TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — The Arizona Cardinals are ready to move on from last year's late collapse and contend for an NFC West title, using the upcoming NFL draft to continue building around young star quarterback Kyler Murray.
104. LOS ANGELES RAMS (16-5)
LAST SEASON: The Rams won it all for the second time in team history, raising the Vince Lombardi Trophy for the first time during the franchise's two Los Angeles eras.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Linebacker Bobby Wagner agreed to a five-year deal Thursday to join his hometown Los Angeles Rams.
The Super Bowl champions outmaneuvered several suitors for Wagner, one of the NFL's top inside linebackers after his decade with the Seattle Seahawks.
A month after Andrew Whitworth reached the pinnacle of his long football career, he decided to go out on top.
The 40-year-old left tackle announced his retirement Tuesday after a 16-season NFL career capped by his first Super Bowl championship last month with the Los Angeles Rams.
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) — Cooper Kupp led the league in every major receiving category this season, a triple crown feat accomplished only three times previously in NFL history.
Deebo Samuel also racked up huge numbers, but he wasn't content to just catch the ball.
SCOREBOARD
Sunday, Jan. 30
Cincinnati at Kansas City, 3 p.m. EST. The Bengals advanced to the AFC championship game for the first time since the 1988 season by beating Tennessee 19-16 on Saturday.
A six-point victory seemed like a rout this wild weekend.
Even if it was in overtime.
Kansas City's hold-your-breath 42-36 win over Buffalo capped a divisional round in which the other three games were decided on final-play field goals giving the visitors wins.
SCOREBOARD
Monday, Jan. 17
Arizona at Los Angeles Rams, 8:15 p.m. EST. Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray makes his postseason debut for the Cardinals (11-6), who split two regular-season games against the NFC West-rival Rams (12-5).
Not only do NFL fans get three night games to savor during wild-card weekend, but they also can revel in the rivalries.
AFC East foes New England and Buffalo, who split victories on the road during the season.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Safety Eric Weddle is coming out of retirement to rejoin the Los Angeles Rams for the playoffs.
Weddle turned 37 last week, and he hasn't played in the NFL since the 2019 season, but the Rams signed him to their practice squad Wednesday to address their glaring need at safety.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — While the Rams shook hands with the San Francisco 49ers down on the field Sunday, a celebratory graphic blared from the massive Oculus videoboard above them. Virtual confetti flew while SoFi Stadium heralded Los Angeles as the “NFC West Division Champs.”
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The Arizona Cardinals said the things you'd expect after another loss on Sunday that's part of a long late-season fade:
SCOREBOARD
The wild-card round of the NFL playoffs begins next weekend with six games over three days.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Daniel Carlson’s 47-yard field goal as time expired in overtime lifted the Las Vegas Raiders past the Los Angeles Chargers 35-32 on Sunday night for their first playoff berth since 2016.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Jalen Ramsey wasn't in any mood to celebrate the Los Angeles Rams' first NFC West Division title since 2018, not after the Rams blew a 17-point, second-quarter lead.
Shortly after Seattle defeated Arizona — ensuring the Rams would capture the division — Matthew Stafford threw an interception to San Francisco's Ambry Thomas to wrap up the 49ers' 27-24 overtime victory.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — When the Los Angeles took an early 17-0 lead on the San Francisco 49ers, George Kittle had several Rams chirping their excitement in his ear about a shift in this one-sided rivalry.
Seattle Seahawks Pro Bowl safety Quandre Diggs was carted off the field with a broken right leg and dislocated ankle in an emotional scene in Arizona on Sunday, and New Orleans Saints quarterback Taysom Hill left a game against Atlanta with a left foot injury and didn’t return.
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Seattle's locker room was deafeningly loud in the aftermath of Sunday's impressive win, with the bass from some speakers rattling the concrete walls in the midst of constant cheers and laughter.
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The Arizona Cardinals will play their first playoff game in six years on the road. It might work in their favor.
The Cardinals concluded a season of struggles at home with a 38-30 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, sending them to Los Angeles for an AFC wild-card game next weekend.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Cooper Kupp only knows he's finishing up one of the greatest seasons by a receiver in NFL history because people won't stop telling him about it.
The Los Angeles Rams' star wideout insists he doesn't watch any sports television heralding his achievements, and he refuses to read up on himself online.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers' domination of the Los Angeles Rams is well beyond a quirk or a coincidence at this point.
With five consecutive victories over their NFC West rivals, the 49ers own the Rams in a way that defies easy explanation — and poses a major obstacle to the Rams' hopes of winning the division with a regular season-ending victory Sunday at SoFi Stadium.
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Arizona still has a shot at the NFC West title, the No. 2 seed in the playoff bracket and home-field advantage in the first two rounds of the postseason.
How much the Cardinals are willing to risk for those benefits remains to be seen.
SEATTLE (6-10) at ARIZONA (11-5)
Sunday, 4:25 p.m. EST, Fox
BETTING LINE: Cardinals by 6 1/2, according to FanDuel SportsBook.
