Rams hand Cardinals first loss

The results have the front office personnel exasperated, fainting.

That’s the team’s executive vice president, who was carted off the hospital on Friday afternoon after fainting in GM Les Snead’s office.

The obvious problem for the Cardinals was an inability to do anything with the football, only scoring three points. That problem started in the trenches, as Cardinals blog Revenge of the Birds elaborates:

While the loss is surely disappointing, not many Cardinals supporters would have put the team at 4-1 after five games. Although the loss was a dismal effort to a St. Louis team not expected to be amongst the league’s best, things have still gone well for Arizona thus far this season. Revenge of the Birds agreed, as the blog’s front page notes, “it was a good streak while it lasted.”

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.

Finnegan just rushed in from the edge, all alone. Arizona didn’t leave anyone in pass protection in the pocket. They probably should have.

Givens went streaking down the left side of the field on third-and-11. Bradford wound up and chucked a perfectly placed ball down the field to the rookie receiver for the touchdown.

Bradford and Givens have struggled to connect throughout the game. The two connected on a big play last week, but were unable to get the touchdown. This time, it counted for six points, the first touchdown of Givens’ NFL career, a 51-yard pass that put the Rams on top 17-3 early in the fourth quarter.

That resulted in a pair of bloody lips.

Kolb was later seen on the sidelines getting his jaw checked out and looking generally spacey.

Pretty impressive, no?

St. Louis Rams wide receiver Danny Amendola is a spark plug, a fire cracker. His team is missing him after he left the game with what looked to be a shoulder injury in the second quarter.

Amendola’s return is questionable. His helmet is not coming back. Ever.

The NFL has strict rules governing head injuries, which could make a return during this game difficult if he is showing any signs of a concussion.

The Rams currently lead the Arizona Cardinals 10-3 as the game approaches halftime.

On third-and-10, Amendola ran a route into the middle of the field and stopped about 10 yards down. He had the middle lane all to himself, and Bradford threw the ball as though his receiver would keep going. It resulted in this:

“And, I was like, come on, you have to totally keep going. And he was like, I had the first down, like, just throw me the ball.”

Bradford hit tight end Lance Kendricks on third down for the score, burning up 2:21 on the clock.

Since then, St. Louis has only reached the .500 mark just four times, each coming in the 2010 season. That year, the Rams held records of 2-2, 3-3, 4-4 and 6-6. They finished the season 7-9.

Jackson has gotten off to a slow start in 2012. In the past two games, Jackson only produced a combined 84 yards on 29 carries, a 2.8 yards-per-carry average. The ninth-year running back has rushed for 195 yards in four games and has yet to reach the end zone in 2012. He’s yet to top 60 yards in a game this season while battling the lingering groin injury.

There was some doubt Jackson would play Thursday night because of the short turnaround, but the Rams’ offense (which ranks 20th in the league in rushing yards and 28th in passing yards) needs all the help it can get.

That is close to a toss-up, and that perception of the game is spelled out across expert picks at ESPN, CBS and Yahoo. Of the six NFL experts at ESPN, three are picking the Cardinals and three -- Adam Schefter, Seth Wickersham and Tom Jackson -- are siding with the Rams. ESPN’s prediction machine, Accuscore, is picking the Cardinals, as is ESPN’s community base. At CBS, five of their eight experts are picking the home team while only three are going with the Cardinals. CBS’ “Prediction Machine,” though, is going with the Cardinals. Yahoo’s experts, though, are split, with Mike Silver picking Arizona and Jason Cole picking the Rams. Yahoo’s user base is sticking with Arizona.

Game Date/Time: Thursday, Oct. 4 at 8:20 p.m.

Location: Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis, Mo.

The over/under opened at, and remains at, 38.5 points, a total that history tells us will likely go towards the under. Averaging just 19.8 points a game, the Rams’ offense will have to put up points against one of the NFL’s best defenses, something they have struggled with in the past against the Cardinals. In seven of the last eight matchups between the two teams, the under has been the winning total.

We’re getting back on track with our NFL picks this weekend. These ones are all accurate, starting with an upset on Thursday Night Football.

A month ago, this looked like a boring NFC West game. Now, it’s much better: an undefeated team going on the road to secure a win against an improving Rams team. The Cardinals are 4-0 for a reason -- their defense is lights out. Count me among those people who didn’t realize how good that side of the ball was. St. Louis is getting better, and if they have a healthy Steven Jackson, which they should, I’m going with the upset. Arizona’s luck ends on Thursday night in St. Louis.