The Arizona Cardinals turned heads nationally in their 41-10 win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.
Arizona's impressive rout of the Rams at State Farm Stadium drew attention from writers throughout the country, who included the team, its defense, quarterback Kyler Murray and wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. on lists of NFL Week 2 winners for their dominating performance over their NFC West rivals.
The Cardinals improved to 1-1 with the win. They will host the Detroit Lions in NFL Week 3 on Sunday, looking to move to 2-1.
Check out what NFL writers said about Arizona's rout of the Rams in their NFL Week 2 game:
USA TODAY Sports: Cardinals keep winning big games
Lorenzo Reyes writes: "This goes down as only the fifth victory of Arizona Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon’s 18 games with the team. Despite the lower number, however, these are the teams Arizona has toppled during his tenure: the Cowboys, Atlanta Falcons, Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles (all in 2023), and, now, the Los Angeles Rams after Sunday's 41-10 rout. This, though, was unquestionably the team's most complete game under Gannon. Kyler Murray and the passing attack flourished early, and Murray built his rapport with star rookie Marvin Harrison Jr. The Cardinals gained 231 yards on the ground on 40 carries . The defense limited the Rams to just two third-down conversions. Arizona (489) nearly doubled up L.A. (245) in total offense. The Rams were without receiver Puka Nacua, but this was total domination."
Yahoo Sports: Cardinals' defense a big winner in NFL Week 2
Frank Schwab writes: "The focus of the Arizona Cardinals’ 41-10 win over the Los Angeles Rams will be their offense. Marvin Harrison Jr. shook off a poor first NFL game to score two first-quarter touchdowns, Kyler Murray looked excellent and the Cardinals moved the ball at will. We knew Arizona would have a good offense this season. It’s the defense that was Sunday’s surprise. The Cardinals did a good job containing the Rams, holding them to three points until late in the third quarter when the outcome had already been decided. The Rams didn’t have Puka Nacua but they still had Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp (until he was hurt in the third quarter) and Kyren Williams with Sean McVay calling plays. And the Cardinals dominated. Arizona had a lot to like this season but the issue with believing in them as a playoff team was buying a defense that is lacking much big-name talent. If the Cardinals' defense plays most of the season like it did against the Rams, the ceiling for Arizona will need to be adjusted."
NFL Week 3 schedule:Arizona Cardinals host Detroit Lions
The Ringer: Marvin Harrison Jr. and Kyler Murray among NFL Week 2 winners
Steven Ruiz writes: "Look, I won’t fault anyone for freaking out after Harrison was held to 4 yards on one catch in his NFL debut. The fourth pick in April’s draft was billed as a generational receiving prospect and looked like a UDFA throughout Arizona’s Week 1 loss in Buffalo. Harrison dropped a pass and didn’t create much separation when running vertical routes. It was a bad performance. But it was only one performance, and it took all of seven days for Harrison to make us forget all about it, dropping 130 yards and two touchdowns on the Rams in Arizona’s 41-10 win. The doubters—if there still are any—will point out that all of his production came in the first quarter and that Murray was 0-for-3 when targeting him after that initial frame, but they’ll have no rebuttal to the highlights Harrison produced on Sunday. Nobody will be questioning Harrison’s hands or big-play ability after he hauled in this touchdown over Tre’Davious White. … The rookie will be just fine if he continues getting service like that from his quarterback. Murray continued his hot start to the season with another big outing. He finished his day with a perfect passer rating after completing 17 of 21 passes for 266 yards and three touchdowns. He also tacked on 59 yards as a runner, bringing his season total up to 116 yards. After two games, Murray is on pace to finish with 3,600 passing yards and nearly 1,000 running yards. Those have been MVP-winning numbers for other dual-threat quarterbacks. If Murray can keep this up, he could find himself in that discussion for the first time since Arizona’s 7-0 start in 2021."
