The Arizona Cardinals played to the best of their ability against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday despite losing 20–17. The offense didn’t score enough to win, but Jacoby Brissett was still able to find his open targets downfield.
The defense did a pretty solid job holding the Baker Mayfield-led offense to only 20 points. Given that Mayfield was playing hurt, it’s the small victories that count in this sense. The return of rookie cornerback Will Johnson proved to be huge, as Mayfield was unable to eclipse 200 yards passing.
A few hundred miles north of Tampa, the opposite happened for another NFC West team. No moral victories took place, as they were on the losing end of one of the biggest upsets of the season. The Los Angeles Rams had their six-game winning streak snapped at the hands of Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers, who defeated them 31–28.
A significant factor in this outcome was the performance of MVP frontrunner Matthew Stafford, who completed 18-of-28 passes for 243 yards, two passing touchdowns, but also two interceptions. The first pick happened to be returned for a touchdown by Carolina’s Mike Jackson, 48 yards to be exact. While Los Angeles had the chance to run away with this game, the performance of Stafford kept Carolina in it.
Stafford even had the chance to lead the Rams into field goal range to tie the game, but the drive abruptly ended when he fumbled.
What does this have to do with the Cardinals?
Arizona is set to host the Rams next week, and it is safe to say that Stafford will be coming into this one with a chip on his shoulder. In his career against them, Stafford has averaged 241 yards per game with a passer rating of 92.2.
The Cardinals have not faced the Rams in 2025 yet, meaning they have yet to see the connection between Stafford and Davante Adams, who is in his first year with the Rams. As a matter of fact, Adams leads the league in receiving touchdowns (14).
What we are getting at here is that the Rams are coming off a bad game and looking for something to prove, as well as the fact that Stafford and Adams have been arguably the best QB-WR duo in the league. Not to mention that they have Puka Nacua lined up on the other side.
The Cardinals must get healthy on both sides of the ball, as this game could get out of hand quickly. It will be interesting to see how head coach Jonathan Gannon gameplans for the offensive juggernaut that he will be up against.