NFL Week 17 PFF ReFocused: Los Angeles Rams 31, Arizona Cardinals 24

The Los Angeles Rams capped off a disappointing season by beating the Arizona Cardinals 31-24 in Week 17.

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Final Score

Los Angeles Rams 31, Arizona Cardinals 24

Los Angeles Rams

The Rams struggled to get much going on the ground. When they did find success, it was usually the result of a cutback run on outside zone. Overall, they struggled to run between the tackles.

The Rams utilized tempo to keep the Cardinals on their heels. With the use of a fast pace and quick passes, Jared Goff was able to stay in rhythm throughout the game.

Aaron Donald did Aaron Donald things tonight, and it was entirely unfair to the Arizona offense. Virtually unblockable throughout, Donald categorically annihilated the Cardinals’ offensive line.

The Rams defense played a decent game regardless of the Arizona offense distributing turnovers like candy at Halloween. The Cards’ ground game tacked on some yardage late but had been shut down to minuscule levels prior to that. Christian Kirk and Larry Fitzgerald were held in check by a secondary that was missing considerable talent.

Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals’ offense played relatively well until they started coughing up turnovers. A string of plays sent the ball to the Rams early, starting with an early snap with Kyler Murray still setting up a play followed by a dropped pitch to Kenyan Drake. Murray tacked on another interception on an overthrow and another was dropped. No offense can be expected to find success with as many miscues as Arizona committed today; the simple fact Arizona hung around is entirely surprising.

With the offense stalling on turnovers and offensive pass interference penalties, the running game was never given the opportunity to establish itself until very late. Even facing a defense sitting many of its stars — most notably in the secondary — Arizona just couldn’t get past themselves. One bright spot was Dan Arnold, who did everything he could to salvage the day and popped off the screen at every opportunity.

Chandler Jones was a menace early on for the Cardinals but settled down as the game went on. He recorded multiple pressures and made some plays against the run, but the Rams' use of quick passes neutralized him for the most part.

Outside of a few splash plays, the Cardinals' secondary did a solid job of staying on the hips of the Rams' receivers. The unit had a handful of forced incompletions and made a few key stops immediately after the catch.