Jared Goff threw for 424 yards and connected on his first touchdown pass in over a month and the visiting Los Angeles Rams boosted their shrinking playoff hopes by rolling to a 34-7 victory Sunday over the Arizona Cardinals.
Goff threw two touchdowns on the day, his first scoring strikes since Oct. 27 in a victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in London. Tight end Tyler Higbee and wide receiver Cooper Kupp caught scoring passes as the Rams (7-5) rebounded from a demoralizing 45-6 defeat to the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night.
Cardinals rookie quarterback Kyler Murray was 19 of 34 for 163 yards, was sacked six times and threw an interception in the third quarter that was returned for a touchdown by Rams rookie safety Taylor Rapp.
Murray ran for a 15-yard TD with 8:42 remaining as the Cardinals avoided a shutout with an 80-yard drive. The Cardinals had 81 total yards in the game before that drive started.
The Cardinals (3-8-1) were held to 63 total yards in the first half and 198 in the game while losing for the fifth consecutive time.
Todd Gurley rushed for 95 yards, two short of his season high, and the Rams had a season-best 549 yards of total offense. Wide receiver Robert Woods tied a career-best with 13 receptions for 172 yards, while Higbee caught seven passes for a career-best 107 yards.
The Rams led just 3-0 after one quarter. A 2-yard TD pass from Goff to Higbee, a 1-yard scoring run from Gurley and a 33-yard field goal as time expired in the second quarter gave them a 20-0 lead into halftime.
Kupp caught a 10-yard TD pass from Goff early in the third quarter to boost the lead to 27-0 before Rapp ran back his interception 31 yards for a score two offensive plays later.
Los Angeles' defensive domination was so thorough, the Cardinals did not get inside the Rams' 45-yard line until under 11 minutes remained in the game.
The Rams have one more game remaining against the Cardinals at home, but also have games left on the schedule against the Seattle Seahawks, Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers. Los Angeles is 1 1/2 games behind the Minnesota Vikings for the second NFC wild card.
--Field Level Media