Zuerlein, Hekker giving Rams extra kick

Oct 23, 2017 - 12:04 AM It's become one of the more recent cliches for a coach to call a kicker or a punter "a real weapon."

The Los Angeles Rams are well-stocked, as they showed again Sunday in their 33-0 win over the Arizona Cardinals at Twickenham Stadium near London.

Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein was 4-for-4 on field goals, improving to 21-for-22 this season.

All-Pro Johnny Hekker only punted twice in the Rams' lopsided win. They were, as usual, good ones.

Hekker averaged 55 yards on his two punts. He went into the game averaging 46.9 yards a punt. Hekker led the NFL in punting in 2015 when he averaged 47.9 yards per boot.

Zuerlein's field goals were from 23, 33, 53 and 34 yards. His 53-yard field goal came on the final snap of the first half as time expired.

Zuerlein was 3-for-3 on extra-points against Arizona. He is 21-for-21 on PATs for the season.

Hekker and Zuerlein were among the few highlights of the Rams' 2016 season, when they finished 4-12. Los Angeles, off to a 5-2 start, has more than just those two stars this season.

The last time the Rams started the season 5-2 was in 2003. They qualified for the playoffs that year.

--Arizona had not allowed 100 yards to an opposing running back for 19 straight games before Todd Gurley II rushed for 106 yards against the Cardinals on Sunday.

Gurley also had 48 receiving yards on four catches.

--Before leaving the game because of a broken left arm, Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer passed for 122 yards to give him 46,247 career yards. He passed Vinny Testaverde to become No. 12 on the NFL all-time career list.

--The Rams dominated every category against Arizona, as would be expected of any team in a 33-0 win. Among the telling statistics was third-down efficiency.

The Rams converted on 13 of 19 third downs while the Cardinals were 3 of 12. Arizona head coach Bruce Arians called that discrepancy "the most glaring" statistic from Sunday's game.

"Our biggest problem defensively is getting off the field on third down," Arians said. "It's kind of become a problem. Offensively, it was the same thing, not converting on third down."

--About the only negative result for Los Angeles was when center John Sullivan left the game in the fourth quarter because of a left knee injury. Austin Blythe replaced Sullivan.

"I think John (Sullivan) is going to be OK," Rams head coach Sean McVay said. "The early results on him were positive."

Sullivan, who has played for the Minnesota Vikings and Washington Redskins, signed with the Rams as a free agent in April.