Cardinals fight against the Rams

LOS ANGELES – It was something that Steve Wilks did not want to feel or say, but the reality hit the Cardinals coach Sunday afternoon at Memorial Stadium in Los Angeles.

"It was a bit of a déjà vu last week," said Wilks, after his team lost 34-0 to the Rams.

And with that feeling – the Cardinals lost 19-0 at half-time, after losing 21-0 after a half-time in the first game – Wilks was clear that the change could happen. It could even be quarterback, where Sam Bradford had his problems and first-round pick Josh Rosen waits behind the scenes. But Wilks was committed to nothing but looking at all the potential moves.

"I'm not going to sit here and draw conclusions right now," said Wilks, adding that when asked questions about the quarterback, every position would be reviewed.

Wilks added that he had never considered putting Rosen against the Rams, saying he did not think that one guy would have made a difference on Sunday when so many things went wrong.

The Cardinals, 0-2 for the first time since 2005, had only five first attempts (against 24 for the Rams) while they were excluded for the second year in a row by the Rams. Los Angeles also prevented the Cardinals from scoring in last year's "against" the Rams, a 33-0 result that just happened in London.

But that match took a turn when quarterback Carson Palmer broke his arm. On Sunday, Bradford just could not get his hair off, throwing only 90 yards on his 17-over-27 game. Receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who came out early after hurting his thigh, led all the catcher Cardinals with his average of 9.3 yards per jack.

The cards were drawn, 432-137, in total yards.

"I wish there was one thing I could tell you that if corrected would make things instantly better," Bradford said. "(Improvement) must start now. It is two weeks in a row that we have dropped the defense. "

The Cardinals played better on the defensive, which made it hard for running back Todd Gurley and the first quarter for a second straight week in a scoreless game.

The Rams (2-0) also suffered early when kicker Greg Zuerlein could not play when he injured his groin. But the advantage of the special teams never mattered, especially when Jo Jo Natson, new Rams pigeon player, averaged 22.2 yards on six returns.

And while Gurley had only 42 yards in 19 runs – an average of 2.2 yards – he scored three touchdowns. Quarterback Jared Goff was eliminated once by cornerback Patrick Peterson, but Goff still scored 354 passing yards in the Cardinals.

"It's frustrating, but it's not the time to feel sorry for ourselves," said defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche.

What cardinals have to do for a step forward offensive. Fitzgerald pointed out that the Rams defense was very good, but the Cardinals were 3-for-12 on the third games and had not crossed the midfield until the penultimate game. They have scored six points this season.

"I do not even know where to start now," Wilks said, before trying to note that all the places he would like to see improved.

Bradford is the easy target, especially with Rosen sitting on the bench. But Bradford's teammates tried to stop such speeches.

"Unjust," said goalkeeper Justin Pugh. "It's a team sport. Eleven guys are going on this ground. I think all guys will probably say they have not done enough today. You are beaten 34-0? We clearly did not do our job.

Fitzgerald added, "Sam is just one in 11 on this side of the ball. Blame does not fall on him alone.

Fitzgerald did not seem surprised that Wilks intended to evaluate the players and consider changes, but added that each player did it anyway every week.

Wilks pointed out that he was going to look into the defense and the special teams. It's not just an offensive concern, but it makes sense after such unbalanced results.

The Cardinals now have two home games against the Bears and the Seahawks. They have already reached a pivot point in their young season.

"The hard times and the turmoil, you really find out who you are and what kind of men we have in this locker room," Pugh said. "We will find out. We are 0-2 with two very bad losses. There is no hiding behind anything. There is no, 'Oh, it could have been different'. We had our kicks today. We must go find out. Start from scratch and start building this thing.