Quarterback Kurt Warner wasted no time getting the Cardinals rolling. He scrambled out of the pocket and hit running back Tim Hightower for a 7-yard gain. Another 7-yard pass, to Anquan Boldin, earned the Cards their initial first down.

Then Arizona running back Beanie Wells muffed a pitchout from Warner and ever-opportunistic Rams safety O.J. Atogwe won the battle for the loose ball.

That set the Rams up at the Arizona 25. Of course, this team can’t stand prosperity — so it opened the game by earning a penalty for too many men in the huddle.

How does THAT happen on the very first play from scrimmage?

Forced back into a first-and-15 scenario, the Rams had no chance to advance the ball. After a short completion to tight end Billy Bajema and a short run by Steven Jackson, Marc Bulger gunned the ball to Brandon Gibson for first-down yardage . . . but Gibson couldn’t come down with the pass.

So the Rams settled for Josh Brown’s 40-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead. Something tells us the Rams will regret not converting that opportunity into seven points.

Back came the Cardinals, with Warner completing a 14-yard pass to Larry Fitzgerald for a third-down conversion. Then Warner beat a safety blitz with a 20-yard completion to Boldin.

But a third-down sack shared by Leonard Little and James Hall stopped Arizona short of scoring position. The Rams got some earlier hits on Warner during that sequence, too, most notably by Chris Long (forcing Kurt to dump off the ball lefthanded to avoid the sack) and Atogwe on his blitz.

The Rams used their next possession to establish Jackson in the ground game. He plowed for one first down. A Bulger-to-Gibson pass earned another first down.

Bulger took a deep shot toward Donnie Avery, but Avery got no separation. On second and 10, Marc lost the ball while scrambling, got it back but took a 9-yard sack in the process.

And that doomed the Rams to their first punt of the day. Donnie Jones crushed it 63 yards to earn his team a little real estate.

But the Cards came back firing. Tim Hightower’s 12-yard run got Arizona out of its hole. Then he squeeze through a seam and raced 50-yard to the Rams 23.

Warner’s 11-yard pass to Fitzgerald moved the Cards into the red zone. And Warner’s 5-yard TD pass to Boldin moved them into the red zone.

With 2:28 left in the period, Arizona had a 7-3 lead. The Cards needed just six plays to travel 87 yards, reminding the Rams that they will have to score a LOT of points to stay in this game.

Danny Amendola took the ensuing kickoff 31 yards to the Rams 35, giving them solid opening field position for their next possession. But the Rams took a three-and-out powder, with Arizona easily swatting down Bulger’s third-down pass at the line of scrimmage.