There are wins… and then there are wins that meet the standard.
Unless the Rams are winning by 30 or 40, I do not consider it a true statement game — and Sunday’s 37–20 victory over the Arizona Cardinals lived in uncomfortable limbo for most of the afternoon. Yes, the Rams ultimately pulled away. Yes, the win secured the No. 5 seed in the NFC Playoffs. And yes — it was still far uglier than it ever needed to be.
For nearly three quarters, this game was an emotional tax on Rams fans that should have been paid off by halftime.
A Game That Should Have Been Over Early — Wasn’t. There was an expectation heading into this matchup that Sean McVay was rolling out the full arsenal. That did not happen. What unfolded instead was a strangely sluggish, mistake-prone offensive showing that allowed a 3-14 Cardinals team to hang around far longer than acceptable.
Dropped passes. Miscommunications. Missed opportunities. Drives that stalled for no reason other than execution failures.
At one point in the third quarter, the Rams were trailing — and the frustration boiled over for good reason. Easy catches were clanked off hands, including misses by tight ends and wideouts who will be expected to deliver in January. Matthew Stafford, meanwhile, occasionally reverted to those puzzling half-throws — balls floated five yards in front of open receivers, creating unnecessary incompletions and momentum killers.
When you are paid millions of dollars to perform eight months a year — and your professional shelf life is often seven seasons or fewer — attention to detail is not optional. It is the job.
Catching the football is the job. Catch the Ball and you know what I mean, I mean the ones my nephew would catch if thrown to him should be caught by the professional’s on the Rams team during those 8 months.
The Adams Void Is Still Real. This game once again highlighted how much Davante Adams is missed within this offense. His absence forces Stafford to attempt tighter, more dangerous throws to Atwell and Smith, shrinking windows and magnifying mistakes. The Rams are simply at their best when two elite wide receiver outlets are on the field.
We have seen this formula before — Cooper Kupp paired with Odell Beckham Jr. produced championship football. Now, Puka Nacua is that cornerstone, but he still needs a second gravitational force to fully unlock the offense.
Puka, of course, remains unreal.
Ten receptions. 76 yards. Another highlight-reel, intentional one-handed touchdown grab — because of course he did. He continues to look like a receiver who simply does not drop footballs, regardless of how difficult the attempt. And as always, he played with infectious energy, high-fiving fans along the first rows of the stands like a kid living his dream.
But Puka needs help.
And this offense needs Adams.
The Turning Point: Flip the Switch, End the Game
OK. Now. Once the Rams finally decided to play real football, the game ended quickly.
After Arizona briefly grabbed a 20–16 lead in the third quarter, Los Angeles responded with ruthless precision:
• Stafford to Colby Parkinson — 21-yard touchdown
• Stafford to Tyler Higbee — 22-yard touchdown
• Stafford to Parkinson again — 1-yard touchdown
They finally all caught the ball. They caught every pass finally in that 4th quarter without missing any and in essence, earning their money. It is not hard if you do the work.
That is 21 unanswered points, fueled by defensive stops, pressure packages, and a quarterback who suddenly remembered he is still one of the most dangerous passers in football.
The defensive backs were consistently left hung out to dry. On multiple occasions, they were isolated in one-on-one coverage that directly led to Arizona’s biggest plays. There were no safeties in sight on two of the Cardinals’ touchdowns, and to be honest, Jacoby Brissett delivered several excellent passes that no defender realistically could have reached.
Witherspoon and Curl did miss a few plays, but they also play the most difficult position in football. Witherspoon, in particular, clearly knew he made mistakes — you could see it on his face on the sideline.
Stafford finished with 259 yards and four touchdowns, passing Dan Marino for seventh all-time in career touchdown passes — a milestone quietly buried beneath the chaos of the first three quarters.
Tyler Higbee returned with authority despite a few early drops. He finished the game as the Rams’ leading receiver in yardage, catching five of his six targets for 91 yards and a touchdown, including a critical fourth-quarter score that slammed the door shut.
Higbee did have an early drop and missed a difficult catch just before halftime in the Rams’ 37–20 win over the Cardinals. However, overall, he delivered a strong performance. His final catch rate for the game was an impressive 83.3%.
His overall performance was considered a success in his return from a six-game injury absence and he proved to be a reliable target for quarterback Matthew Stafford when the team pulled away in the second half.
Finally, the defense erased Arizona in the fourth quarter, allowing only 50 yards of offense and forcing multiple punts and a turnover on downs.
When the Rams turned it on — it was over.
Which is exactly the problem.
They didn’t need three quarters to do it.
Which is exactly the problem.
Officiating Wasn’t the Story — Execution Was. This was not a ref-ball game. There were no controversial flags, no momentum-changing calls, no blown challenges. The only penalties that stood out were the kind that scream lack of focus — delay-of-game situations and sloppy procedural mistakes that simply should not exist in January football. The ones when they can’t even get the play off because of something stupid.
This loss of precision is fixable — but it must be corrected immediately.
Playoff Path: Carolina Awaits. Now, the Rams head to Carolina for the Wild Card round — and it is a matchup that should be handled decisively. I welcome everything about this game. Including having to travel to Charlotte.
Weather will not be a factor. Talent will be. And if the Rams show up focused and complete, this is a game they should win comfortably. The blueprint is already visible with our pressure defense, efficient Stafford, Puka being Puka, and tighter execution across the board.
But they cannot afford another three-quarter warm-up act in the postseason.
January football does not forgive sloppiness.
January football ends seasons.
The Rams are talented enough to make a deep run — but only if they start playing like a team that understands how rare this window really is.
Because fugly wins still count…
But championships demand dominance. We need to get back to dominating. After all, the commissioner practically pleaded with the team because we were winning so easily — and now the entire league feels like it is on equal ground. That is my new conspiracy theory that I am feeding you readers, but in reality, there is no true frontrunner.
If you consider Denver and Seattle to be the No. 1 seeds and, in essence, the top teams, they are also winning in fugly ways. This postseason is wide open. And if the Rams play the way we did before last month ended, we will crush every team we face.
Overall, they need to execute the full game plan — which means catching the football and eliminating illegal procedure penalties. Get the play off. That is the easiest thing to do in football. Please stop messing that up. Make no mistakes. In essence, executing the game plan means catching the ball, protecting it without fumbling, and not throwing passes directly into defenders’ chests. It is not a high bar to meet if you do the work.