For the third time this year, the Rams avoided losing back-to-back games. After falling to the 49ers in Week 12, L.A. bounced back on Sunday against the Cardinals with a statement win over the Cardinals, beating their division rivals 38-28 on the road.
The win helped the Rams take back the lead in the NFC West thanks to Seattle’s loss, but it didn’t do much to improve their standing in this week’s NFL power rankings. At Touchdown Wire, the Rams remain a top-10 team, but just barely.
They moved up one spot from No. 9 to 8 after beating the Cardinals. They’re one spot ahead of the slipping Seahawks, and one position behind the Colts.
After last week’s loss to the San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay challenged his quarterback. In his postgame comments McVay was clear that he expected Jared Goff to perform better, and to take care of the football.
It seems those comments had their desired effect.
Goff was a much more efficient and effective quarterback during Sunday’s game, a critical NFC West meeting with the Arizona Cardinals.
The Rams looked much more like the team they were at the start of the season than the one we saw crumble under pressure against the Dolphins and 49ers, which is a great sign. But now they face another test against the Patriots, who may not seem like a major threat at 6-6 but remain a hurdle thanks to Bill Belichick’s coaching.
New England is coming off a 45-0 win over the Chargers in Week 13 and Belichick would love nothing more than to sweep both L.A. teams at SoFi Stadium in a span of five days.
