Cardinals RB David Johnson Carted Off Field With Leg Injury

By the time the team opens its new stadium in 2019, the Rams have to be more competitive than this if they want to succeed in Los Angeles.

This was not what the Rams – or most fans – were expecting when the franchise returned from St. Louis after a more than two-decade absence. An improved offensive line and receiving core may not be enough for Goff to make a huge leap in his sophomore year. Wendell Stevens even saw a Vince Ferragamo, citing the only quarterback to lead the Los Angeles Rams to a Super Bowl, and remembered he did some gardening for Ferragamo’s mother. The Cardinals were able to score on their first drive of the game with a field goal.

Arizona still finished the year strong with wins over NFC West champion Seattle and Los Angeles (4-12), which has lost seven straight. A possession where backup quarterback Drew Stanton threw an interception.

Johnson’s injury apparently isn’t serious – he will have an MRI Monday and might have meniscus damage, but his ligaments seem to be OK, coach Bruce Arians said – and the Cardinals rolled to a 44-6 blowout.

It had been more than two months since Fitzgerald last scored a touchdown.

The Cardinals lose OT D.J. Humpries and first round pick Robert Nkimdiche for the season finale, but get WR John Brown back.

With just over four minutes remaining in the first quarter, the Cardinals ran a toss play to Johnson on 2nd-and-3 at the Arizona 41. Sims, however, fell on Johnson’s left leg, causing it to bend awkwardly underneath him.

Arizona was forced to punt one time in the second half.

Over his seven-game stretch as the starting quarterback, Goff had more interceptions – seven – than touchdown passes – five- and compiled an overall quarterback rating of just 63.9 percent. Linebacker Markus Golden led the way with 2.5 sacks.

The Rams were held to 37- and 36-yard field goals in the second quarter by Greg Zuerlein. That decision of whether Fitzgerald will play in 2017 or not won’t come for weeks, and he certainly wasn’t reflecting Sunday. However, the kick/punt return units did next to nothing in the game, and that was an area that could have given the Rams a big boost if some big play had occurred.

Special teams was a mixed bag once again on Sunday.

Asked how excited he was to play in a new offensive system next season, Goff started with a one-word answer: “Very”.