What happened in McVay’s 3 losses to Cardinals?

Sean McVay looks to improve his record to 14-3 against the Cardinals

Sean McVay is 13-3 against the Arizona Cardinals in his career as the head coach of the L.A. Rams, a dominant record by any measure. So what happened in those 3 losses?

October 3, 2021 – Cardinals 37, Rams 20 (highlights)

A rare meeting of the teams when they were both undefeated, the Cardinals improved to 4-0 and dropped the Rams to 3-1 with this win at SoFi Stadium three years ago.

The Rams took a 10-7 lead at the end of the first quarter when Matthew Stafford hit Van Jefferson for a 14-yard score, but Arizona outscored L.A. 30-10 the rest of the way.

McVay’s biggest issues were on defense as the Cardinals rushed for 216 yards and two touchdowns on 40 carries, including 12 carries for 120 yards by Chase Edmonds, while starter James Conner had 50 yards and 2 TDs on 12 carries. Notably, Conner is expected to play through an injury this weekend despite Arizona having nothing to play for:

Chris Shula needs to have his defense ready for Conner on Saturday.

In Week 2, Conner rushed for 122 yards and a touchdown against L.A., so containing the run game will be paramount for the Rams to get the win they need.

Offensively, Matthew Stafford had no excuses in this one, as he had his full complement of weapons, including Cooper Kupp (64 yards on 13 targets), but Kliff Kingsbury and defensive coordinator Vance Joseph were able to shut him down.

What happened?

The Cardinals were a good team in 2021! They went 11-6 and made the playoffs as a wild card, but lost to the Rams 34-11.

November 13, 2022 – Cardinals 27, Rams 17 (highlights)

Though the Cardinals were without starting quarterback Kyler Murray, so too was McVay on his backup option. Two of them, actually.

John Wolford went 24-of-36 for 212 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT in place of an injured Stafford, while Bryce Perkins made a short appearance too.

Kupp was also available in this game, but caught 3 passes for NEGATIVE ONE YARD on five targets. For whatever reason, Kupp has often struggled against Arizona:

• 12 games (including playoffs)
• 80 catches
• 913 yards
• 6 TD

The numbers seem “OK” but keep in mind he’s had two dominant performances out of 12 tries, while the other 10 games are way below Kupp’s standard. In Week 2 of this season, Kupp had 4 catches for 37 yards prior to leaving the game with an injury.

What happened?

Both teams were banged up, but maybe the Rams’ injuries were worse than Arizona’s.

September 15, 2024 – Cardinals 41, Rams 10 (highlights)

Marvin Harrison Jr. has not had the rookie season that most expected him to have, but you wouldn’t have guessed it based on how he played in Week 2:

• Cardinals take 7-0 lead on 23-yard TD to Harrison
• Cardinals take 14-0 lead on 60-yard TD to Harrison

Arizona took an immediate 14-0 lead over the Rams on these two passes, then extended it to 21-0 after Murray threw a third touchdown at the start of the second quarter, this time to Elijah Higgins.

By the end of the third quarter, it was 34-3 and Kupp was out.

What happened?

Yes, the Rams had a patchwork offensive line and Kupp left the game before going to IR, but the Rams just got punched in the mouth and never recovered.

This (130 yards, 2 TD) is still by far Harrison’s best game of the season. Will Shula have his corners and safeties ready this time?

What have we learned?

These should be advantages for L.A. this time around to avoid McVay’s fourth loss to Arizona:

• The Rams look as healthy as they’ve been all season
• James Conner is banged up
• Marvin Harrison Jr disappeared
• Kyler Murray is 2-6 against the Rams in his career
• The Cardinals have lost 4 of 5
• The Cardinals lost to THE PANTHERS last week

Arizona’s only wins in the last two months have come against the worst teams in the league, including the Dolphins, Bears, Jets, and Patriots.

If McVay, Stafford, Kupp, and Puka Nacua bring their usual selves to this game, the Rams shouldn’t have a problem beating the Cardinals and virtually sealing the NFC West title.

Only an outlier could cause anything different.