The slumping Rams may be scrambling to find help at receiver.
Veteran Davante Adams suffered a non-contact injury to his left leg late in the game. He pulled up when running into the end zone on a pass route, reached for his left knee, and hobbled off the field for attention.
The Rams had only one more offensive play, a go-ahead touchdown that did not last.
Coach Sean McVay wasn’t asked about Adams’s apparent injury during the post-game press conference.
Last year, Adams missed the final three games of the regular season with a hamstring injury (and still led the NFL in touchdown catches).
For the season, Adams has 30 catches for 480 yards and four touchdowns. The bulk of the production came in Week 2 vs. the Giants (195 yards) and Week 3 at the Broncos (137). In the other four games combined, he has 148 total receiving yards.
Still, they need him. Puka Nacua, who missed the two games (hip/groin/pre-hernia) in which Adams went off, is their top target in the passing game. On Sunday, Nacua had six catches for 80 yards, including three for 62 on the Rams’ final drive of the game.
Beyond Nacua and Adams, the Rams have Konata Mumpfield, Jordan Whittington, Tutu Atwell, C.J. Daniels, and Alex Bachman at receiver. They may need to find someone else, depending on whether and to what extent Adams will miss time.
The question becomes whether they’re willing to eff them picks in an effort to acquire a receiver via trade before the deadline arrives in 22 days. And the situation will invite even more scrutiny of the decision to invest their bonus first-round pick from last year’s trade with the Falcons on a quarterback and not a receiver — especially since it was obvious that they don’t have much depth behind Nacua and Adams.
Maybe the Cardinals should only play at SoFi Stadium.
Arizona got its second win of the season on Sunday, stunning the Rams 18-16 for the club’s second victory of the season.
The first came Week 1 at the same venue over the Chargers.
Entering the week at No. 26 in yards allowed and No. 32 in points allowed, Arizona stifled Los Angeles’ offense throughout the contest.
The Rams barely had 100 yards at halftime with three three-and-outs. It didn’t help that the team lost its new kicker, Blake Grupe, to a knee injury early in the game when he made a tackle on a kickoff.
But the Cardinals were able to control the ball and the clock throughout the afternoon, winning time of possession 34:52 to 25:08. And while the club never reached the end zone, Chad Ryland was automatic in Rams territory with his six field goals — including his 43-yard make as time expired to give Arizona the win.
Los Angeles got to the end zone twice — once with Blake Corum’s 15-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter. It then took them until there were 47 seconds left on the clock for Matthew Stafford to find Colby Parkinson for a 6-yard touchdown. With Grupe out, punter Ethan Evans put the Rams ahead with a successful extra point.
But that lead did not hold, as Jacoby Brissett connected with Jalen Brooks for a 21-yard completion to open the ensuing Cardinals possession. An unnecessary roughness penalty tacked on 15 yards, putting Arizona in clear field goal range.
A few plays later, Ryland sent his sixth kick through the uprights for the win.
Brissett ended the day 24-of-35 passing for 218 yards with an interception. Trey McBride led with seven catches for 53 yards.
On the other side, Stafford finished 25-of-33 for 222 yards with two touchdowns. Puka Nacua had six receptions for 80 yards. Davante Adams — who hopped off the field late in the fourth quarter with an apparent leg injury — had three catches for 39 yards.
The Cardinals now have more wins at SoFi Stadium this season — two — than the Rams and Chargers, who have a combined one.
At 2-4, Arizona will be at home to host the Broncos in Week 7.
The 2-4 Rams are reeling and will be in Las Vegas next weekend to play the Raiders.
The Cardinals have ben giving the Rams all they can handle and the two teams are tied 9-9 at halftime.
While Arizona has scored three field goals, Los Angeles’ situation is different because the team’s new kicker suffered a knee injury.
With poor kick coverage, Blake Grupe was forced to try and tackle returner Devin Duvernay near midfield. But Grupe suffered a knee injury on the play and is now doubtful to return.
Because of the injury, the Rams went for two after Matthew Stafford’s 15-yard touchdown pass to Blake Grupe. But Stafford was strip-sacked on the attempt, and the Cardinals nearly returned the fumble for two points.
Los Angeles’ offense has not been particularly productive against Arizona, tallying 107 yards and eight first downs in the first 30 minutes, averaging 3.8 yards per play. The team is 3-of-7 on third down.
Arizona has sacked Stafford twice and registered four total QB hits.
The Cardinals have been able to move the ball but have not put the ball in the box in the red zone. Jacoby Brissett is 11-of-17 for 119 yards with an interception. Trey McBride leads with three catches for 42 yards.
Arizona will receive the second-half kickoff.
The Rams have gotten in the end zone. But their kicker situation has made things more complicated than it needed to be.
Blake Corum scored on a 15-yard screen that he caught and took to the paint for the first receiving touchdown of his career. That put the Rams up 9-6 over the Cardinals.
But with new kicker Blake Grupe doubtful to return with a knee injury, the Rams elected to go for two. Matthew Stafford was strip-sacked on the play, and the Cardinals nearly had two points of their own when defensive lineman L.J. Collier picked up the loose ball and went running the other way.
But Collier was tackled before he could get to the opposite end zone, keeping the Rams’ three-point advantage.
Stafford is 9-of-13 for 60 yards with a TD.
The Rams special teams are — and have been — a mess.
One of the group’s first opportunities on Sunday made things even more complicated.
After making his first field goal with Los Angeles, Blake Grupe was injured while trying to make a tackle on a kickoff return. The Rams did not cover the kick well, with returner Devin Duvernay nearly getting to midfield before Grupe hit him to drive him out of bounds.
But Grupe suffered a knee injury on the play and is now doubtful to return.
According to multiple reporters on the scene, punter Ethan Evans has been practicing kicks into the net on the sideline.
