The Rams head into Week 6 against the Cardinals with a chance to pull themselves back to .500 for the third time this season. That alone says plenty about how this year has unfolded. After the special teams mess and shaky run defense in the Week 5 loss to the Bills, this matchup feels like a clean reset button.
It also comes with some good news on the injury front. Los Angeles has a short list again, with only safety Kam Curl (ankle) and cornerback Trent McDuffie (groin) carrying questionable tags. Sean McVay sounded optimistic about Curl on Friday, but McDuffie remains less certain.
The Rams also made a couple of roster moves to shore things up. Cornerback Cam Lampkin was elevated from the practice squad, and rookie tackle Keagen Trost was activated from injured reserve for the first time this season. That matters because Alaric Jackson is serving a one-game suspension, which leaves David Quessenberry in line to start at left tackle.
For the Cardinals, the Rams will need to keep a close eye on quarterback Jacoby Brissett. He has been quietly effective against Los Angeles over the years, including two games against the Rams last season.
In four career appearances versus LA, Brissett has gone 57 of 88 for 689 yards, six touchdowns, and two interceptions. His 101.9 passer rating against the Rams is his fifth-best mark against any opponent.
Arizona may need to lean harder on Brissett than planned with rookie running back Jeremiyah Love ruled out. That should tilt the game more toward the air, which helps the Rams on paper. Still, Brissett has shown he can make things uncomfortable when the plan is right.
Tight end Trey McBride is another name that jumps off the page. He has been the focal point of Arizona’s passing game since last season, when he led all tight ends in catches and receiving yards while tying the Eagles’ Dallas Goedert for the position lead with 11 touchdowns. This year, he has already piled up 42 catches for 308 yards and two scores.
With now-Texans receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. no longer in the mix, Brissett has one fewer option to spread the ball around. That could push even more volume McBride’s way, especially with Arizona likely using him as a short-area outlet and an extension of the run game while Love is out.
Then there’s edge rusher Josh Sweat, who hasn’t piled up the production the Cardinals expected so far. He has just one sack after posting a career-high 12 last season.
Even so, this matchup could give him a cleaner path to impact the game. Quessenberry has barely played offense this year, and the Rams are asking him to handle the left tackle spot against a front that may try to hunt for the weak link.
Arizona lists Sweat as its right-side outside linebacker, but he spent time on either edge in 2025. If the Cardinals want to attack Quessenberry directly, they could move Sweat around and put him on the left more often.
In Other News...
Rams Face A Familiar Threat To Stafford And The Offense
The Rams next trip into the NFC West brings more than a divisional opponent. When they line up against the Cardinals, Sean McVay will be facing Mike LaFleur for the first time as a head coach on the other sideline, a familiar face from McVays own staff and part of a coaching tree that has shaped plenty of recent Rams football. The connection runs deeper than just one meeting, with McVay, LaFleur and Matt LaFleur all tied together through years of shared ideas and overlapping success, while Matthew Stafford has also had a front-row seat to how that family of coaches works.
For the Rams, the matchup is another reminder that the league keeps circling back to relationships as much as schemes. McVay has spoken highly of Mike LaFleurs impact, and Stafford has too, which makes this one feel a little different than a standard division game. Theres still the usual stake of a divisional test, but theres also the added layer of two coaches who know each other well and an offense trying to stay ahead of a defense that has seen plenty of the same concepts from the same coaching line. [Read more 🡒]
Rams Special Teams Problem Has Become Impossible To Ignore
The Rams have spent enough time trying to patch the issue that it is no longer possible to call it a one-week hiccup. Their special teams have been a problem all season, and the numbers have reflected it in ugly fashion, with the unit sitting last in several key categories. Los Angeles has already started to address it by moving on from kicker Harrison Mevis and bringing in cornerback Damarion Williams to help the coverage units, but the fixes so far have only underscored how deep the concern runs.
Bubba Ventrone now has a unit under the microscope, and the pressure is not just on the players trying to make tackles and flip field position. Les Snead has shown a willingness to keep adjusting the roster when something is not working, and special teams may be headed for more of that scrutiny if the Rams do not clean things up soon. For a team trying to stay sharp everywhere else, this phase of the game has become the one area it can least afford to keep ignoring. [Read more 🡒]
Rashod Bateman Trade Buzz Could Put Ravens In A Tough Spot
With the Rams sitting at 2-3, the search for offensive help is already starting to take on some urgency, and Baltimore wide receiver Rashod Bateman has surfaced as a name to watch. Bleacher Reports Gary Davenport pegged Los Angeles as a possible landing spot, pointing to the teams need for more receiver depth and Batemans track record as reasons the fit could make sense.
Bateman has shown enough this season to keep his name in the conversation, with one touchdown, 16 catches and 233 receiving yards in five games. For the Rams, any move of this sort would be about adding another reliable target and reshaping the passing game around the stretch run, while the possibility of a deal could leave Baltimore weighing whether it can afford to part with a receiver who still has plenty of value in the market. [Read more 🡒]