GLENDALE, Ariz. — There was no time for players and fans to send Rams coach Sean McVay get-well-soon cards.
A day after deciding not to travel with the team for fear of spreading stomach-flu symptoms, McVay arrived here Sunday morning.
McVay fist-bumped players during warmups, his trademark gelled hair spike in full effect. And he looked none the worse for the wear while roaming the State Farm Stadium sideline sockless and calling plays against the Arizona Cardinals.
McVay had to feel good after the Rams routed the Cardinals, 45-17.
Matthew Stafford passed for three touchdowns, Puka Nacua scored twice and amassed 167 yards receiving and Blake Corum rushed for more than 100 yards and scored two touchdowns as the Rams bounced back from a loss to the Carolina Panthers and improved their record to 10-3.
Linebacker Nate Landman intercepted a pass and Byron Young, Kobie Turner and Kam Curl had sacks for a defense that gave up an opening-drive touchdown but thereafter clamped down as the Rams built a 35-point lead.
It was an important victory for a Rams team regarded as a Super Bowl contender as it heads into the toughest stretch of its schedule.
Next Sunday, the Rams play Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions (8-5) at SoFi Stadium. Four days later, they will play the Seattle Seahawks (10-3) in a key NFC West game in Seattle.
The 31-28 loss to the Panthers had knocked the Rams out of the No. 1 seed in the NFC, but their victory over the Cardinals, and the Chicago Bears’ loss to the Green Bay Packers, put the Rams back on top.
The Rams’ recovery against the struggling Cardinals (3-10) was not unexpected. Arizona historically has served as a tonic for the Rams.
With the exception of last season’s Week 2 blowout by the Cardinals, the Rams have thrived in the desert under McVay. From 2017 to 2023, the Rams won seven consecutive games against the Cardinals in this stadium.
In 2018, the Rams bounced back from defeats by the Bears and the Philadelphia Eagles and defeated the Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers to finish 13-3 and earn a wild-card bye. The Rams went on to play in Super Bowl LIII.
In 2021, a victory at Arizona was the second win of a five-game winning streak that helped carry the Rams to the playoffs and an eventual Super Bowl victory.
And last season, after wildfires decimated Pacific Palisades and Altadena, the NFL moved the Rams’ wild-card playoff game to State Farm Stadium, where the Rams beat the Minnesota Vikings to advance to the divisional round.
The season ended with a defeat to the eventual Super Bowl-champion Eagles.
But Sunday’s result kept the Rams on track for another possible Super Bowl run.
And Stafford appeared to regain the MVP-caliber form that earned him NFC offensive player of the month honors for November.
Against the Panthers, Stafford’s streak of games without an interception ended at eight. He had two passes intercepted, including one that was returned for a touchdown. He also lost the ball on a fumble late in the fourth quarter.
Stafford put that performance behind him and completed 22 of 31 passes for 281 yards against the Cardinals, increasing his league-leading touchdown-pass total to 35 before Jimmy Garoppolo replaced him early in the fourth quarter.
Nacua, who had of late taken a lower-profile role behind Davante Adams, broke out with seven catches, including scoring plays of 28 and 31 yards.
The Rams led, 24-10, at halftime on short touchdown runs by Corum and Kyren Williams and Stafford’s first touchdown pass to Nacua near the end of the second quarter.
Stafford’s touchdown pass to tight end Colby Parkinson on the first possession of the second half extended the lead. After Landman intercepted a pass late in the third quarter, Stafford immediately passed to Nacua for a 28-point lead.
Corum’s career-long 48-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter cemented the rout.
Corum rushed for 128 yards in 12 carries. Williams gained 84 yards in 13 carries.
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