The short-handed Los Angeles Rams won the NFC West key match against the Arizona Cardinals

GLENDALE, Ariz. – Rams corner defender Jalen Ramsey returned to Los Angeles on a private plane after receiving a positive COVID-19 test, while strict Tyler Higbee wondered if he had gotten any different results after the coronavirus tests.

In the hours leading up to the kick-offs of Monday Night Football against the Arizona Cardinals, Rams rushed to make list transfers after Ramsey and Higbee joined his three other teammates on the reserve / COVID-19 list, making them unavailable.

“My initial reaction was, ‘You have to be s —- me,'” Rams coach Sean McVay said of the situation. “You’re not replacing men like that.”

McVay was right. His main playmakers are priceless. But none of them mattered at the end of the game.

With four starters in the reserve / COVID-19 and losing three of their previous four matches, the Rams won the division-leading Cardinals 30-23. And now Los Angeles is just behind the game in Arizona in the NFC West after the season series split.

The Rams improved to 9-4, while the Cardinals fell to 10-3.

“We’re playing well,” said Aaron Donald, Rams’ defensive lineman, who had three sacks and a crashed pass. “We haven’t arrived. We still have things to do to get us to the great position we want to be.”

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford made 287 yards and three touchdowns on a 23/30 pass when the 13-year-old cut the three-match losing streak in Monday Night Football.

“I felt good,” Stafford said of his presentation. “Some things you obviously wanted back … but I felt like we did the game really well.”

Cooper Kupp received 13 assists for 123 yards and a Rams touchdown, and now leads all NFL recipients in receptions, yards and touchdowns – only three players have reached the end of the season since reunion (Jerry Rice). , Sterling Sharpe and Steve Smith), according to the ESPN Stats & Information study.

During the four games in Rams, Odell Beckham Jr. continued to praise the offense after receiving his third touchdown in as many games. This was the first time since 2015 that an eighth-year professional has recorded a TD reception in three. live games.

“It’s just great to have fun,” Beckham said. “This is a big-hearted kid who loves football.”

Beckham finished six catches with 77 yards, and Rams ’second-year-wide Van Jefferson grabbed two passes for 58 yards, including a 52-yard reception.

In the defense, in an attempt led by Donald (who was fired in the first and final innings of the game), line players Ernest Jones and Leonard Floyd each cut off Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray’s feed, which fed 32/49. 383 meters. Rams turned both takeaways into a touchdown.

“This was a mandatory win,” Floyd said. “Our backs were against the wall.”

The Rams were as good as the coronavirus for the entire season, causing a total of five players out of Monday’s match.

“It was definitely shocking,” Donald said of Ramsey and Higbe’s late placing on the reserve / COVID-19 list. “Jalen sent me a text message. I told him we would keep it for him.”

“I wish I could be there tonight,” Ramsey wrote on his Instagram page before the game. “I’m furious, but Go Rams Tho nonetheless! (I feel good / normal) …”

LA runner Darrell Henderson Jr. placed on the COVID-19 list on Saturday, followed by right-hand tackle Rob Havenstein and cornerback Dont’e Deayon on Sunday.

Sony Michel started in Henderson’s absence and rushed 79 yards with 20 moves, and the backup deposit Joe Noteboom started in Havenstein’s absence.

The Rams are now returning to Los Angeles, where they will face 5-8 Seattle Seahawks on Sunday at SoFi Stadium.