SAN FRANCISCO (9-7) at LOS ANGELES RAMS (12-4)
Sunday, 4:25 p.m. EST, Fox
BETTING LINE: Rams by 4, according to FanDuel SportsBook.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Running back Cam Akers is expected to make his season debut for the Los Angeles Rams in their regular-season finale on Sunday, adding another elite offensive talent to a top NFL offense.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The troubles for Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals weren't anything that a trip to the star quarterback's favorite stadium couldn't fix.
They might be back in two weeks for a wild-card game.
BALTIMORE (AP) — When the Los Angeles Rams look back on this important victory, they might recall how Matthew Stafford helped put the team in a quandary with three costly turnovers.
They most certainly won’t forget how the gritty quarterback made amends by overseeing a near-flawless fourth-quarter comeback that produced in a 20-19 win Sunday over the short-handed but stubborn Baltimore Ravens.
This looks like the last thing the Baltimore Ravens need right now — another talented opponent with a dynamic passing game and plenty of motivation.
The battered Ravens host the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday in yet another difficult test for Baltimore's depleted secondary.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — A month ago, Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys figured to be chasing Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals for the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
Now they're both looking up at Green Bay, and the rolling Cowboys are in a better position than the reeling Cardinals in a matchup of playoff-bound teams Sunday.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Rams followed up a winless November with a perfect December, and the way they overcame major obstacles to reach that mark brought all kinds of holiday cheer to a team that refuses to fall out of the Super Bowl chase.
SEATTLE (AP) — After the final kneel down, the few remaining snowballs being tossed from the stands were no longer only directed toward officials or the Chicago Bears. Some were being flung toward the home sideline and tunnel as the Seattle Seahawks left the field.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Before Brandon Powell joined the Los Angeles Rams last month, his fifth team in four NFL seasons, he read books on the beach near his Florida home while waiting for yet another chance.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Running back Cam Akers has been cleared to practice with the Los Angeles Rams, taking one of the final steps in his rapid comeback from a torn Achilles tendon.
The Rams (10-4) also designated Akers for return from injured reserve Thursday, which means he is in a 21-day window for reactivation to the roster.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Cooper Kupp and Matthew Stafford have given the Rams one of the NFL's most potent passing connections, a synergy Los Angeles is aiming to use as fuel for a deep run in the playoffs.
LOS ANGELES (10-4) at MINNESOTA (7-7)
Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, Fox
BETTING LINE: Rams by 3, according to FanDuel SportsBook.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Beating the Seattle Seahawks at home with a depleted roster was probably the easier part of this nightmarish week for the Los Angeles Rams.
Facing the Vikings on the road and on four days' rest with several key contributors possibly still missing will test the Rams (10-4) even more extensively.
DETROIT (AP) — Kyler Murray had nowhere to run and his passes often missed the mark.
Murray's shaky performance helped the Detroit Lions stun the Arizona Cardinals 30-12 on Sunday.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Greg Gaines probably should have checked his messages Tuesday morning after returning home from his Los Angeles Rams' energizing road win over NFC West-leading Arizona.
When the nose tackle got to the Rams' training complex for the usual off-day treatment, he said he quickly found out what he had been missing when he was ordered off the property.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Quandre Diggs lined up against Matthew Stafford every day in practice for 4 1/2 seasons in Detroit, so the Seattle safety knows a little more about the tendencies and talents of Los Angeles' quarterback than his teammates.
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The Arizona Cardinals had their chances to beat the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night. The two heavyweights in the NFC West fought until the final drive before the Rams eventually took the hard-earned 30-23 victory.
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — From the first play to the last, Aaron Donald and the Los Angeles Rams showed they're still a heavyweight in the NFC West.
The six-time All-Pro finished with three sacks — the first on the initial play from scrimmage and the last as time expired — while Matthew Stafford threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Rams past the Arizona Cardinals 30-23 on Monday night.
Maybe the Arizona Cardinals should have stayed on the road. Home cooking doesn't seem to sit well with them.
Undefeated on the road, the Cardinals returned home the first time in a month and fell flat again Monday night, losing 30-23 to the Los Angeles Rams to tighten the NFC West race.
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The Los Angeles Rams won't have defensive back Jalen Ramsey or tight end Tyler Higbee on the field for Monday night's game against the Arizona Cardinals after both players were put on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
SCOREBOARD
Monday, Dec. 13
Los Angeles Rams at Arizona, 8:15 p.m. EST. The NFL-leading Cardinals (10-2) can really put the clamps on the NFC West with a win over Los Angeles. The Rams (8-4) are in solid shape for a playoff berth no matter what happens in this game, but their recent three-game losing streak didn't end until a matchup with Jacksonville showed up on the schedule.
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) — For the third time in four seasons, the Los Angeles Rams appear to be getting a major boost in December from a running back who's bursting into the lineup and finishing the regular season strong.
SEATTLE (AP) — Jimmy Garoppolo believed the play was there. There likely was going to be an open target with all the attention focused on George Kittle.
But the pass never got to its intended target, deflected at the line of scrimmage by Carlos Dunlap.
CHICAGO (AP) — Quarterback Andy Dalton knew the Chicago Bears had little margin for error going against the team with the NFL's best record.
The Bears weren’t even close to playing error-free football as four interceptions set up Arizona for four easy scores, and the NFC West-leading Cardinals emerged with a 33-22 victory on Sunday.