Cardinals ride second-half outburst to win over Rams

ST. LOUIS – The Cardinals coaching staff is an autocracy, and there is never a question about who is at the top: Bruce Arians, the guy with the biggest office and largest personality.

But the Cardinals coach also seeks input from his assistants, and on Sunday he followed his usual halftime custom of asking offensive coordinator Harold Goodwin what running plays might work in the second half.

As the two walked back to the field at the Edward Jones Dome, Goodwin mentioned that a power running play with the base name of “FAY” might work.

And it did, nearly to perfection. The Cardinals used it at least three times in two touchdown drives in the third quarter. It helped bust open a close game and give them a 27-3 victory over the Rams.

“We had it in the game plan, but it’s the first time we pulled it out all year,” Goodwin said.

BOX SCORE: Cardinals 27, Rams 3

On all three plays, tight ends Jermaine Gresham and Darren Fells lined up on the right side, then pulled to the left. Rookie David Johnson gained 23 yards the first time the Cardinals ran it. Kerwynn Williams gained 15 the second and scored from 35 yards out the third time.

“It’s the first time I ever acted as a guard, pulling and kicking out,” Fells said. “It was definitely an experience trying to do that job.”

That play helped the Cardinals rush for 175 yards, including 109 in the second half. Johnson gained 99 yards on 22 carries in his first start, and Williams, promoted from the practice squad earlier in the week, gained 59 yards on six carries.

Cardinals rewind: What we learned in win vs. Rams

It was an impressive performance from the two young runners, who needed to produce in the absence of Chris Johnson, who suffered a knee injury last week.

“It was exactly what I expected, especially after the game went on,” David Johnson said.

The run game wasn’t the only reason the Cardinals (10-2) won their sixth consecutive game and reached double-digit wins for the third straight year.

The Rams gained only nine first downs, ran 50 plays and finished with 212 yards. Their only score, a field goal, was set up by their only big play, a 34-yard run by Todd Gurley.

“I think we found our identity,” safety Tyrann Mathieu said of the defense. “We’re a team that can stop the run, force the people to throw the ball and that’s what we want.”

It was a significant game for the Cardinals in several ways. They avenged a loss to the Rams earlier this season. It’s the first time since 1974-76 that the franchise has won at least 10 games in three consecutive years. And receiver Larry Fitzgerald caught the 1,000th pass of his career and passed the 1,000-yard receiving mark in a season for the first time since 2011.

“I still have to find reasons to holler at them and to make sure we are improving each week,” Arians said.

Offensively, that might be hard to do without Chris Johnson, who won’t play again unless the Cardinals get to the Super Bowl. But the performances of David Johnson and Williams on Sunday had to relieve some worries.

Not that they didn’t make mistakes. Both, in fact, were lucky to get away with fumbles in the third quarter.

Williams fumbled a kickoff out of bounds at the Cardinals' 2-yard line. Quarterback Carson Palmer patted Williams on the helmet and told him things would be all right.

And they were.

A long fade pass to Michael Floyd on third down got the Cardinals out of trouble, and then Johnson ripped off the 23-yard run.

Four players later, Johnson nearly lost a fumble. He took a pitch right and had the option of throwing to Floyd in the end zone.

Floyd was covered so Johnson ran, and fumbled. The Rams had a great chance at it, but officials ruled that Rams defensive lineman Michael Brockers was out of bounds when he possessed the ball.

Two plays later Palmer drilled a 10-yard touchdown pass to Johnson, and the 98-yard drive gave the Cardinals a 17-3 lead with 5:53 left in the quarter.

Johnson was impressive in the first half, too, gaining 66 yards on 14 carries. He also did an excellent job in picking up the blitz, a necessity since the Rams tested him often.

“David’s a guy who is much, much faster than you think he is,” Fitzgerald said. “You don’t think he’s running that fast but guys can’t catch him. He’s extremely powerful.

“The last catch he made (the touchdown), guys were converging on him. He was able to focus in and make that tough catch. He’s a dynamic player and he’s only going to continue to get better.”

With a game against the Vikings on Thursday night, the Cardinals won’t have much time to enjoy Sunday’s victory. Palmer, who passed for 356 yards and two touchdowns, planned to spend the plane ride home watching Vikings’ games.

“I’ll get a good jump on them tonight,” he said. “There is no celebration. We did what we expected to do. We’ve got to move on.”