Jr. is fitting in just fine with the Rams

The Rams sure are glad they added Beckham when they did. Even though he was supposed to be a complementary piece alongside Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods and Van Jefferson, Beckham has become an integral player on offense in place of Woods, who tore his ACL. Against the Cardinals, he caught six passes for 77 yards and a touchdown, his third straight game with a score.

He looks every bit like the playmaker he was earlier in his career, making plays after the catch and also winning with sharp route running. He’ll be an asset for the Rams in the playoffs when teams start to key on Kupp more. The Cardinals couldn’t really double Kupp much and he turned it into 13 catches, 123 yards and a touchdown.

Joe Noteboom is on his way to earning an extension

Did you hear Noteboom’s name called much tonight? If not, that’s a good thing. He didn’t make any glaring mistakes as the Rams’ starting right tackle, and one of the only times the broadcast crew pointed him out was for his block on Sony Michel’s 19-yard run early in the game.

After serving as the sixth offensive lineman last week, Noteboom was thrust into a starting role – at a position that isn’t his natural spot, too. And he performed at a high level, handling Chandler Jones and Markus Golden on the right side of the line. He deserves a game ball for his performance in a pinch as the starting right tackle.

And with his contract set to expire in March, Noteboom is on his way to earning an extension – either as Andrew Whitworth’s replacement or as the swing tackle for another year.

Aaron Donald had his best performance when the Rams needed him most

The Rams were thin in the secondary after losing Jalen Ramsey and Dont’e Deayon, which not only put pressure on the backup cornerbacks, but also the pass rushers. Donald needed to impact this game in a big way to make up for the lack of Ramsey on the back end and he gave Kyler Murray very little time to survey the field in the pocket.

Donald finished the night with five tackles, three sacks and a tipped pass that led to an interception, recording sacks on the very first and last play of the game. Without him, the Rams may not have won. He was that dominant on the interior from the start, making Murray aware of him on most drop-backs.

Sony Michel did nothing to suggest he should lose starting role

It wasn’t the best statistical performance from Michel, but he was once again efficient as the Rams’ starting running back. He carried it 20 times for 79 yards, averaging just shy of 4.0 yards per carry.

On six of his carries, he either lost a yard or just got back to the line of scrimmage, which was more an indication of missed blocks by tight ends and linemen than it was about his lack of ability.

He once again showed he can break tackles and fall forward to pick up valuable yards after first contact, keeping the offense on schedule and in manageable third-down situations. His 19-yard carry was his best play of the game but no one should overlook his 2-yard run on third-and-1 after he was hit in the backfield initially. Four plays later, the Rams scored a touchdown.

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