It was painful to watch, and not just for an Arizona Cardinals fan. They knew that this team with Kevin Kolb and no running game wasn’t going to put a lot of points on the board, but it was never supposed to be this bad, losing to the St. Louis Rams 17-3 and enduring their first defeat of the season.

And now, all the talk of a stingy defense, one of the best in the NFL, don’t really matter. A division that looks a tight race all of a sudden, with the Cardinals, Seahawks, Rams and obviously the 49ers looking like playoff teams. San Francisco? A little bit more. The Cardinals made Sam Bradford look awful. Problem was their offensive line was even worse.

And even the Cardinals defense didn’t live up to the expectations. Only one sack? Against the Rams?! Sam Bradford was terrible, finishing with 7-21, but he did connect for two touchdowns, putting the interception he threw in the end zone to Patrick Peterson behind him. The Cardinals got more yards on the board and much more first downs. But when your quarterback gets hit, and hit and hit, it isn’t enough.

Kolb’s offensive line completely crumbled, and all the talk of creating a patient offense that allows Kolb comfortable and simple routes and passes disappeared. He was sacked nine times, losing 52 yards in the process. Robert Quinn personally got to him three times, and he was hit a couple of more times. Kolb also fumbled the ball once. It was painful to watch, as we’ve mentioned earlier.

Running game? The Cardinals didn’t really have time for running plays, trailing the entire game, managing only one score through a Jay Feely field goal, but on their 17 rushing attempts, they carried for only 45 yards. A sad, pathetic 2.6 per game. Even sadder than the 68 per game they averaged before the loss.

For the Rams, it was a milestone of reaching a better than .500 record for the first time since 2006. That ended a stretch of 93 consecutive games played without a winning record, the third-longest streak in NFL history. It’s kinda funny that their doing it without much of an improved offense, as Bradford continues to show everyone that he’s struggling in escaping the bust label. Still, it’s better, it seems, than what the Cardinals have in their offensive line, no matter how good of a defense it might be.

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