ENGLEWOOD, Calif. — The Los Angeles Rams struggled offensively throughout the second half, while playing good enough defense to protect their slim lead.
Arizona backed Los Angeles into its own end zone in the final moments and was able to steal the victory with just one big play.
Ahkello Witherspoon and the Rams are hanging on by their fingertips and now stand on the brink of another NFC West title.
Witherspoon's diving interception of a deflected pass in the end zone with 37 seconds left gave the Rams a 13-9 victory over the Cardinals on Saturday night, narrowly keeping them in control of the division race.
Puka Nacua had 129 yards receiving and Kyren Williams scored the Rams (10-6) only touchdown. The Rams fought through a difficult offensive night and survived a hair-raising fourth quarter to win their fifth straight game.
“Honestly, I didn't do very well,” said Matthew Stafford, who passed for 189 yards in the Rams' ninth win of 11 games. “It didn't go well. We didn't throw well. But we found a way to win and get enough points.”
The Rams host Seattle (9-7) in the regular season finale next weekend, but by then they may already have clinched the Division 4 title for coach Sean McVay.
If the Bills, Browns, Vikings, Commanders, and 49ers get three wins, or two wins and a tie over the next two days, Los Angeles will be crowned the NFC West champion based on the strength of their schedule, no matter what happens against Seattle. It will be.
Even if the Rams don't get strong schedule help this week, the Rams still have control of the division race: Seahawks need help from multiple teams to beat Rams and win West Division They need to earn but deny the Rams their sixth playoff berth in eight seasons under coach McVay.
A week after being eliminated from the playoffs, the Rams held off a spectacular Cardinals defense and narrowly avoided a winner-take-all final game against Seattle.
Kyler Murray had 321 passing yards and two interceptions late for Arizona (7-9), which scored just three points on three drives inside the Rams' territory in the fourth quarter.
Arizona caught up with the Los Angeles 5 in the last minute, but the Rams called an all-out on first down. Murray's fast pass was deflected off tight end Trey McBride's helmet, and Witherspoon made a 10-fingertip interception in the end zone, even though the ball touched the ground between his hands on video review. Supported.
“I honestly don't really know how the NFL works,” Witherspoon said. “I thought it stuck. You saw my celebration. But when you look at that replay, you never know when the ball is going to hit the ground.”
McBride had his 100th reception and first touchdown catch of the season for Arizona, which lost five of six games. McBride had 12 catches for 123 yards and Marvin Harrison Jr. had 96 yards receiving.
“The ball just didn't bounce our way,” Arizona coach Jonathan Gannon said. “We got the ball at the end and I thought we were going to win and they played well and it stings because we’re there and we’re not there. If you play with a branded ball, you can compete and beat everyone, but it doesn't mean much.”
Williams took the lead with his 14th rushing TD of the season 3:23 before halftime, capping off the Rams' first strong drive.
Arizona finally scored midway through the third quarter on a 1-yard catch by McBride, the tight end's first touchdown on his franchise-record 98th reception of the season.
The Cardinals trailed 10-9 early in the fourth quarter on Chad Ryland's short field goal after two consecutive impressive drives. Rams rookie Joshua Carty made his second field goal with 6:41 remaining.
Arizona pushed the Rams to 40 points but stalled before rookie Kam Kintjens intercepted Murray's fourth-down heave to the goal line with 3:02 left.
However, Kinchens sacrificed the Rams dozens of yards of field position by returning the ball to the 11 instead of driving it down, and the Rams offense punted the ball back to the Cards just 1:01 later.
“I felt like we could definitely win that game,” Murray said. “We drove down the field, but the defense couldn't stop us and things went (badly) at the end. We were unlucky.”
Michael Hecht blocked Arizona's extra point attempt in the third quarter.
The 6-foot-4 linebacker leads the NFL in three blocked kicks this season, the second-most in Rams history.
