Rams need to avoid 0-2 start in Week 2 against the Cardinals
Throughout the Sean McVay era, whenever the Los Angeles Rams have needed to get back on track or find their identity, they’ve always been able to do that against the Arizona Cardinals. Since McVay arrived in 2017, the Rams are 13-2 against the Cardinals with one of those losses coming in the injury-filled 2022 season.
The Cardinals were the first shutout of McVay’s head coaching career. He then shutout the Cardinals again in 2018. Later that year following back-to-back losses to the Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles, the Rams beat the Cardinals in Week 16 to get back on track before the postseason. After losing the Baltimore Ravens 45-6 in 2019, the Rams came back the next week to beat the Cardinals 34-7 and then beat them again in Week 17 to finish the season after two straight losses.
To make the postseason in 2020, the Rams needed a win on the road against the Cardinals after losing two straight games. With John Wolford starting at quarterback, the Rams won 18-7 to punch their ticket to the playoffs. While the Rams beat the Jacksonville Jaguars to end ‘no-win November’ in 2021, it was a win on Monday Night Football against the Cardinals where the team found its identity. The Rams ran the table and won the Super Bowl.
Last season, the Rams ran for 228 yards against the Cardinals. It was that game where the Rams really leaned into the run game that they would run much of the offense around going forward.
Heading into Week 2 this year, the Rams once again need a ‘get right game’ or ‘find your identity’ game against the Cardinals. The Cardinals may still be a team that is in a rebuild phase, but they are feisty. Last week, they pushed a good Buffalo Bills team to the brink. The Rams will need to be on their ‘a-game’ to come away with a win.
While the Rams played the Lions closely, that is also not the type of team the Rams want to be for the season. The offensive identity can’t be Matthew Stafford force-feeding Cooper Kupp. While the defense did some good things last week, finding a way to earn a win will do a lot of that unit’s confidence.
At the very least, the Rams can’t afford to start the season 0-2. With how the schedule is set up and a game against the San Francisco 49ers next week, the Rams need to find a way to get in the win column. It’s possible that without a win on Sunday that the season could start to snowball.
Despite the injuries and everything seemingly stacked against them in the early part of this season, the Rams need to find a way to survive the first six weeks. Much like last season, they can then hit their stride when they do get healthy after the bye. However, right now it’s simply important to not dig a hole that becomes impossible to climb out of.
With an extra game at the end of the year, it’s slightly easier to make the playoffs after an 0-2 start. Still, it’s not a position that you want to be in to begin the season. It’s hard to call this game ‘must win’, but it’s certainly important. It feels like the Seattle Seahawks game late in the year last season. The season is at a bit of a fork and the Rams have to make a decision what road they are going to go down. A division win on the road and completely avoid a potential 0-3 start would go a long way. Again, it keeps the Rams alive as they navigate these early season injuries.
The Rams have had success against the Cardinals with McVay as the head coach. With their backs against the wall, they will be looking to steal a game on the road and get a much needed win. The Cardinals have always been a team that the Rams could ‘get right’ against and they desperately need that to avoid what could turn into a snowball start to the year.
