Rams clinch NFC's No. 5 seed with 37-20 victory over Cardinals
It wasn't always pretty, but the Rams came away with a 37-20 victory over the Cardinals on Sunday to clinch the NFC's No. 5 seed, setting up a rematch with the No. 4 Panthers next weekend.
Los Angeles had a 16-6 lead after a bit of a slow start on offense. But the Cardinals used a 14-point surge in the third quarter to go up 20-16 with 3:51 left in the period.
But the Rams responded well from there, with a 21-yard touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford to Colby Parkinson giving L.A. a 23-20 advantage. Then Stafford hit Tight end Tyler Higbee for a 22-yard score early in the fourth quarter. The Rams scored a third straight touchdown when Stafford hit Parkinson again for a 1-yard score to go up by 17.
Seeking his first MVP award, Stafford finished 25-of-40 for 259 yards with four touchdowns - a nice bounce-back performance after Monday night's loss to Atlanta. Stafford will finish as the NFL's passing yards leader for the first time, as he overtook Dak Prescott to finish with 4,707.
Stafford also moved into No. 6 all-time in career completions and No. 7 all-time in career touchdown passes. He became the third player in league history to have multiple touchdown passes in 15 games in a single season.
Puka Nacua finished the game with 10 catches for 76 yards with a touchdown, giving him the league lead with 129 catches in 16 games. Cardinals tight end Trey McBride entered Week 18 tied atop the leaderboard in receptions with Nacua, but caught seven passes for 65 yards.
The Rams steadily pressured Cardinals QB Jacoby Brissett through the contest, finishing with six sacks. Brissett was 22-of-31 for 243 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
Los Angeles finishes the season 12-5, which puts the team at second place in the NFC West with a better common-games record than San Francisco and No. 5 in the conference. The Rams will be on the road to face the Panthers in the wild card round, as Carolina clinched the NFC South on Sunday with the Falcons' win over the Saints.
The Cardinals end the 2025 season at 3-14 with plenty of questions surrounding their roster and coaching staff for the upcoming offseason.