Sean McVay did not look for anything to soften Sunday’s result. After the Los Angeles Rams lost 18-16 at SoFi Stadium to the Arizona Cardinals and his former offensive coordinator, Mike LaFleur, the Rams head coach said there was “nothing positive” he could take from the afternoon and that his team will not win until it stops beating itself.
The loss dropped Los Angeles to 2-4, its second defeat in a row after an overtime loss to Buffalo, and it came against a division rival that arrived on a four-game losing streak. McVay said that even a win would not have changed his view: in his words, collectively “it’s just not good enough.”
Unforced errors, in his words and in the numbers
McVay kept returning to mistakes the Rams made on their own. The day turned in the first quarter, when kicker Blake Grupe hurt his knee and Los Angeles was left without a placekicker. That forced a two-point try after the first touchdown, a Blake Corum catch, and Matthew Stafford was sacked and fumbled on the attempt. Two more turnovers came inside Arizona territory in the fourth quarter.
The offense barely moved for long stretches. Stafford did not pass 100 yards until the final quarter and finished 25 of 33 for 222 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. Arizona held the ball for 34:52 to the Rams’ 25:08 and limited one of the league’s most productive attacks to 286 yards. Davante Adams also left late in the fourth quarter with an apparent leg injury.
A defense that did its part
The one group McVay singled out for credit was his defense, which played without cornerback Trent McDuffie. Arizona reached the red zone five times and came away with field goals each time, and the Cardinals never scored a touchdown. McVay said that unit did enough to keep his team in the game, and he also thanked several players for gutsy individual efforts.
It almost held up. Stafford led an 86-yard drive in a little more than two minutes, Puka Nacua catching two passes for 59 yards on it, and Colby Parkinson stretched over the goal line. With the regular kicker out, it was punter Ethan Evans who converted the extra point, and the Rams led 16-15 with 47 seconds to play. Arizona answered with a long completion to Jalen Brooks and an unnecessary roughness penalty, and Chad Ryland hit his sixth field goal, from 43 yards, as time expired.
COLBY STRETCHES IT IN!
📺: @NFLonFOX | #RamsHouse pic.twitter.com/oXR31h9iOk
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) October 18, 2026
The players took the same line
Stafford and Nacua echoed their coach. Both talked about execution, both said they would look at themselves first, and Nacua insisted the locker room remains connected, with no finger-pointing. McVay’s own conclusion was that the team has to go back to the drawing board before it can think about results.
What comes next
The Rams have a short trip to make it right: they visit the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, October 25, at 4:25 p.m. EDT. The Cardinals (2-4) host the Denver Broncos. The full result is in the Game Center.
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