Live From L.A., It's Saturday Night
The Cardinals' Week 17 game looked a lot different than when they last played the Rams in Week 2, from the time and day to the personnel and result.
Let's dive in to what Saturday night in Los Angeles looked like through my lens:
The white uniforms were standing out against the dark tunnel, which seems to be a theme of mine when the team wears white on the road.
Jalen Thompson opted for some gray accessories that his teammates were shouting out:
I was in the middle of the field for the last groups to run out to warmups, and I was spotted by Zaven Collins and Roy Lopez:
I tried to get some up-close portraits during pregame:
The team welcomed Mack Wilson Sr. back by cheering him on during the pregame huddle:
Since the away team locker room for Rams games in SoFi Stadium is the Chargers locker room, it was pretty spacious and well-lit.
I got some shots of players taking a moment to themselves ...
... some finishing touches ...
... and a rookie-to-vet conversation:
I set up downfield to get the pregame prayers, but the Rams turned off the lights for their pregame show, so I had to adjust my settings on the fly:
The lights were kind of flickering at some points, so I caught some frames here and there of them still on:
It was difficult trying to capture the details I wanted with the inconsistent lighting, but I think I made some cool photos out of it:
The lights were back fully for the coin toss, and we were all set:
I positioned myself in the end zone for most of the plays because it allowed me to get a really straight-on shot of the players facing me:
It's good for both defensive tackles ...
... and offensive passes:
When I wasn't in the end zone, I was scanning the sideline for any moments that stood out:
There were a couple offensive plays that looked interesting in a still photo:
The biggest play of the day, though, was Trey McBride's receiving touchdown, one we all have been waiting to see:
The offense had some struggles, represented here by a close-but-not-quite fingertip incomplete:
And, of course, the final drive ended in a tipped interception that everyone tried to argue away:
The defense tried one last time to get the ball back:
But we ended up with a Rams win instead.
