The Arizona Cardinals‘ Week 6 win over the Los Angeles Rams was phenomenal in a few ways. It also had some rarity attached to it.
The Cardinals may have shown that they are consistent at SoFi Stadium on Sunday. But that consistency came with something that happened just twice in their long history.
Per NFL Research via NFL.com, “The Cardinals have won two road games in the last 90 years without scoring a touchdown: Today vs. the Rams at SoFi Stadium; Week 15, 2014 vs. the Rams at the Edward Jones Dome.”
For the Cardinals, it was a remarkable moment of the season to beat such a high-powered Rams team on the road. Pro-Football-Reference lists Matthew Stafford as the league’s leading passer with 1,794 yards as of Monday morning. Also, as of Monday, the Rams still rank first in the league in total offense with 2,408 yards. Their overall passing offense remains first with 1,732 yards.
When The Arizona Cardinals Faced The St. Louis Rams In 2014
In Week 15 of the 2014 season, the script was flipped to an extent. The Cardinals were 10-3 going into the game while the Rams were 6-7. Arizona was on its way to the playoffs and was looking to build momentum for the final leg of the season.
After Rams’ kicker Greg Zuerlein converted a field goal in the first quarter, Cardinals’ kicker Chandler Catanzaro connected on four straight kicks of 23, 44, 51, and 46 yards to give Arizona the 12-3 lead. Zuerlein kicked a 19-yarder through the uprights with 6:07 to go, putting the Rams within one score. But St. Louis couldn’t capitalize, and the Cardinals escaped with a win.
This season’s version had the Cardinals at one of their lowest points, with an offense that, at best, was inconsistent, and a defense that hadn’t stopped an opponent in a month. The Rams started the year with a roster that looked poised to make a Super Bowl run.
Anything can still happen, considering it was only Week 6. But the current narrative shows that the Cardinals are capable of pulling off the occasional upset this season. As for the Rams, they have turned into an underperforming group.
The Cardinals’ 18-16 Win Was A Strange Occurrence
This is one bizarre statistic in so many ways. For one, it came against the Rams the first time around. It also occurred in St. Louis, a city that lost the Cardinals following the 1987 season. St. Louis would lose the Rams after 2015 when they bolted back to Los Angeles, their home between 1946 and 1994.
That’s also the tip of a larger iceberg. Arizona went 0-for-5 in the Red Zone on Sunday. Meanwhile, their defense allowed two touchdowns on four Red Zone trips for the Rams. The Rams averaged more yards per play — 5.1 to the Cardinals’ 4.8 — and quarterback Matthew Stafford still finished with two touchdown passes and a 113.4 quarterback rating.
While the Arizona Cardinals had a rare stat in the mix, this was a strange matchup on all fronts. Now, the question is whether the Cardinals built any momentum for Week 7 when they play the Denver Broncos.
Arizona Cardinals’ Win Over Rams The Second Of Its Kind In 90 Years