The Los Angeles Rams limited the Arizona Cardinals to five first downs and 137 yards and Jared Goff threw for 354 yards and a touchdown in a 34-0 victory Sunday.
Todd Gurley ran for three touchdowns and two two-point conversions helping the Rams start a season 2-0 for the first time since 2001.
The Rams defense did not allow Arizona (0-2) to cross midfield until the next-to-last play of the game. The Cardinals were forced to punt after three plays on five of their 10 possessions, while another possession ended after two plays when cornerback Sam Shields intercepted a pass by Sam Bradford in the fourth quarter.
Two of Arizona’s first downs came on its final possession.
The Rams led 432 yards to 137, 24-5 in first downs and 34:08-25:52 in time of possession in the Rams home opener at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The paid attendance was 66,515.
The Rams played without kicker Greg Zuerlein, who strained a groin “literally right before kickoff,” coach Sean McVay said. Punter Johnny Hekker handled Zuerlein’s kicking duties, making both his only field goal attempt, a 20-yarder in the second quarter, and an extra point.
Hekker also kicked off five times for an average of 64 yards per kick. Two of his kicks resulted in touchbacks.
Following a scoreless first quarter, Gurley opened the scoring 31 seconds into the second quarter with an 11-yard touchdown run. Goff started the four-play, 59-yard drive with a 19-yard completion to Robert Woods and 20- and 9-yard completions to Brandin Cooks.
The Rams also scored on their next two possessions on Hekker’s 20-yard field goal and Gurley’s 1-yard run as time expired in the first half.
The Rams increased their lead to 27-0 with three minutes, 39 seconds left in the third quarter on Gurley’s 2-yard run and Goff’s two-point conversion pass to Malcolm Brown.
Goff threw a 3-yard pass to tight end Tyler Higbee with 3:17 remaining for the fourth quarter’s lone touchdown.
Goff completed 24 of 32 passes for 354 yards and had one pass intercepted. Bradford completed 17 of 27 passes for 90 yards with one interception.
The game was a matchup of the only two quarterbacks the Rams have selected with the first overall choice in the NFL draft since the inception of the common draft in 1967.
The Rams chose Bradford with the first pick in the 2010 draft, when they were based in St. Louis. He remained with the team through the 2014 season, then was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2014. The Rams selected Jared Goff with the first pick in 2016.
This is the second consecutive season the Rams have shut out the Cardinals. Their 33-0 victory in London last season was their first shutout since 2014.