Cardinals fall to St. Louis Rams for 1st loss of season

After doing almost everything right in the first three weeks of the season, the Cardinals did almost everything wrong in the fourth.

The result was a 24-22 loss to the Rams on Sunday at University of Phoenix Stadium.

No one has to wait for film sessions to figure out why the Cardinals are 3-1 now instead of 4-0.

They committed three turnovers, three more than the Rams. They scored one touchdown in five red-zone opportunities. They converted two of 11 third-down situations and yielded 164 yards rushing.

“You’re not going to win very many games kicking field goals in the red zone and losing the turnover battle, especially in our division,” coach Bruce Arians said.

BOX SCORE: Rams 24, Cardinals 22

The Cardinals’ three victories came by an average of 26 points, so they knew they were due for a more typical NFL game, one that pivots on a mistake here, a great play there.

On Sunday, the Cardinals took care of the mistakes part, while the Rams (2-2) handled the great plays.

Cardinals rewind: What we learned in loss

“Still had a chance to win it,” cornerback Jerraud Powers said. “At the end of the day, you can still look at the bright side of things.

“We knew it was going to be a slugfest. We needed this. Guys can get spoiled when you’re winning by a couple of touchdowns. We needed a dogfight and usually the close games, we find a way to get on top.”

Not on this Sunday.

Chandler Catanzaro made five field-goal attempts for the Cardinals, including three from less than 30 yards out. As a runny nose is to a cold, short field goals are to problems on offense.

But as Powers said, the Cardinals had a chance at the end. Their only touchdown, a 23-yard pass from Carson Palmer to rookie running back David Johnson, brought the Cardinals to within two points with 4:38 left.

Bickley: Cardinals outplayed and outfoxed in ugly loss

The defense forced a punt, and the Cardinals offense moved to the Rams 43-yard line, where it faced second-and-three.

Three incomplete passes later, it was the Rams’ ball. The game ended with running back Todd Gurley gashing the Cardinals for 48 of his 146 rushing yards.

“I was disappointed in the second half and our lack of discipline defensively stopping the run, giving up big chunks to Gurley, who’s a heck of a back,” Arians said.

For the Cardinals, it was a day filled with disappointments, beginning with Johnson fumbling the opening kickoff.

Boivin: Cardinals' David Johnson reflects on tough Sunday

The Rams recovered at the Cardinals' 12 and scored a touchdown when quarterback Nick Foles hit Tavon Austin with a 12-yard pass on third down.

It was the first time the Cardinals had trailed this season. And those were the first of 17 points the Rams scored after Cardinals turnovers: two touchdowns and a field goal.

“In this division, that’s what you’re going to get,” Powers said. “If one defense outplays the other defense, you usually are going to win. We are supposed to go out and hold them to three or get a turnover ourselves. We were playing catch-up from the opening quarter.”

The Cardinals had no trouble moving the ball from 20-yard line to 20-yard line. They finished with 447 yards of offense, with Carson Palmer passing for 352 of it.

Cardinals' Kevin Minter takes blame for Rams' run success

But they couldn’t score touchdowns. Johnson dropped a touchdown pass in the first quarter. Receiver Larry Fitzgerald fumbled after a 22-yard reception. Palmer had a deep pass intercepted in the end zone.

Some of the wounds were self-inflicted. Others were caused by a formidable Rams defense.

“When you’re playing someone like Carson, with the athletes they have and as well coached as they are, you go into it saying field goals are going to be a win for your defense,’” Rams coach Jeff Fisher. “When you hold them to three rather than seven, you feel good about it.”

Through the first three games, the Cardinals scored touchdowns on 11 of 12 red-zone opportunities. That’s an impossible pace to maintain, unless a team is playing the Saints, Bears and 49ers every week.

McManaman: Rams respond to Bruce Arians' 2014 rant

“You’re not going to come in and go 90 percent against that team (the Rams) in the red zone,” Palmer said, “but you need to go 50 (percent) and we didn’t do that.”

The Cardinals failed at almost everything in the red zone. Tight end Jermaine Gresham dropped a pass that would have resulted in a first down. Five times Palmer handed off to a running back. The Cardinals lost yardage on four of them.

Afterward, the Cardinals dismissed questions about their readiness to play and if they were overconfident.

“We’re a bunch of blue-collar guys,” Fitzgerald said. “We’re not one of those teams that need to be humbled. But it’s the NFL. I’ve been in it awhile. You are always going to get served some humble pie. It just happens that way.

“Good teams are able to be resilient and bounce back. We’ve got two on the road, so our mettle is going to be tested in the next couple weeks.”