Rams limping in, but Cardinals still face a dangerous division foe

One year ago, heading into week 13 of the NFL season the Los Angeles Rams were 10-1 and looked like they were primed for a long run of excellence.

The Arizona Cardinals were 2-9 and we had begun to discuss the future with the coaching staff and front office.

Now, a year later the Rams sit at 6-5 may have one of the worst roster situations in the NFL.

How bad is it?

The Rams situation gets even worse when you remember:

The Rams also paid all of that cost to rent Jalen Ramsey if they do not re-sign him this offseason. If they do sign him, it will eat up a substantial cost in their already low cap space situation.

Now, they are coming off an embarrassing home loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night Football which has all of the NFL and media wondering, are the Rams screwed?

That’s what the Arizona Cardinals get coming off their bye week.

A team that lost 45-6 at home.

I went through every game in NFL history thanks to Pro Football References box score finder.

The last time a team lost 45-6 was 1976, and ironically the Los Angeles Rams were involved in that one as well. The Rams beat the Seahawks 45-6.

The question becomes how do teams respond after getting blown out?

The ‘76 Seahawks won their next game 30-13 over the Atlanta Falcons to get their second and only win of the season.

When the Cardinals got blown out last year, I know which time, they usually responded well.

When the Cardinals lost to the Rams in game two 34-0, they took the Bears to the brink the next week in their 13-16 loss.

When they were embarrassed on Thursday Night Football 45-10, they responded by winning the next game against the 49ers, 18-15.

The 45-10 loss to the Chargers was followed up by the 20-17 upset over the Packers.

That all happened in week 12 and 13 as well.

So, while the Rams are getting blown out, the Arizona Cardinals are only 3-7-1. They still are a team that has shown that other offenses can get right against.

The question is, what do the Cardinals come out of the bye week looking like?

That will tell us a lot about where they are as a team, especially the defense.

Let’s see what the Cardinals have in them.