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Since Sean McVay took over as head coach of the Rams, his team has owned the Arizona Cardinals. Los Angeles has swept the Cardinals in each of the last four years, winning eight straight against its division rival.
Most of the games haven’t been particularly close, either. Seven of the eight were by at least 10 points, with the Rams scoring at least 30 points in all but one of their last eight against Arizona. The total scoring margin between these teams since 2017 is 251-91, an average margin of victory of 31-11 for Los Angeles.
Yet, as dominant as the Rams have been against the Cardinals, McVay says their past success means nothing as they gear up to host Arizona on Sunday. Here’s what he said Monday when asked what he believes has made the Rams so dominant against the Cardinals.
“Our players have played well. This is a really good team. They’re obviously playing really well this year,” he said. “They’ve got a lot of playmakers in all three phases. They’ve got great schemes. I don’t know that there’s really an answer other than when we’ve played them, our guys have found a way to deliver in that three-hour window and do an excellent job coming away with the wins. But we all know this, and you guys know how I feel, what’s happened in previous years has zero to do with what we’re going to try to do on Sunday. Those things have no merit. It doesn’t do anything for us. We’ve just got to make sure that we prepare the right way moving forward and try to do everything we can to put another good performance together.”
Like the Rams, the Cardinals are also 3-0. They also have two double-digit wins, beating the Titans by 25 in Week 1 and the Jaguars by 12 on Sunday. In between, they narrowly escaped with a 34-33 win over the Vikings in Week 2.
Through three weeks, they rank first in scoring, second in total yards, second in net yards per pass attempt and second in takeaways on defense. It’s a very well-rounded team that has stars like Kyler Murray, DeAndre Hopkins, Budda Baker and Chandler Jones. Not to mention, they added Rodney Hudson, J.J. Watt and A.J. Green this offseason.
This isn’t the same Cardinals team the Rams have faced in recent years, looking like legitimate contenders in the NFC West – which is why Sunday’s showdown at SoFi Stadium is so important for both teams.
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