Arizona Cardinals easily handle St. Louis Rams 27-3

Forget a let down.  Forget the offensive struggles.  The Arizona Cardinals are alive and well.  They only managed 10 points in the first half but the defense did its job and the offense took control in the second half en route to a 27-3 victory over the St. Louis Rams.

This game was much like the first in Glendale, however this time the Cardinals were able to convert scores into touchdowns rather than field goals.  The Cardinals rushed for 175 yards and quarterback Carson Palmer threw for 356 yards and the defense took care of the rest.

Rookie running back David Johnson rushed 20 times for 99 yards and a touchdown reception.  His backup Kerwynn Williams had six carries for 59 yards, which included a 35-yard touchdown run.  All of this on the day that receiver Larry Fitzgerald became the youngest receiver in NFL history to reach 1,000 receptions for a career.

The Cardinals couldn’t punch it in the end zone in the first half, save for a 22-yard touchdown pass from Palmer to receiver J.J. Nelson, but the defense thwarted the Rams rushing attack.  Rams running back Todd Gurley only rushed for 41 yards on just nine carries, a huge difference from his performance in Glendale on October 4th.

Safety Rashad Johnson came up with the only defensive turnover on the afternoon but it was more than enough against struggling Rams quarterback Nick Foles.  Foles was only 15-35 for 146 yards.  That simply won’t get the job done against a stellar Cardinals defense.

Amazingly the Cardinals defense was not able to record a single sack but on this afternoon they didn’t need it.  They forced Foles into bad throws and put hurries on him all game long.  Cornerback Patrick Peterson led the team in tackles with five.  Truly it was a team effort by the defense on Sunday.  The Cardinals had 18 different players with tackles on Sunday.

Now the Cardinals are 10-2 for the first time since 1948.  They maintain a three-game lead on the Seattle Seahawks with four games remaining, as the Seahawks defeated the Cardinals next opponent, the Minnesota Vikings, 38-7 on Sunday afternoon.