Good, Bad and Ugly: Easy win puts Rams back where they belong

The Los Angeles Rams got back into the win column following a 45-17 beatdown of the Arizona Cardinals. L.A.’s win moved them back into first place in the conference standings, and was much-needed after last week’s meltdown in Charlotte.

It’s time to get into the good, the bad and the ugly from the Rams’ dominating win over their NFC West foe.

The Good

Rams rebounded by not playing with their food this week

The Cardinals got on the board first and even tied it at 10 early in the second quarter. After that, it was all Rams.

Los Angeles was clearly not in the mood to play with their food this week, winning their 15th game against their rival in the last 18 tries. L.A. went on a 35-0 run before Arizona scored a garbage time touchdown early in the fourth quarter.

We’ll get to Matthew Stafford in a moment, but Puka Nacua was BREATHTAKING in this one. Nacua had the first multi-touchdown game of his young career, leading the Rams with 7 receptions for 167 yards and the aforementioned 2 scores.

The offense racked up 530 yards, including 249 on the ground. Kyren Williams and Blake Corum were the best they’ve been all season. Corum led the way with 128 yards and 2 touchdowns on 12 carries.

This was the elite version of Corum Rams fans have been waiting to see, and the Michigan product is making the most of his opportunities. Kyren Williams had 84 yards and a score and Ronnie Rivers added 41 yards on 8 attempts.

Defensively, Arizona was one-dimensional all day, never getting anything going in the run game. It was so bad for them that quarterback Jacoby Brissett was the Cardinals’ leading rusher. L.A. allowed only 51 yards total on the ground, tightening up their run D after giving up 164 yards to the Panthers last week.

The defense also set up the offense on one touchdown drive as linebacker Nate Landman intercepted Brissett, and Stafford then fired a 31-yard dart to Nacua for the touchdown.

Sunday’s win showed why the Rams are the NFL’s best team. One tough loss seemed to make most of the league forget that.

In a season when no team is formidable, L.A. has a better chance than most at making a deep run, given their ability to play tight, complementary football. When the Rams are on, they’re on, so good luck to any NFC team trying to stop them.

Matthew Stafford’s MVP campaign back on track

What a difference a week makes.

Matthew Stafford played his worst game of the season in a three-turnover performance in Carolina. This week, Stafford’s MVP campaign got back on track after being temporarily derailed.

The game marked his seventh with at least 3 touchdown passes, and pushed his touchdown-to-interception ratio to 35-4. Stafford put the Panthers game behind him and then some. The MVP race is seemingly turning into a two-man race between him and Drake Maye.

Assuming Stafford’s...