The Washington Redskins shredded the Arizona Cardinal

s for 182 yards on the ground in their season opener Nickell Robey-Coleman Jersey Salute to Service , most of any team in the NFL last week.Missed gap assignments, missed tackles, insufficient physical play, poor hand work at the line of scrimmage. There were plenty of reasons listed for the downfall by defensive coordinator Al Holcomb.Now the Cardinals have to face Todd Gurley and the Rams Sunday in Los Angeles, and that doesn't bode well for an Arizona team looking to find itself in a new defensive scheme with a new coaching staff."It's a big-time challenge this week again," Holcomb said after Thursday's practice. "We've got to address the mistakes, take the things that we didn't do so well last week and correct those things. We've got to accentuate the positives, the good things that we did and we've got to continue to grow and build on that as a defense."Gurley carried 20 times for 108 yards and caught three for 39 yards, including a 19-yard touchdown reception in Sunday's 33-13 win at Oakland.And the Cardinals know Gurley all too well.Last season Arizona had the sixth-ranked defense overall in the NFL and was sixth against the run, yet Gurley was outstanding as the Rams swept the two-game series with the Cardinals for the first time since 2012."We got our behinds kicked twice by this team," cornerback Patrick Peterson said.The first meeting was in Twickenham Stadium in London, where the Rams routed the Cardinals 33-0. In that game, Gurley carried 22 times for 106 yards and caught four for 48. The Rams rushed for 197 yards that day. Six weeks later in Arizona, Los Angeles won 32-15 as Gurley rushed for 74 yards in 19 attempts and caught six for 84 yards.Combine those experiences with the team's poor play in last week's 24-6 loss to the Redskins and the Arizona defense is in an ornery mood."We're a little salty right now so we have to come out prepared to play," Holcomb said. "It's a tremendous challenge in front of us but a great opportunity at the same time. We have to come out and play our brand of football like we're capable of playing."First-year coach Steve Wilks wants to build a team centered on tough, physical play, especially up front. That aspect of the opener was what bothered Holcomb most."Just not play, as Steve talks about, according to our DNA, the physicality Cooper Kupp Jersey Salute to Service ," Holcomb said. "The effort was there. The physicality, playing with our hands and then obviously minimizing the run game and also the tackling aspect of it. It's early in the season but we have to do a better job of tackling."The Cardinals know they have to avoid one-on-one situations with Gurley."Todd Gurley is a great back, one of the best backs in the league," said nickel cornerback/safety Budda Baker. "So we know we're all going to have to swarm to the ball to get him down."Peterson, a Pro Bowl player in all seven of his NFL seasons has seen a lot of Gurley throughout his career, agrees."The biggest point of emphasis for us on defense to contain Todd is just be like flying missiles," Peterson said, "always hitting him and getting 11 hats on the ball."Of course they also have to contend with the potent passing game of Jared Goff and his group of talented wide receivers."We know with this team everything' starts with the run," Peterson said. ' 'You've got thee play-action boot game and they try to take the top off of the defense. We have to make sure we're gap sound this week and don't give up the deep ball.'It would be a great help to have defensive end Markus Golden, but he could be a week away from returning from major knee surgery. Golden practiced on a limited basis Wednesday and Thursday."It's definitely going to give us a boost," Holcomb said. "He brings a lot of energy, a lot of juice. He has the ability to hold up and set the edge and also rush the passer, so I can't wait to get him back."Golden led the Cardinals in sacks two seasons ago with 12 1-2. The other defense end, All-Pro Chandler Jones, led the NFL in sacks last year with a franchise-record 17 and had one in the season opener.NOTES: Johnson was limited in practice Wednesday and Thursday with a sore back. TE Jermaine Gresham also was limited as he returns from surgery to repair an Achilles tendon. Gresham, like Golden, has yet to play this season. Kurt Warner, Mike Martz and the Greatest Show on Turf never put up as many yards passing in a single game as Jared Goff and Sean McVay did Thursday night.The St. Louis Rams had one of the greatest offenses in NFL history around the turn of the century. Fifteen