Cardinals can’t close again, outscored 20-0 after halftime in loss at Rams

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The second half has become a problem for the Arizona Cardinals.

After surprising the NFL with their competitive play through the first three weeks of the season, the overhauled Cardinals are now struggling to stay in games after halftime, with it happening again in their 26-9 loss at the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.

“Nobody’s coming to save us,” defensive end Jonathan Ledbetter said. “We know that. We got to save ourselves. We got to play football how we know how to play football.”

The Cardinals (1-5) were outscored 20-0 in the third and fourth quarters. In their past three losses, at San Francisco, against Cincinnati and now at Los Angeles, they have been outscored 51-12 in the second half.

This defeat was all the more frustrating because the Cardinals had played well in the first half. They ran for 103 yards to the Rams’ 5. They protected quarterback Joshua Dobbs, allowing him to distribute passes to six receivers.

What they had not done was put the ball in the end zone, settling for field goals of 32 yards after the Rams fumbled a punt and 27 yards after an 11-play drive.

“The first half, we felt like we moved the ball,” Dobbs said. “Did a good job making plays, extending on third down, finding those dirty yards to stay on the field. We wish we would have finished in the red zone. That’s ultimately what the game came down to, right?”

Sandwiching those two kicks from Matt Prater was another promising possession that ended at the Rams 40. Dobbs had been stuffed on third-and-short, and his successful fourth down sneak was canceled out because left guard Elijah Wilkinson lined up offsides.

Arizona went for it again on fourth-and-six, but Dobbs’ deep throw down the far sideline led Marquise Brown one step out of…