Cardinals answer litany of questions in thorough beatdown of Rams

A decade is enough.

There will be no angst this week over receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.’s involvement in the Arizona Cardinals offense. Sunday was MHJ Fantasy Day at State Farm Stadium.

There will be no angst about quarterback Kyler Murray’s ability to push the ball downfield, or offensive coordinator Drew Petzing’s willingness to do so. Not after the Cardinals completed three passes of more than 20 yards to MHJ in the first half while the offense tested the boundaries against the LA defense.

There will be no criticism this week of Murray’s vision after he extended plays with his feet, made the right reads with his eyes, and made the right throws with his arm to record just the second perfect passer rating in the franchise’s Arizona history.

And there will be no more talk about Sean McVay’s dominance of the Cardinals, the Rams’ winning streak in Glendale, or coach Jonathan Gannon‘s inability to best one of his NFC West peers. Not after this 41-10 beatdown that marked the first Cardinals victory against the Rams since 2014, and the second largest margin of victory the Cardinals have ever posted against the Rams — whether in Arizona, St. Louis or Chicago.

This was a complete effort from the coaching staff, the offense, the defense and the special teams, but it was Murray who led the way in what was perhaps his best NFL performance.

“​​He was lights out today,” Gannon said. “He’s a premium player for a reason. You’d take him against anybody. That’s how I feel. That’s what he did today.”

Murray’s numbers — 17 of 21 for 266 yards and three TDs — weren’t as gaudy as some past performances, but he was stunningly efficient, and he tossed in enough magic to remind everyone of his supreme athletic abilities.

There was the 23-yard TD pass to Harrison in the back of the end zone on which he placed the ball perfectly. There were the 59 rushing yards to extend drives when all else failed. There was the high-point throw to tight end Trey McBride along the sideline. There was a ridiculous scramble to find Harrison along the left sideline on a broken play, and there was the 60-yard TD pass to Harrison where he threw on the run.

It’s hell of an existence being Kyler Murray. He lives under the microscope and he was under it again this past week despite an effective performance in a season-opening loss at Buffalo. There were questions about his ability to see the field. There were questions about his ability to make plays with the game on the line. There were and always will be questions about his height.

When he reached the podium for the postgame news conference, none of that was visible on his face or noticeable in his voice.

“I’m not really worried about the past or the future; just trying to be where my feet are,” he said. “We had a great week of practice to prepare for this. We went out there and executed against a good football team, a divisional opponent, home opener, 1-0 in the division. It was a good win.”

Almost from the get-go, this game felt different. LA returned the opening kickoff 41 yards and running back Kyren Williams ripped off nine yards on first down. But that was the only time when anybody wondered if the Rams might extend their streak.

The defense stiffened on three successive plays, forcing a turnover on downs. And on the Cardinals first offensive drive, Murray looked to Harrison immediately. The pass fell incomplete, but after a steady dose of James Conner (21 carries, 122 yards, TD) Murray came back to Harrison for the first of many expected touchdowns.

When Harrison looked over the final stat sheet, he saw four catches for 130 yards and two TDs — an impressive performance for any player, let alone a rookie. But then he endeared himself to his QB, his coach and a fan base by pointing out the flaw in his numbers.

“Not gonna lie to you,” he said. “I saw Kyler’s statline. He has four incompletions. All were to me so I’m not very happy about that. We definitely gotta get that fixed.”

Nobody was complaining. Not after the defense sacked Matthew Stafford five times including three from linebacker Dennis Gardeck. Not after the offensive line mauled the Rams front, with fill-in right tackle Kelvin Beachum making everybody forget about Jonah Williams and Greg Rousseau. Not after LA managed just 53 rushing yards. Not after this mind-boggling Los Angeles streak was blown to bits by a three-phase victory in which even kicker Matt Prater booted a 57-yard field goal.

Yes, the Rams came in a bit banged up (so did the Cardinals) along the offensive line and at receiver, but Arizona had lost eight straight division games, 11 of the past 12 and they were 3-19 in their past 22 overall.

With an elite team up next in Detroit and a brutal stretch of games over the first half, the Cardinals needed a response to the loss in Buffalo. They needed to establish themselves in the division if they wanted any hope of securing a playoff spot.

Gannon can downplay the rivalry notion all he wants, but this game carried massive meaning for the Cardinals. Not everybody was reluctant to admit it.

“This win was a special one, coming back home and playing the type of game we played today,” Beachum said. “It feels good. Now the question is, can we find a way to duplicate it and be able to stack it?”

Top photo via Getty Images

Follow Craig Morgan on Twitter