clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Cardinals vs. Rams: What was the play of the game?

And for your reading participation enjoyment - this article comes with a poll!

Dilip Vishwanat

First of all, let me put this out there rather bluntly:

If you're an Arizona Cardinals fan - this game sucked.

Yeah, there were positives in the 27-24 loss to the Saint Louis Rams like 2 TDs to Fitz, Roberts rag-doll performance, Palmer being the anti- Kolb/Skelton/Lindley/Hoyer UnFearsome Foursome and the fact that the team put up more points on the road since 2011 against the Ravens.(Which also went for a loss.) But it still was a winnable game in a season in which the team probably won't be afforded too many giveaway-contests.

But in this post we are looking for the diamond that shone the brightest, the cream of the crop, the big cheese - the play that defined the Arizona Cardinals/ St Louis Rams game. And there were a couple of them that caught my eye:

1.) The Greg Zuerlein game winning 48 yard field goal. If your going pure semantics, you can't get any truer POG than this one. The kick was dead center through the goal posts and Cardinals' fan's hearts.

2.) Carson Palmer's sack and fumble recovery by the Ram's Robert Quinn in the 4th quarter. It was the third sack and 2nd forced fumble by Quinn against Levi Brown. Not an "elite" performance by any means, unless you're discussing Pop Warner left tackles.

3.) Dan William's tipped INT for a touchdown. Matt Shaughnessy hits football, Williams gets it on the rebound at the Rams 2 yard line and rumbles, stumble, bumbles into the endzone. Hadn't seen Dan move that fast since someone on the Cards sideline shouted "Free Donuts!".

4.) I know this isn't going to get any love, but I got really excited when Justin Bethel tripped up Tavon Austin on a third quarter punt return. Austin in the open field isn't a promising sight and Bethel as the gunner made a shoestring tackle to keep him from even starting. My heart rate probably went from 60 to 62 beats a minute, it was that enthralling.

5.) Tyrann Mathieu's strip of Jared Cook from a sure touchdown. The first quarter pass down the middle to Cook was a guaranteed score except for one thing: Honey Badger's unique ability to knock the ball out of ball carrier's arms.Mathieu is reknowned for the play about as much as the Cards knew they have no one who can cover TEs out of the backfield. Tyrann gave Cook the "reach around poke" at the 4 yard line and Karlos Dansby recovered in the endzone. Best play of the bittersweet game. IMO.

And now the aforementioned poll - what's your choice?