Fourth-quarter surge guides Arizona Cardinals past St Louis Rams

The Arizona Cardinals scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to power past the St Louis Rams and earn a 31-14 victory in their NFC West clash, despite losing quarterback Carson Palmer to an injury.

The Rams took the lead in the first quarter when Austin Davis drove his side downfield with a short pass to Tavon Austin, then threw a handoff to Tre Mason. Benny Cunningham completed the score when he powered through the line for a three-yard touchdown.

Arizona managed to get back on level terms at the start of the second quarter when Palmer found a passing rhythm and drove his side inside the five-yard line. Andre Ellington completed the drive when he found a hole in the line to run in for a three-yard score.

A field goal from the boot of Chandler Catanzaro from 43 yards put the Cardinals ahead after the Rams managed to stifle a drive from the home side's offense.

Just before the break, the Rams hit back as Davis launched a pass deep downfield for his tight end Jared Cook, who made the catch in stride and then ran all the way into the endzone for a 59-yard touchdown.

Neither side could add to the scoreline in the third quarter as Palmer was intercepted in the redzone by Alec Ogletree to maintain the visitors' narrow lead in the University of Phoenix Stadium.

In the fourth quarter, the Cardinals were dealt a major blow when Palmer was forced to leave the game with a knee injury after he fell awkwardly on the field.

However, minutes after his departure backup quarterback Drew Stanton fired the home side ahead with a deep strike to John Brown down the middle for a 49-yard touchdown.

Arizona all but sealed their victory when Patrick Peterson made the play of the match as he intercepted a deep pass from Davis and ran the ball back for a 30-yard touchdown.

Minutes later, the Cardinals scored again as Kareem Martin sacked Davis and forced a fumble from the quarterback, which allowed Antonio Cromartie to scoop up the ball and score the 14-yard touchdown to guide the home side to their eighth win of the season.