The St. Louis Rams put an end to the Arizona Cardinals' perfect start to the season with a 17-3 win Thursday night at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis.
Cardinals vs. Rams final score: St. Louis ends Arizona’s perfect season in 17-3 victory
The Rams’ defense racked up eight sacks as Arizona’s offense sputtered to a halt.
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Rams quarterback Sam Bradford came out firing, taking his team 69 yards on just five plays, completing the scoring drive with a seven-yard touchdown pass to tight end Lance Kendricks. Arizona answered back with a methodical 17-play, 63-yard drive which ended in a Jay Feely 35-yard field goal.
From there, the defenses took over. The teams exchanged punts throughout disjointed second and third quarters, with the only scoring coming from a 53-yard Greg Zuerlein field goal that gave St. Louis a 10-3 halftime lead. At one point, Bradford threw 14 consecutive incompletions -- the longest streak without a completion in his career. Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb was harassed by the St. Louis defensive line throughout the night, taking eight sacks and numerous other hits. Three minutes into the fourth quarter, Rams wideout Chris Givens got free on a double move down the sideline, and Bradford was able to connect with him for a 51-yard touchdown that put the game out of reach.
The biggest story of the game may be an apparent injury to Rams leading receiver Danny Amendola, who left the game in the second quarter after diving for an incomplete pass. Amendola was favoring his shoulder as he was escorted by trainers to the locker room, and later reappeared on the sideline with his arm in a sling. Reports indicate he has broken his collarbone and will be unavailable for the foreseeable future.
Fantasy Studs/Duds: Arizona, which was playing without starting running back Beanie Wells for the second week, abandoned the running game early in favor of empty-set formations. That allowed Kevin Kolb to rack up big numbers -- 28 completions on 50 attempts for 289 yards passing -- even though the offense failed to score. On the other sideline, Sam Bradford had one of the worst games of his career, going just 7/21 for 141 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
Odds/Gambling: Arizona entered tonight’s game as a one-point favorite. Obviously, they were unable to cover that spread. For more information on NFL odds, check out SB Nation NFL Odds.
Injury Info: While the aforementioned Amendola injury was the biggest story of the night, it was not the only injury news. Cardinals halfback Ryan Williams left the game in the fourth quarter with a shoulder injury, though he was able to leave the game without assistance. Rams safety Quintin Mikell was also injured in the second quarter after taking a shot to the head. There is no word on the extent of these injuries at this time.
Next Up: The 4-1 Cardinals return home to face the Buffalo Bills next Sunday at 4:05 ET. The 3-2 Rams get the Dolphins in Miami next Sunday.
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