The Arizona Cardinals lost a strange, low-scoring affair to the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday night at SoFi Stadium.

Despite the opportunity to deliver a game-winning drive from the Los Angeles 5-yard line, quarterback Kyler Murray was intercepted on a deflected pass to tight end Trey McBride, and the Cardinals fell 13–9 to the Rams in prime time.

Despite the low score, it’s not exactly the worst performance Arizona has played in a competition. There were plenty of moments that could provide some positivity heading into the 2024 offseason.

But ultimately, previous problems at the wrong times continue to plague the Cardinals, and all that really matters is the end result.

The good, the bad and the ugly of another loss to Sean McVay and the Rams:

Marvin Harrison Jr.

Rookie wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. had an outstanding game on Saturday night. After a poor performance against Carolina last week, Harrison was able to do what fans had been expecting from him for some time.

Early in the first quarter, Harrison made an excellent catch on a contested one-on-one return that gave him a 24-yard gain.

He then caught a pass over the middle and spun up for the first down. Later, Harrison secured a ball with both feet down as he made an extremely close catch down the sideline – twice.

Aside from his Week 2 performance against the same Rams and his standout day against the Miami Dolphins, Harrison looked much more relaxed on Saturday, making veteran-like catches that he hasn’t been able to convert in recent weeks.

Harrison finished the season with six receiving balls, gaining 96 yards through the air. While this is just the slightest glimpse of his abilities, it looks like the rookie is headed for a jump heading into year two.

Trey McBride

The Cardinals’ best weapon was on fire Saturday night. He managed an incredible 12 receptions for 123 yards, surpassed 1,000 receiving yards this season and scored his first receiving touchdown in 2024.

Although he appeared distraught on the sidelines after the game-winning pick was aimed at him, it’s impossible to blame the loss on McBride, who once again delivered a truly brilliant performance.

The defense

Once again, defensive coordinator Nick Rallis’ defense had a strong performance in a big game. The Cardinals gave up just 13 points on the road and held Matthew Stafford to just 189 yards through the air and 68 yards on the ground.

That adds up to just 257 total yards of offense for LA and 12 first downs – exactly half of Arizona’s 24 first downs. The Cardinals dominated in total yards (396) and time of possession (36:55), but ultimately couldn’t find the end zone when needed.

But the defense was outstanding. Cornerback Garrett Williams had another great game with two PBUs, but had to leave the game in the fourth quarter with a concussion. In total, the defense defended seven passes and held the Rams to just 6 of 15 on third down.

Although they didn’t record a sack, Stafford’s face was constantly under pressure and he was regularly forced off schedule – a good sign for Arizona’s defensive line, if not as productive as one might hope.

Offensive play call

I don’t want to make too much of a point, but Arizona’s offensive play calling was inconsistent at best. It’s easy to sit from an outsider’s perspective and misjudge an offensive coordinator, but it was hard to watch Drew Petzing go after swing passes to the running back on long downs.

Early in the game, there were several instances of passes being thrown behind the line for gains on third downs, a large number of short, ineffective passes, and running plays up the middle that were constantly crowded.

There was notable improvement in that department in an excellent third quarter performance, but a strange, errant reverse play on 3rd-and-17 in the fourth quarter led to a 4th-and-10 play that resulted in an interception.

But the biggest sin in the play-calling department was the play that sealed the game. Even though it wasn’t an accurate throw from Murray and may have been due to McBride’s lack of awareness, there was no reason to throw the ball on this play.

With the clock hovering at nearly 40 seconds, Jonathan Gannon with two timeouts in the bag, and a first-and-goal from the five-yard line, why on earth would a team blow up?

Even if a touchdown had been scored on that play, it would have given Los Angeles a chance to tie the game/win.

Hindsight makes it 20-20, and I don’t claim to know any more than a professional coach, but I can’t think of any reason why I shouldn’t just give the ball to Carter, who slaughtered the Rams’ defense on the field Final journey first. It was simply a wrong decision.

The offensive line

You can’t fully blame Arizona’s offensive line for the outcome of this contest. Considering Paris Johnson Jr. and Jonah Williams were lost last week and Will Hernandez is already on season-ending IR, it’s hard to judge too harshly a unit comprised primarily of second and third forwards.

But unfortunately, the Rams’ defensive line — particularly pass rushers like Jared Verse and Braden Fiske — lived in Murray’s face.

While some of the blame could come from Murray’s inability to break containment, he was terrorized all night and the Cardinals’ O-line did him little favors, at least in pass protection. Ultimately, Murray was sacked four times for a costly 38 yards. He was hit six times.

It’s not fair to place full blame on the likes of Kelvin Beachum and Jackson Barton, but Los Angeles clearly won in the trenches on Saturday.

Kyler Murray

This game was by no means Murray’s worst performance of the season. In fact, he made some of his better throws of the season on Saturday.

He completed 33 of 48 passes, threw for a season-high 321 yards and a touchdown and rushed for another 32. He handled downfield throws better than had been seen from the 27-year-old in the previous five-yard-plus weeks.

Unfortunately, he threw two costly interceptions. However, none of these interceptions were as bad as some of the previous ones.

On one he was immediately chased out of the pocket and gave Harrison a chance to make a catch. On the other hand, he hit McBride in the helmet. Maybe inaccurate throws, but not as egregious as his interceptions against the Panthers and Seahawks.

But that’s splitting hairs. Murray made some excellent throws and some good plays. But he also seemed to hold back in decisive defeats.

He tripped over his own lineman’s feet, ran straight backwards, and then stood still in the pocket under pressure rather than escaping the pocket and making a play. Granted, he shouldn’t have to do this as often as he needed to on Saturday.

As mentioned, the O-line struggled to stop Los Angeles. Not only was it on the quarterback’s shoulders, but it seemed like he almost helped the defense with some of his sacks.

However, these are the types of games that need to be won. It was a team effort involving several factors. Overall, I would even agree that Murray played a very solid game, but there were mistakes and they were very costly.

The Cardinals have another chance to double their 2023 win total this season by facing the San Francisco 49ers at home next Sunday to close out 2024.