Field Level Media
Dec 29, 2019
Jared Goff passed for 319 yards and three touchdowns as the Los Angeles Rams bid farewell to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for a second time in their history with a 31-24 victory Sunday over the visiting Arizona Cardinals.
In a battle of teams already eliminated from playoff consideration, Tyler Higbee and Robert Woods caught fourth-quarter touchdown passes for the Rams (9-7), while Cooper Kupp also had a TD reception. Malcolm Brown had a rushing touchdown for Los Angeles.
Kyler Murray passed for 325 yards and two touchdowns as Arizona (5-10-1) saw its two-game winning streak come to an end. Murray participated in the final game of his rookie season despite a right hamstring injury that limited his mobility. He was replaced briefly in the fourth quarter by Brett Hundley.
Murray, the No. 1 overall selection in the 2019 draft, finished his debut season with 3,722 yards passing, 20 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions. He did not have any rushing yards Sunday after entering with 544 on the season.
Murray became the sixth quarterback in NFL history to pass for at least 3,500 yards and rush for 500 yards in a single season. He is the second rookie to accomplish the feat after the Carolina Panthers' Cam Newton in 2011.
Damiere Byrd's 3-yard TD reception on a pass from Murray tied the score at 17 with 4:43 remaining in the third quarter. The Rams grabbed the lead for good with 13:34 remaining when Higbee caught a 4-yard scoring pass from Goff. Woods caught an 11-yard TD pass with 7:52 remaining to take a 31-17 lead.
The Rams' defense forced the Cardinals into a season-high four turnovers, two on interceptions from Murray, while allowing just 71 yards rushing.
The Rams, who failed to make the playoffs for the first time in three years under head coach Sean McVay, will move next season into a new $5 billion stadium south of Los Angeles that they will share with the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Rams went 17-15 at the Coliseum after moving to Los Angeles for the start of the 2016 season. They also played in the historic venue from 1946 to 1979 before moving to Anaheim, Calif.
--Field Level Media