Rams’ season hits new low after stunning last-second Cardinals loss

For a few glorious moments Sunday afternoon, the Los Angeles Rams thought Matthew Stafford had saved their season.

The veteran quarterback had engineered a remarkable fourth-quarter comeback, punter Ethan Evans had somehow converted the go-ahead extra point, and over 73,000 fans at SoFi Stadium were ready to celebrate an improbable escape from another afternoon of self-inflicted misery.

There was just one problem.

The Rams left too much time on the clock.

And because apparently no Los Angeles football disaster is complete without one final twist of the knife, Arizona Cardinals kicker Chad Ryland drilled a 43-yard field goal as time expired, delivering a stunning 18-16 victory that sent the Rams tumbling into last place in the NFC West.

For the second consecutive week, Los Angeles watched an opponent celebrate a walk-off victory while Stafford and his teammates were left wondering how another winnable game had slipped through their fingers.

The Rams are 2-4, and the wheels haven’t just fallen off their Super Bowl bandwagon. They’re scattered somewhere along the 405 freeway near LAX.

What began as a season overflowing with championship expectations has deteriorated into an increasingly embarrassing collection of penalties, turnovers, special teams disasters and questionable decisions.

Sunday offered the entire miserable assortment.

The afternoon began promisingly when safety Quentin Lake intercepted Jacoby Brissett on Arizona’s opening possession, perfectly undercutting a route intended for tight end Trey McBride.

But the Rams couldn’t turn the takeaway into a touchdown, settling for a 44-yard field goal from newly signed kicker Blake Grupe.

Seconds later, the nightmare began.

On the ensuing kickoff, Arizona returner Devin Duvernay broke through Los Angeles’ coverage, leaving the 5-foot-7, 150-pound Grupe as the last defender between him and the end zone.

Grupe made the touchdown-saving tackle but injured his knee, leaving the Rams without their kicker for the remainder of the game.

For the second consecutive week, Los Angeles’ kickoff coverage was so dreadful that its kicker was forced to make a desperation tackle. On Monday, it was Ethan Evans against Buffalo. This time, the consequences were even worse.

Without Grupe, Sean McVay was forced to abandon conventional kicking decisions, turning routine scoring opportunities into fourth-down gambles.

Meanwhile, Arizona controlled the football and the clock.

The Cardinals gained 110 yards in the first quarter while the Rams managed just 23. Los Angeles’ defense repeatedly stiffened near its own goal line, forcing Arizona to settle for six Ryland field goals instead of touchdowns.

Stafford finally provided a spark in the second quarter, connecting with Blake Corum on a 15-yard touchdown screen behind excellent blocks from Kevin Dotson and Steve Avila.

But even that score came with an ugly footnote.

With Grupe unavailable, McVay attempted a two-point conversion. Stafford was blindsided and fumbled, nearly allowing Arizona to return the ball for two points.

The Rams led 9-6 before entering halftime tied 9-9, having generated just 107 yards of offense.

Arizona opened the second half with a 15-play, eight-minute possession that ended in another Ryland field goal. Later, McVay called a fourth-and-1 handoff to tight end Davis Allen, lined up at fullback, only to watch him get stuffed short of the marker.

Tyler Higbee subsequently fumbled at Arizona’s 22-yard line, wasting another promising possession. Another drive unraveled when a false start turned fourth-and-3 into fourth-and-8, followed by a screen pass that went nowhere.

The Rams were beating themselves more efficiently than Arizona ever could.

And yet Stafford nearly rescued them.

Trailing 15-9 late in the fourth quarter, the veteran quarterback orchestrated a desperate touchdown drive to tie the game. Evans, pressed into emergency kicking duty, then delivered the unlikeliest extra point imaginable to give Los Angeles a 16-15 advantage.

The comeback should have been remembered as one of the defining moments of the Rams’ season.

Instead, it became another cruel setup.

Arizona marched downfield on its final possession, positioning Ryland for a 43-yard attempt as the clock expired.

A miraculous comeback erased. Another game lost. Another afternoon of bad football rewarded with exactly what it deserved.

What it means

The Rams fall to 2-4 and into last place in the NFC West, losing the head-to-head tiebreaker against an Arizona team that entered Sunday with one victory.

The Cardinals improve to 2-4, handing former Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur a dramatic victory over his old boss.

For Los Angeles, the implications are far more troubling than one division loss. A preseason Super Bowl favorite has now lost four of its last five games, and the same problems keep resurfacing.

Special teams breakdowns, offensive mistakes and defensive lapses have turned a championship contender into a team struggling to survive October.

Turning point

Grupe’s knee injury on the opening kickoff changed McVay’s entire game plan. Without a dependable kicker, the Rams were forced into two-point conversions and fourth-down gambles, eliminating opportunities to collect points during a game decided by field goals.

One disastrous special teams play didn’t single-handedly cause the loss, but it made an already struggling offense’s job considerably harder.

Did you see that?

At 5-foot-7 and 150 pounds, Grupe looked like a pinball bouncing off Duvernay while trying to prevent a kickoff-return touchdown.

The tackle saved six points but cost the Rams their kicker.

For the second consecutive week, Los Angeles’ coverage unit left its kicker making the touchdown-saving tackle. That’s not bad luck anymore. That’s bad football.

Up next

The Rams travel to Allegiant Stadium next Sunday to face the Las Vegas Raiders, desperately needing to stop a season that has begun spiraling out of control.

Arizona, meanwhile, leaves Los Angeles with a division victory and some badly needed momentum under LaFleur.

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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com