The Setup
Rams were on the upswing/Cards were on the downswing. In their first meeting in London, the Rams shut out the Cardinals in dominant fashion, 33 - 0. Rams were 8 & 3 and atop the NFC West and coming off a win vs the Saints. Cards were 5 & 6 and barely still in the playoff hunt. In their last outing, the Big Red edged Jacksonville on Dawson's 57-yd game winning field goal with 0:04 to play.l

The Lede
Cards Unable to Overcome 16 Pt Ram Lead

The Bottom Line:
Answers to unasked (& asked) questions:

• We didn't get as badly outplayed as we did in London - but we still were not good enough to win.

  Playoffs?????

• Winning teams do not turn over the ball on their initial drive or immediately after a takeaway by the defense. Winning teams do not botch XP's or allow FG's to be blocked.

  Gabbert seemed pretty good, but yet not the whole package. (Seems solid throwing outside the hashmarks but interception-prone throwing up the middle). On that final drive vs. the Rams, you'd hope to see him go out there and make something happen, but both play-calling and execution seemed a bit without purpose. Question for Blaine continues to be: "How much of his issues have to do with rust that can be removed and how much is an ingrained part of his DNA?"

• Card lack quality depth on OL and in secondary

• Cards lose more than their share of matchup battles

• Young Cardinal receivers were outplayed by opposing DB's/

• Young Cardinal receivers are not as good as young receivers on other teams

• Front 7 is hanging in there.

1st Quarter

• Rams received and returned the KO their own 21. They moved to the Card 38 in 5 plays before Zuerlein's 56 yd FG attempt was good. (Key Plays: Gurley up middle for +11...Pass to Kupp +25). Rams 3 - Cards 0.

  TB on the KO. On the first play from scrimmage,Gabbert's throw for Nelson was intercepted by Joyner and returned to the Card 23. Seven play drive ended with a 1-yd TD pass from Goff to Everett. (Key Play: Goff to Kupp +10). XP no good. Rams 9 - Cards 0.

  TB on KO. Cards held to 3 & out. Punt returned to Ram 37. They managed to move to the Card 30 in 3 plays, but Goff's pass for Gurley was intercepted by K-Mart and returned to the Card 40. Three plays later, Gabbert returned the favor when his pass - short left - was picked off nby Ogletree and returned 41-yds for a Pick 6. Rams 16 - Cards 0.

  TB on KO. A 17-yd pass from Gabbert to Seals-Jones helped move the Cards to their own 44 as the quarter ended.

  1st Quarter Score: Rams 16 - Cards 0.

2nd Quarter

• Cards punted from their own 47. TB on punt. Rams held to 3 & out. Punt fair caught at Card 33. Gabbert put together a 9-pt drive featuring the inside running of K Williams and capped by a one-yd TD run up the middle by Penny (with Boehm eligible as a lead-FB) (Key plays: K Williams up middle +10, +14, +9 and +7). Rams 16 - Cards 7.
• KO muffed. Ram ball on their own 14. Cards held them to 3 & out. Punt from Ram 23 returned to Card 30. Two plays after AGabbert hit Nelson for +26, Gabbert hit Fitz for a 15-yd TD. XP was blocked. Rams 16 - Cards 13.
• 3:25 till halftime. KO returned to the LA 20. They managed to get to the Card 2 in 7 plays until Zuerlein added 3 pts with 0:04 on the clock. . Rams 19 - Cards 13.

• First Half Score: Rams 19 - Cards 13.

3rd Quarter

• Cards received. TB on KO. The Cards managed to move to their own 43 before punting.Punt (less Ram penalty) downed at their own 2. Three and out, punting from their own 9. O-O-B at Card 21. 3 & out. Punt returned to Card 30. Goff capped a 6-play drive with a TD throw to Watkins. (Other Key Plays: Goff to Gurley +9...Goff to Carrier: +14). Rams 26 - Cards 13.

  KO returned to Card 18. A 21-yd completion to Gresham was ruled a trap. Cards managed to move to the Ram 36 in 8 plays to end the quarter (Key Plays of Drive: Gabbert to Fitz: +12...Gabbert to Gresham for +13...Gabbert to Fitz: +20..Gabbert to Nelson: +16).

  Third Quarter Score: Rams 26 - Cards 13.

• Dawson's 54-yd FG attempt was good. .Rams 26 - Cards 16.

  KO downed at Ram 25. Three & out...Punt returned to Card 45. A 27-yd completion to seals-Jones moved the Cards to the Ram 27 where - on 4th & 10 - Dawson's 45-yd FG attempted was blocked (Way to go Amos!). Rams took over on their own 42. A short pass to Gurley picked up 33 yds. Rams eventually reached the Card 6 )in 4:34). where Zuerlein was good from 24. Rams 29 - Cards 16.

  KO rerturned to Card 20. An aborted snap and a sack pushed Cards back to their 7 yd line. Punt returned to Ram 46. They managed to reach the Card 23 in 6 plays. Zuerlein was good from 41. Rams 32 - Cards 16.

  TB on KO. Gabbert was unable to engineer anything. 7plays/game over.

Final Score: Rams 32 - Cards 16.

Last Word:
This loss is probably the final nail to be driven into Cardinal playoff chances. So what's there left to root for - Rookies? Stats? Our role as Spoiler?

I see things from a slightly different angle. When you strip away the W's and W's, the Cards are a unique football animal - This is an "old team" with more than its share of colorful personalities, veteran leaders and guys polishing up their legacies (and heaping more fuel on the record books). It would be nice to see these guys win the balance of their games - not so much because they'll mean anything but because these are our guys, and we'd like to see them win.

Adrian Peterson = Adrian Peterson. Fitz = Fitz. Chandler Jones = Chandler Jones. PP21 = PP21. 'Los = "Los.

Then of course, there are the up & comers like Nkemdiche. Reddick. And Budda.

If you like to watch Cardinal Football, there are plenty of reasons to still do so.