STATS NFL Game Notes
Los Angeles Rams at Arizona Cardinals
Sunday, October 2, 2016 – Week 4
(All Statistics Through Week 3)

* The Cardinals have won 13 of 18 meetings with the Rams over the last nine seasons, and six of those 13 wins have come by at least 20 points.

Most Wins by 20+ Points vs. Any Opponent – Since 2007

New England Patriots vs. Dolphins 8
Arizona Cardinals vs. Rams 6
Denver Broncos vs. Raiders 6
Seattle Seahawks vs. 49ers 6

* The Rams are 2-1 this season despite ranking last in the NFL in yards per game.

Fewest Yards Per Game – 2016

Team YPG W-L
Los Angeles Rams 262.7 2-1
Minnesota Vikings 265.3 3-0
Buffalo Bills 283.3 1-2
San Francisco 49ers 292.0 1-2
Green Bay Packers 293.7 2-1

The bottom five teams in YPG have a combined record of 9-6, while the top five teams in YPG (Falcons, Raiders, Saints, Lions, Redskins) have a combined record of 6-9.

* This is the sixth time since the merger that the Rams have been outgained by at least 100 yards per game through their first three games. This year’s team has more wins in those games than the other five teams combined.

Rams, Worst YPG Differential Thru 3 Games – Since 1970

Season YPG Diff W-L
2008 -254.3 0-3
1987 -147.0 0-3
1984 -128.7 1-2
2009 -127.3 0-3
2011 -111.0 0-3
2016 -103.3 2-1

The Rams are the first team to have a winning record through three games despite being outgained by over 100 yards per game since the 2007 49ers (-111.3 ypg diff, 2-1 record).

* Both teams have had trouble getting drives going this season.

Highest Pct of Drives Are 3-and-Outs – 2016

Los Angeles Rams 38.9% (14/36)
San Francisco 49ers 35.7
Minnesota Vikings 30.3
Arizona Cardinals 27.8 (10/36)
Buffalo Bills 27.3
Chicago Bears 27.3

The Rams have forced three-and-outs on 29.7 percent of their opponents’ possessions (fourth in NFL) while the Cardinals have done so just 10.5 percent of the time on defense (31st in NFL; Oakland, 6.1).

* Part of the problem for Los Angeles has been drops in the passing game.

Most Dropped Passes – 2016

Los Angeles Rams 8
New Orleans Saints 8
Houston Texans 7
Philadelphia Eagles 7

* Since the start of last season, the Rams are 5-3 against the NFC West and 4-7 against non-divisional opponents. Only two other teams have gotten more than half their wins against divisional foes.

Highest Pct of Wins Are Against Own Division – Since 2015

Dallas Cowboys 66.7% (4/6)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 57.1 (4/7)
Los Angeles Rams 55.6 (5/9)
Baltimore Ravens 50.0 (4/8)
Washington Redskins 50.0 (5/10)

* While the Rams have just 19 passes of 10+ yards, the Cardinals have more than twice as many.

LA/Ari, Passes of 10+ Yards – 2016 (w/ NFL Ranks)

Rams 19 (31st; Bills, 15)
Cardinals 39 (t-1st; Lions)

* Arizona is coming off a 33-18 loss at Buffalo in which the Cardinals committed five turnovers. Over the last two-plus seasons, taking care of the ball has made all the difference for Arizona.

Cardinals, Record by Giveaways – Since 2014 (w/ NFL Ranks)

2 or Fewer 23-4 (.852) best in NFL
3 or More 2-6 (.250) t-12th in NFL

* The Cardinals also failed to get to their magic number of 23 points.

Most Consecutive Wins When Scoring 23+ Points – Active

Arizona Cardinals 27
Carolina Panthers 17
Kansas City Chiefs 10
Minnesota Vikings 8

The last team to beat the Cardinals when they scored 23+ points was the Rams on September 8, 2013 in St. Louis (27-24). That was Carson Palmer’s first game with Arizona.

* Arizona’s games have been streaky so far this season. The Cardinals have yet to score in the first quarter, but they have dominated their opponents in the second and fourth quarters.

Cardinals, Scoring by Quarter – 2016 (w/ NFL Ranks)

Qtr Scored Allowed Diff
1st 0 20 -20 (last)
2nd 38 7 +31 (2nd)
3rd 22 27 -5 (20th)
4th 19 9 +10 (7th)

* Arizona QB Carson Palmer had arguably the worst game of his career last week in the loss to the Bills. Palmer became just the fourth player since 2000 to throw at least four interceptions and take at least five sacks without throwing a single touchdown pass.

QBs w/ 0 TDs, 4+ INTs & 5+ Times Sacked in Game – Since 2000

Kurt Warner, StL 09/23/02 at TB 4 INTs, 5 Sacks
Alex Smith, SF 10/09/05 vs Ind 4 INTs, 5 Sacks
EJ Manuel, Buf 12/08/13 at TB 4 INTs, 7 Sacks
Carson Palmer, Ari 09/25/16 at Buf 4 INTs, 5 Sacks

Palmer had five touchdowns, no interceptions and four sacks in the first two games of the season combined.

* However, Palmer has been much better at home over the last couple seasons, throwing four touchdowns for every interception at University of Phoenix Stadium.

