The St. Louis Rams and the Carolina Panthers were both quiet through the first quarter of their week eight matchup at the Edward Jones Dome Sunday. Sam Bradford was 12-for-15 for just 58 yards, while Matt Moore made just three pass attempts—one of them an interception—coming off the biggest game of his career in week seven.
The Rams defense has been striking through the game’s first 20 minutes, allowing the Panthers just 16 yards of total offense. The Panthers have six carries for -5 yards rushing. The Rams offense also has something to do with that—they’ve dominated the time of possession, holding the ball for nearly 15 minutes to the Panthers’ six. The name of the game has been short passes; Just two of Bradford’s 14 completions, alread more than last week’s total, have been for more than seven yards.
Josh Brown’s 33 yard field goal put the Rams on the board for the first points of the game, capping off a seven minute-long drive that covered just 55 yards.