3 Takeaways from Rams' Week 14 Win

The Los Angeles Rams got back on track in dramatic fashion on Monday night.

Yes, L.A. ended its three-game skid against the Jacksonville Jaguars a week ago, but Jacksonville isn't exactly a measuring stick for a team with Super Bowl aspirations. The Arizona Cardinals are, and the Rams bested their hated division foe on the road.

Cooper Kupp sliced the Cardinals defense for a career-high 13 catches, while the defense survived a late rally that included a successful onside kick. While L.A. did possess a 10-point lead late in the fourth quarter, this was a tight game on a national stage and with prime playoff positioning on the line.

The Cardinals lost control of the NFC's No. 1 seed on Monday night.

This was the sort of test that the Rams needed to pass to show they are title contenders. By doing just that, Los Angeles proved it is a legitimate threat in the conference race.

Here's what else we learned during L.A.'s 30-23 win in Week 14.

Shortly after the trade deadline, Odell Beckham Jr. negotiated his release from the Cleveland Browns and was picked up by the Rams. That proved to be a good move, as wideout Robert Woods was lost for the season to a torn ACL.

For whatever reason, Beckham struggled to find chemistry with Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield over the last couple of years. He was a 1,000-yard receiver in his first Cleveland campaign but failed to make a significant impact in 2020 and suffered a torn ACL of his own midway through the season.

The 29-year-old is four games into his Rams tenure, and it's clear he is finding chemistry with Matthew Stafford. He had six catches for 77 yards and a touchdown against the Cardinals—to go with a brilliant late-game play, in which he ran backward out of bounds to keep the clock running.

The two-time All-Pro has provided a solid 109.0 passer rating when targeted with L.A., according to Pro Football Reference.

While Beckham may not be the superstar No. 1 receiver he was early in his New York Giants career, he's proving to be a fine complementary asset in Los Angeles.

Beckham can't be the No. 1 receiver in L.A. because that role is taken by Kupp. Opponents know the offense runs through him, but they can do little to stop him as he races toward a historic season.

The Cardinals game-planned to stop the 28-year-old, something they largely did in the first meeting. Back in Week 4, he had just five catches for 64 yards. His 13 receptions on Monday went for 123 yards and a touchdown.

"He was fantastic. He always is," Stafford said during the ESPN postgame interview (h/t NFL.com's Grant Gordon). "...Great player, great teammate for us. Does a lot of the dirty work for us, too. I'm just excited for our team and we gotta continue to build on this."

If Kupp can continue building on his 2021 resume, he might just race into the record books. He's now on pace for 148 receptions, 1,947 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns. Michael Thomas owns the single-season receptions record at 149. Calvin Johnson owns the single-season receiving record with 1,964 yards.

One more massive game could put Kupp on pace to break both.

Aaron Donald was an absolute game-wrecker on Monday. He logged three sacks, one pass defended and was frequently in the face of Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray. What's important to note is that he did it without the frequent aid of extra defenders.

The Rams haven't been great at pressuring opposing quarterbacks this season. According to Pro Football Reference, they have the fifth-lowest pressure rate in the NFL (20.8 percent). This has often led them to blitz, as they came in blitzing 27.9 percent of the time.

However, L.A. regularly brought four against Murray—its blitz rate has since dipped to 24.9 percent—which allowed the back seven to focus more on coverage. Murray still passed for 383 yards, but he also threw a pair of interceptions and rarely connected with top target DeAndre Hopkins.

Hopkins was targeted 12 times but only caught five passes for 54 yards.

With Donald in the middle, the Rams shouldn't have to blitz that often to field an effective pass rush. Expect to see more of a base four-man rush in the final month and most certainly if these two teams meet again in the playoffs.