The Cardinals did not lose Monday’s wild-card game to the Rams because Kyler Murray threw a pick-six while backed up in his own end zone in the second quarter, which put Los Angeles up three touchdowns with eight minutes remaining until halftime.
However, it is possible that the play was emblematic of why the Cardinals were picked apart by the Rams, and why the team lost five of its remaining six games to completely sour a 10–2 start that had them on a Super Bowl trajectory. It is possible that the play can tell us a little bit about everything, from their depth issues to their preparedness to the kind of subtle breadcrumbs they’ve left on film all year.
Let’s take the scene from the top. As Murray is backing up from the line of scrimmage into his shotgun depth, the Rams’ defense is actively talking. Aaron Donald says something to Greg Gaines. Linebacker Troy Reeder says something to Von Miller, getting a kind of subtle thumbs up. Donald then motions to Leonard Floyd. It’s clear they saw something familiar. It’s also clear they saw Chase Edmonds in the backfield, who is the lesser of the two Cardinals’ blocking backs (while not perfect, Pro Football Focus ranks James Conner as the best pass protection running back in the NFL, while Edmonds is toward the bottom third of the league).
