Blake Corum has scored a touchdown for the second game in a row and the Rams are on top of the Cardinals.
Corum’s 2-yard touchdown has Los Angeles up 10-7 late in the first quarter against Arizona.
After the Cardinals quickly scored a touchdown with a five-play drive to open the game, the Rams ran it effectively to get down to the red zone in response. But three consecutive incompletions on first-, second-, and third-and-goal led the club to settle for a 26-yard field goal.
But it didn’t take too long for L.A. to get back in the lead. Matthew Stafford connected with Puka Nacua on passes of 18 and 32 yards to put the Rams in Arizona territory.
Then Corum ran it three consecutive times, with his final attempt there being a 2-yard touchdown.
Through two drivers, Corum has six carries for 48 yards with Kyren Williams has three carries for 30 yards.
Rams coach Sean McVay is not traveling with the team to Arizona today.
McVay has an illness and is traveling separately, the team announced. McVay still plans to coach the Rams against the Cardinals tomorrow.
Although the nature of the illness has not been reported, indications are that he is traveling separately primarily as a precaution against getting players sick on the team flight. McVay worked his usual schedule on Friday.
The Rams are 10-point favorites at Arizona on Sunday.
Rams wide receiver Tutu Atwell has not played since Oct. 19 when he injured a hamstring. Coach Sean McVay said on Nov. 24 that he expected Atwell to return for Week 13, that Atwell was “ready to roll.”
Eleven days later, though, Atwell remains on injured reserve. McVay said Friday that Atwell is ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Cardinals.
Atwell will miss his sixth consecutive game.
The Rams have one more week to decide whether to activate Atwell from injured reserve or let him finish the season on injured reserve. McVay indicated earlier this week that it’s about finding a roster spot for Atwell rather than Atwell having had a setback in his recovery.
“I have a lot of love for him and what he’s done and how he’s handled it,” McVay said. “It’s been a unique set of circumstances relative to the timing and figuring out how you get 48 guys up and being able to balance that out relative to how many on offense, how many on defense and your three specialists. That’s not something that we’ve explored or really thought is a possibility, but you never know.”
Atwell signed a $10 million contract in the offseason but has only four catches for 164 yards and a touchdown this season.
The Rams list cornerback Darious Williams (tibia) as doubtful and defensive tackle Poona Ford (calf) as questionable.
The biggest news in Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon’s Friday press conference was that quarterback Kyler Murray will not play for the team again this season, but Gannon also shared some other injury information for Week 14’s game against the Rams.
Wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.'s status was at the top of that list. Harrison has been ruled out for Sunday because of the heel injury he suffered in last weekend’s loss to the Buccaneers. Harrison had missed the previous two games after having an appendectomy, so this will be his third time out of the lineup in the last four games.
Greg Dortch (chest) will also miss the game, so the Cardinals will be thin at wideout as they try to send the Rams to their second straight loss.
Defensive tackle Walter Nolen (knee), cornerback Max Melton (heel), and safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson (ankle) are the others out this week while running back Trey Benson (knee) will not be activated from injured reserve.
This one was inevitable.
With UCLA allegedly trying to ditch the Rose Bowl for SoFi Stadium, SoFi Stadium and owner Stan Kroenke face potential liability for intentional and tortious interference with the business interests of the City of Pasadena and the Rose Bowl Operating Co.
Via Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times, SoFi Stadium and Kroenke Sports & Entertainment have been added to the existing lawsuit aimed at forcing UCLA to honor a contract that runs through 2044.
The argument is simple. If the Kroenke defendants knew about the lease agreement between UCLA and the Rose Bowl, they had a legal duty to refrain from trying to lure UCLA to violate the contract. If it can be proven, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the Kroenke defendants recruited UCLA to break its existing deal, the Kroenke defendants become responsible for both compensation and potentially punitive damages.
It’s a very basic concept of American business. If a company knows some person or organization has a contract, the company can’t try to get them to violate it. The company has to respect it. If it don’t, the company may get sued.
Bolch explains that the amended civil complaint alleges the Kroenke defendants did indeed know about UCLA’s agreement with the Rose Bowl “yet coordinated with UCLA to breach its contractual obligations and abandon the Rose Bowl stadium in favor of playing its home football games at SoFi Stadium.” The amended complaint also contends that the Kroenke defendants acted with “malice,” which (if proven) opens the door to an award of punitive damages aimed at making an example out of the Kroenke defendants in the hopes of deterring others from engaging in similar behavior.
The development positions the Rose Bowl to be a winner either way. UCLA will be forced to honor the contract, or the Rose Bowl plaintiffs will be eligible to receive a potentially significant damages award from UCLA and/or the Kroenke defendants.
Of course, the first step will be proving that the contract would be violated by a relocation some 18 years before the expiration of the agreement. If the Rose Bowl plaintiffs can satisfy that burden, UCLA stays — or the Rose Bowl gets paid, possibly a very significant amount of money.
