5 storylines to watch as Cardinals look to sweep Rams in Carson Beck’s debut

TEMPE — For the first time since the 2024 season, the Arizona Cardinals are playing a team they have already beaten earlier in the year, as they host the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.

That last matchup was on Oct. 18, less than a month ago, and yet so much has changed, especially for Arizona.

The Cardinals have gone through two starting quarterback changes since beating the Rams 18-16 in a game during which they scored no touchdowns.

Carson Beck is making his NFL debut on Sunday after Gardner Minshew was placed on injured reserve.

Wide receivers Michael Wilson, Jalen Brooks and Kendrick Bourne are all on IR, but the Rams are beat up, too. Their top two receivers, Puka Nacua and Davante Adams, are on IR, although superstar pass rusher Myles Garrett did not play in the previous matchup and is expected to suit up this time.

The new-look Cardinals will attempt to snap a 10-game home losing streak on Sunday, which would usher in a sense of optimism for Beck’s takeover entering the second half of the season. But L.A.’s defensive front will be a daunting challenge for Beck working behind a beat-up offensive line that won’t have center Hjalte Froholdt (concussion).

Head coach Mike LaFleur got the best of his former team in Week 6, but he has a difficult task of making life easier on his rookie quarterback with so many backups playing alongside him. The Cardinals’ best chance to win is to keep this game low scoring, like their first meeting.

Carson Beck’s debut

Beck called this a real “welcome to the NFL” sort of season. Within the past two weeks, the two veterans who have been ahead of Beck on the depth chart all year have been traded (Jacoby Brissett) or lost to injury (Minshew). Two weeks after holding a clipboard as the third-stringer, Beck is counted on to lead the offense with eight games left to play in his debut season.

Beck has learned how to build routines and prepare like a starter as a backup for national championship-winning Georgia until he received his chance to be QB1.

His coaches and teammates credit his savvy and focus behind the scenes to get ready for this moment, but this is about as opposite of a soft landing as what could have been granted to him.

At least Beck and center Hayden Conner, along with the receivers filling in, have worked together, be it on the scout team or during the offseason.

“Continuity, right?” LaFleur said. “In a different way than I think we’re all used to, but nonetheless, they’ve worked together and like we talked about with the receivers, being comfortable with those guys is a net positive.”

Beck said he plans to exude confidence to bring the most out of his supporting cast this week and moving forward.

“I think the coolest thing about confidence is that confidence is a choice,” Beck said. “I’ve said it before, you know, it makes everyone else around you better, as well. … You got to go out there and do your thing. You got to go out there and be confident and have swag, have moxie, regardless of the circumstances.”

Beck played 55 collegiate games and completed nearly 1,000 passes, reaching the CFP National Championship Game last year with Miami.

This will be a new animal, as injuries have bumped his timeline up, but the Cardinals need to see what they have in him with eight games left to play before making decisions about the quarterback position in the offseason.

Myles Garrett and Aaron Donald together

The Rams made a blockbuster trade for Garrett, a two-time Defensive Player of the Year, and signed Donald, a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, out of retirement to pair two of the most feared defenders of all time for this all-in season.

Garrett got injured in Week 1, which Donald did not play, so the duo did not take the field together until last week.

It was as fearsome as advertised, with Garrett picking up three sacks, while he and Donald finished top five in the NFL in pass-rush win rate, according to Pro Football Focus.

The Cardinals’ offensive line is on its sixth starting combination in 10 games. The Cardinals may be down to their third-string left tackle and third-string center, while right tackle Elijah Wilkinson has struggled this year.

How on earth will the Cardinals block them in pass protection?

“It’s a combination of trying to be creative and at the same time, trying to do things that we do because we have some new guys potentially out there,” offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett said. “I think that for them, working in unison is as important as anything. And then kind of keeping them a little bit off track, the defense, as much as we can. But it’s definitely a task.”

Donald has 16 sacks and 35 quarterback hits in 21 games against the Cardinals.

Using running backs to chip and tight ends for extra protection will put more pressure on an inexperienced group of Cardinals receivers to get open for Beck before the rush gets home. He is going to need to get the ball out quick and keep the offense on time.

Also noteworthy, Rams All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie has missed three of the last four games, but head coach Sean McVay expressed optimism that he will be back this week.

Getting off to a good start could ease some tension, although the Rams are the only team in the league that has not allowed a first-quarter touchdown.

Can the Cardinals defense do it again?

The Cardinals held the Rams (with Nacua and Adams starting) to nine points until the final minute of their previous game. They turned the Rams over on downs twice and forced a critical fumble in their own territory, making timely plays while limiting the back-breaking explosives.

Arizona’s defense has mostly kept it up, coming off a game in which it held the banged-up Seattle Seahawks to three points in the second half.

Opponents put up 32.4 points per game over the first five weeks, drawing questions about defensive coordinator Nick Rallis’ job security. Since then, Arizona has allowed 23.3 points per game.

Safety Andrew Wingard explained that the defense experienced a reset after Week 5 when it allowed 45 points to Detroit. Safety Budda Baker credited the changes that were made, noting how he enjoys being in the box and playing downhill. Arizona’s blitz rate has gone up, and it has been effective (27th in blitz rate through four weeks and 10th since then).

The Cardinals had three sacks and seven quarterback hits when they faced L.A. last time.

L.A. has a Hall of Fame quarterback in Matthew Stafford, who is fourth in the league in passing, but with their depleted receivers, the Rams may need to lean on the run game.

“Going into that first game, even though they had their two top receivers, they wanted to pound the football,” Rallis said. “So that was an emphasis that first game, still an emphasis right now. Their personnel is a little bit different and you talk about that and what that can mean, but they still have a Hall of Fame quarterback back there. So it’s not to say that you’re just going to abandon everything in terms of coverage to stop the run, but they are a really good running operation.”

Which Cardinals receiver will stand out?

As a result of overwhelming injuries to the wide receiver room, players buried on the depth chart will have an extended opportunity to show what they can do.

The depth chart in Week 1 looked like this:

X: Marvin Harrison Jr.

Z: Michael Wilson

Slot: Kendrick Bourne

After Week 9, the starters are looking like fifth-round rookie Reggie Virgil, Simi Fehoko and slot receiver Devin Duvernay. Zay Jones is the most experienced option, but he is on the practice squad.

The group of receivers available to Arizona has a combined eight receptions this season.

Newly announced captain Trey McBride leads the league in receptions, but he cannot catch every pass. Plus, defenses have even more incentive to take him out. So someone is going to have to emerge out of the receiver room for Beck to trust.

Will the streak finally end?

Sept. 14, 2025.

That was Arizona’s last home victory, which came against the Carolina Panthers. Since then, the Cardinals have lost 10 games in a row at State Farm Stadium, which has been frequently decorated with away jerseys as local fans have grown frustrated.

The longest home losing streak in NFL history is 14 games, which the Cardinals could beat this season if they do not turn around their fortunes. They are 0-3 at home this season with six more games to play in Glendale to avoid making dubious history.

Related

Cardinals’ Budda Baker thought he might get traded: ‘Happy to be here’No. 12 Arizona gets big game from freshman Caleb Holt in victory at AuburnArizona State remains unbeaten behind Murauskas’ dominant performanceArizona-Utah kickoff pushed back after nationwide FAA ground stop liftedNationwide FAA ground stop lifted: ASU-UCF kickoff pushed backDoes trading Jalen Green for Dejounte Murray make sense?