Arizona Cardinals lose a heartbreaker to St. Louis Rams 27-24

Sep 8, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein (4) kicks a 36 yard field goal against the Arizona Cardinals during the first half at Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

In a typical NFC West game, the Arizona Cardinals and St. Louis Rams duke it out with each other but the Rams would get the victory today 27-24.  In a game where both defenses made plays so did the offenses.

For the Cardinals, it was the regular season debut for Carson Palmer and he played pretty well except for one interception which gave the Rams good field position but other than that he was good. Palmer today was 26 of 40 for 327 passing yards and two touchdowns. Talking about the passing game it was huge for the Cardinals this afternoon. The Cardinals top three wide receivers in Andre Roberts, Michael Floyd, and Larry Fitzgerald all had huge games.

Andre Roberts, who took many big hits, caught eight receptions for 97 yards. Michael Floyd had four receptions for 82 yards, and Larry Fitzgerald had both of Carson Palmer’s touchdowns to go along with eight receptions for 80 yards.

For the Rams, their running game couldn’t get on track but their passing game was on point. Quarterback Sam Bradford threw for 299 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. Bradford’s favorite target in today’s game was tight end Jared Cook, who came over from the Tennessee Titans in free agency. Cook had seven receptions for 141 yards and two touchdowns.

That is one thing, Bruce Arians is going to have to correct going into Week Two trying to cover the tight end better! Finally, for the Rams, rookie wide receiver Tavon Austin had six receptions for 41 yards.

Next week, the Cardinals have their home opener against the Detroit Lions at 4:05 PM ET/1:05 PM PT.