Highest TD/INT Ratio at Home – Since 2014
(minimum 200 attempts)

Aaron Rodgers, GB 11.50 (46/4)
Tom Brady, NE 5.57 (39/7)
Carson Palmer, Ari 4.00 (28/7)
Ben Roethlisberger, Pit 3.23 (42/13)
Drew Brees, NO 3.07 (46/15)

* Palmer’s top target this season is once again Larry Fitzgerald. Only two players have ever caught more touchdowns against the Rams than Fitzgerald, and both of them are in the Hall of Fame.

Most TD Receptions vs. Rams – All-Time

Jerry Rice 20
Don Hutson 18
Larry Fitzgerald 16
Max McGee 13

Fitzgerald has more touchdown catches against the Rams than any active player has for the Rams (most is 15 by Lance Kendricks).

* Fitzgerald has continued to be prolific against the Rams in recent seasons.

Most Receptions vs. Any Opponent – Since 2013

A.J. Green vs. Steelers 53
Larry Fitzgerald vs. Rams 51
Antonio Brown vs. Browns 50
Demaryius Thomas vs. Raiders 50
Antonio Brown vs. Bengals 44

* David Johnson has been a major dual threat for the Cardinals.

Cardinals, Most Scrimmage Yards Thru 3 Games – Since 1970

1979 Ottis Anderson 407 (339 rush, 68 rec)
2016 David Johnson 386 (217 rush, 169 rec)
2003 Anquan Boldin 378 (378 rec)
1973 Terry Metcalf 365 (185 rush, 180 rec)
1985 Ottis Anderson 341 (195 rush, 146 rec)

Johnson has 1044 scrimmage yards over his last eight games, joining Ottis Anderson (multiple times) and Stump Mitchell (1985) as the only Cardinals since the merger with at least 1000 scrimmage yards in an eight-game span.
* Just like his counterpart on the Cardinals, Case Keenum has had trouble with his accuracy so far this season.

Lowest Completion Pct – 2016
(minimum 40 attempts)

Case Keenum, LA 53.8% (49/91)
Blaine Gabbert, SF 55.2
Ryan Fitzpatrick, NYJ 55.8
Carson Palmer, Ari 57.3 (67/117)
Cam Newton, Car 58.3

* After going 0-8 in 2013 with the Texans, Keenum has gone 7-4 as a starter, but his underlying performance has remained mostly the same.

Keenum, 2013 vs. Since

2013 2014-16
W-L in Starts 0-8 7-4
Comp Pct 54.2 58.0
Yards/Att 6.96 6.22
TD/INT 9/6 8/6
Rating 78.2 76.9

In 2013, Keenum went 0-7 in games decided by one possession (eight points or fewer). Since then, he has gone 6-2 in one-possession games.

* The Rams are relying on second-year running back Todd Gurley, but the early results this season have not been encouraging.

Fewest Yards Per Carry – 2016
(minimum 30 carries)

Adrian Peterson, Min 1.61
T.J. Yeldon, Jax 2.47
Todd Gurley, LA 2.90 (183/63)
Ryan Mathews, Phi 3.15
Justin Forsett, Bal 3.16

* However, Gurley torched the Cardinals for 146 yards in his first NFL start last season.

Most Rushing Yards in Game vs. Cardinals – Since 2010

Adrian Peterson, Min 10/21/12 153
Todd Gurley, StL 10/04/15 146
Frank Gore, SF 12/28/14 144
Steven Jackson, StL 11/25/12 139
Jonathan Stewart, Car 12/19/10 137
* The Rams have just 13 touchdown passes since the start of last season, but nearly half of them have gone to Tavon Austin.

Highest Pct of Team’s Total Receiving TDs – Since 2015
(stat w/ single team only)

Tavon Austin, LA 46.2% (6/13)
Doug Baldwin, Sea 43.2 (16/37)
Kyle Rudolph, Min 41.2 (7/17)
Gary Barnidge, Cle 40.9 (9/22)
DeAndre Hopkins, Hou 40.6 (13/32)

The Rams’ 13 touchdown passes are the fewest in the NFL since last season, while the Cardinals’ 40 touchdown passes are tied for first with six other teams.

* Kenny Britt has been a big-play weapon in the passing game, averaging nearly 18 yards per reception since the start of last season.

Active Players, Most Yards per Reception – Since 2015
(minimum 40 receptions)

Torrey Smith, SF 18.7
Kenny Britt, LA 17.6 (880/50)
DeSean Jackson, Was 17.4
Ted Ginn Jr., Car 17.1
Sammy Watkins, Buf 16.8

Since the start of 2015, Britt has 10 catches of at least 25 yards, while the rest of the Rams’ active roster combined has 11 such catches over that span.

* The strength of the Los Angeles defense is on the defensive line, where Robert Quinn has been a nightmare for opposing quarterbacks since becoming a full-time starter in 2012.

Most Sacks Per Game – Since 2012
(minimum 50 games)

J.J. Watt, Hou 1.05
Justin Houston, KC 0.94
Von Miller, Den 0.89
Robert Quinn, LA 0.80 (47/59)
Cameron Wake, Mia 0.75

Quinn leads the NFL with 18 forced fumbles over that span.