years later, their West Coast descendants look ready to make their own mark on the league.After Goff passed for 465 yards and five touchdowns in Los Angeles' 38-31 victory over the Minnesota Vikings, the Rams are 4-0 for the first time since 2001. That's also the last season in which the Rams made the Super Bowl Authentic Tyler Higbee Jersey , and the final unofficial season of the Greatest Show on Turf — the high-octane offense masterminded by Martz and put into action by Warner, Marshall Faulk, Isaac Bruce and their slew of talented teammates.Warner was watching when Goff went 26 for 33 and shattered his previous career highs for yards passing and TD passes with a dynamic performance against the Vikings. He spread the ball to three receivers who had 100-yard games, while do-everything running back Todd Gurley had 73 yards receiving, 83 yards rushing and a TD catch."Time to get out the record books," Warner tweeted , adding that the Rams and Goff are "looking to SMASH some of those GSOT numbers! Keep it up boys - it's time!"No wonder Warner was impressed: Goff's performance was the third-biggest in Rams history and the most prolific since 1982, surpassing any game by Warner, Marc Bulger or Jim Everett."Those are quite flattering words," McVay said Friday of Warner's tweet, which included a hashtag hailing the "Greatest Show on Turf II.""It's a reflection of the way our players are playing, but ultimately the truest measurement of performance is that consistency, and we've got to consistently do it," McVay added. "We've done it for one quarter of the season so far where we've played at a pretty high level. Now the challenge is, can we continue it on when we get back for Week 5?"While Goff has made obvious strides in confidence and decision-making from his strong sophomore season, his effort isn't the only upgrade on an offense that already made a stunning transformation back in McVay's first year.The Rams are averaging 468.5 yards per game through the first quarter of the season, second-most in the league and 107 yards per game more than they put up last season, when they were the NFL's highest-scoring team.Left tackle Andrew Whitworth, whose steady blocking and leadership are lesser-noticed keys to the offense's success, credits the Rams' smooth start to collaboration in practice and film study."I have been honestly floored from a perspective of just how humble and how hungry this offense has been about conceptual football Limited Michael Brockers Jersey ," Whitworth said. "It's not really about whether they are going to get catches or touches, or whether Todd is going to get the ball so many times. ... It's about understanding exactly how to attack a team, understanding what their defense does. It's not just guys trying to figure out how to block their guy. It's understanding why their guy plays this way in this system. It takes you to a level where you are almost out there playing as a coach."Goff, McVay and the Rams are far from satisfied, however. McVay only sees progress toward a destination that's still many months away."To come away clean when you're 4-0 after this is a really important thing," McVay said. "The guys have done a great job of creating explosive plays, whether it's through the run game (or) through the pass game. I think we've been extremely efficient the past couple of weeks, but you talk about putting together complete games, being better situationally. As many great things as we did last night, we were 1 for 6 on third down. I really, realistically think that I've got to do a better job."McVay has a long weekend to spend looking for ways to improve his formidable offense. The workaholic coach plans to spend time with his parents and girlfriend, but he also plans to watch a little football while he starts to prepare for the Rams' upcoming three consecutive road games."I like watching football," McVay said. "I can at least feel like I'm sitting there as a fan, instead of being a total basket case like I am when we play."NOTES: McVay declined to confirm the Rams will stick with K Sam Ficken after he missed a 28-yard field goal attempt in the fourth quarter. Ficken has spent two games filling in for All-Pro Greg Zuerlein, who still isn't ready to return from injury. McVay and special teams coordinator John Fassel plan to talk before the Rams decide whether to find another kicker. ... LB Dominique Easley didn't play due to a knee injury, and McVay said the veteran "might be out for a little bit of time. We're looking into it. This poor guy has been through a whole lot." Easley has had multiple surgeries on both knees.