On paper, the Los Angeles Rams, fresh off an NFC title game appearance last January, had a near-perfect offseason. It was hard not to get excited about what a team coached by Sean McVay and quarterbacked by Matthew Stafford could accomplish with the high-profile additions of Myles Garrett, Aaron Donald (who came out of retirement), and Trent McDuffie on defense. Many had them as the justifiable Super Bowl favorite
.In the summer, Arizona Cardinals linebacker Mack Wilson Sr. didn't see the Rams that way. He actually maintained that the Rams still had to worry about the rebuilding Cardinals in the NFC West. Naturally, many made fun of Wilson for these comments, given the perceived disparity in quality between the two teams. It turns out everyone
but Wilson (and perhaps his Cardinals teammates) was wrong.
Cardinals LB Mack Wilson Sr. is unfazed by the Rams and their off-season moves. pic.twitter.com/b5HSrOoc44
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 12, 2026
Wilson's comments now look prophetic after the Cardinals upset the Rams on the road in Los Angeles thanks to a game-winning 43-yard-field goal at the buzzer. Wilson was himself instrumental in setting up the Cardinals' field-goal attempt with a nine-tackle effort that helped stymie the Rams' offense, limiting them to an uninspiring 286-yard day and just 16 points.
CHAD RYLAND WINS IT FOR THE CARDINALS pic.twitter.com/QfTHlvwVcr
— NFL (@NFL) October 18, 2026
With the Cardinals' stunning win, the 2-4 Rams are now technically tied for last place in the NFC West by virtue of tiebreakers. It's unclear when Garrett will come back, when Donald will look like Aaron Donald, and when the Rams will start looking like the heavyweight many thought they would be in the summer. They may well get it together as everyone gets healthier for the second half of the season, but the Rams are definitely not good right now.
Full credit to Wilson: He never saw these positive Rams in such a positive light. He and his Cardinals teammates certainly backed his talk up on Sunday.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Cardinals LB’s audacious claim about Arizona facing overhyped Rams wound up coming true
