Chandler Catanzaro scored four field goals to guide the Arizona Cardinals to a 12-6 victory over the St Louis Rams on a night when neither team registered a touchdown.

From the start of the contest, it became clear that Drew Stanton and Shaun Hill were in for a tough challenge with the ball in hand as the defensive players dominated proceedings.

After Arizona were forced to punt at the end of their opening drive, the Rams took the lead with a 24-yard field goal from Greg Zuerlein.

Stanton looked in confident mood throughout the opening quarter, but he struggled to force his side further up the pitch until Catanzaro separated the two teams before the half-time interval.

A routine field goal levelled the scores, before Catanzaro split the post from 44 yards to hand the Cardinals a 6-3 lead.

The rookie carried his fine form into the second half with another impressive kick from 51 yards, but both sides continued to lack a cutting edge on offense as the endzone was stubbornly protected at both ends of the pitch.

There was bad news for the visitors in the fourth quarter, however, as Stanton was forced off the field with a knee injury after being sacked by Aaron Donald.

It was his fourth kick - a 46-yard effort - which proved to be most vital as Arizona extended their lead to 12-3 early in the final quarter.

Zuerlein reduced the deficit with his second field goal of the night, but the Rams were unable to prevent the Cardinals from picking up an 11th win of the season as Bruce Arians watched his side strengthen their grip on the NFC Western Division.