Rams cruise past Cardinals, 34-11: Everything we know from wild-card win

After a weekend of lopsided contests, Monday night’s Rams-Cardinals game was supposed to be a thrilling shootout at SoFi Stadium. It was anything but that, not that the Rams or their fans will complain.

Instead, Los Angeles throttled its division rival, cruising to a 34-11 blowout victory in the wild-card round of the playoffs. The Rams are now headed to the divisional round where they’ll visit the defending Super Bowl champs, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

But before we look ahead to that marquee matchup in Tampa Bay, let’s recap what happened on Monday night in the Rams’ statement win over the Cardinals.

Final score: Rams 34, Cardinals 11

(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Game notes

The Rams dominated this one from start to finish. They didn’t score on their opening drive despite getting a 35-yard run from Sony Michel, but they moved the ball almost every time they had it in their possession. At halftime, they had as many touchdowns (3) as the Cardinals had first downs (3).

Cam Akers has provided a spark for this offense, both as a runner and receiver. He had 42 total yards wiped out by penalties on the Rams’ offensive linemen, but he still had a huge impact despite that lost yardage. He finished with 95 yards on 18 touches.

This was one of the best performances by the Rams’ defense in recent memory. They held the Cardinals to just three first downs and 40 total yards in the first half before playing a softer style in the second half. But in total, they still gave up less than 200 yards to the Cardinals, which is quite the feat.

Matthew Stafford didn’t need to do much in this one to help the Rams win, but he was nearly perfect. He completed 13 of 17 passes for 202 yards and two touchdowns, with three of those incompletions coming on dropped passes.

The special teams unit deserves some love. Johnny Hekker downed all five of his punts inside the 20-yard line, Matt Gay made all six of his kicks and Brandon Powell had solid returns of 11 and 21 yards on a punt and kickoff, respectively.

Odell Beckham Jr. is finding a groove in this offense. He scored the opening touchdown and finished with 54 yards on four catches, also completing a 40-yard pass to Cam Akers on a perfect trick play. Having him as the No. 2 receiver is huge for this offense.

Even without their two starting safeties and signal caller, Jordan Fuller, the Rams didn’t have any miscommunications or lapses in coverage. It’s a credit to Troy Reeder, who took over the green dot in place of Fuller.

It was over when...

… Cooper Kupp caught a 7-yard touchdown pass early in the third quarter to put the Rams up 28-0 on the Cardinals. The game wasn’t technically over, but with the way Arizona struggled to move the ball, there was no way the Rams were going to blow a 28-point lead in the second half.

3 stars of the game

(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

No. 3 star: Matthew Stafford – 13-for-17, 202 yards, 2 TD, 154.5 passer rating

No. 2 star: Odell Beckham Jr. – 4 catches, 54 yards, 1 TD; 40-yard pass

No. 1 star: Cam Akers – 17 carries, 55 yards; 1 catch, 40 yards

Play of the game

This was the play that really changed the completion of the game. It was only 14-0 at the time and while this play was destined to fail regardless, Kyler Murray compounded things by inexplicably heaving it up for grabs.

David Long Jr. capitalized on the gift and returned it for a touchdown, putting the Rams up 21-0. The game wasn’t out of reach at that point, but it set things in motion for the Rams to cruise to a win.

What's next?

(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

The Rams will now head to Tampa Bay to take on the Buccaneers in the divisional round. Kickoff will be at 3 p.m. ET next Sunday, Jan. 23. The Rams will be at a disadvantage on the road, but they’ve been excellent away from home in five years under Sean McVay.

Not to mention, they already beat the Buccaneers 34-24 back in Week 3, so this isn’t a team they’re afraid of.

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