Cardinals Wings Get Clipped

After capping the St. Louis Rams' opening drive with a touchdown pass to Kendricks, Bradford endured an 0-for-12 slump that included Patrick Peterson's interception in the end zone on a pass tossed up for grabs under heavy pressure. No worries, The Rams' defense saw to that. "Those guys played outstanding," Bradford said after the Rams knocked off the Arizona Cardinals 17-3 on Thursday night. "They've played great all year and they have kept us in a lot of games." Bradford busted out of his funk with a 51-yard touchdown pass to rookie Chris Givens for a 14 point cushion, and Robert Quinn had three of the Rams' nine sacks on Kolb to keep the Cardinals in check. Arizona (4-1) scored at least 20 points in each of its 1st 4 games, but had no luck containing a pass rush that had totaled just 6 sacks on the year, and got stopped twice inside the 20 in the final minutes. Kolb got his helmet knocked off twice on hits, once after getting popped in the jaw. "I'm all right," Kolb said. "I'm glad we've got the weekend to heal up, mentally and physically." The Rams totaled 2 victories last year but so far have executed a quick turnaround under new coach Jeff Fisher. They're 3-0 at home for the first time since 2003, and they're above .500 for the first time since they were 4-3 on Nov. 4, 2006. Bradford finished 7 for 21 for 141 yards, the second-lowest total of his career. He threw for 126 yards against Tampa Bay his rookie year in 2010. Before the second TD pass, he had been 3 for 16 overall for just 25 yards, often missing on his receivers by a lot. Undoubtedly, he missed Danny Amendola, sidelined in the second quarter with a right shoulder injury on a diving attempt that was initially ruled a 22-yard catch for a first down but overturned after the Cardinals challenged. Arizona's loss leaves Atlanta and Houston as the only remaining unbeaten teams. The loss was only the Cardinals' third in 14 games since starting the 2011 season 1-6.