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From Gary Klein: They ran three plays in the first quarter.
They were shut out in the first half.
It was anything but easy for the Rams on Sunday in the Big Easy.
Still, Matthew Stafford passed for two second-half touchdowns, Kyren Williams ran for another and rookie edge rusher Jared Verse made a late clutch play as the Rams defeated the New Orleans Saints 21-14 at the Caesars Superdome.
Williams rushed for more than 100 yards and receivers Demarcus Robinson and Puka Nacua caught touchdown passes as the Rams bounced back from an embarrassing defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles to improve to 6-6 and keep alive their playoff hopes.
The Seattle Seahawks (7-5) lead the NFC West, and the Arizona Cardinals (6-6) hold the tiebreaker over the Rams. The San Francisco 49ers (5-7) fell into last place in the division after getting blown out by the Bills during a Buffalo snow storm Sunday night.
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CHARGERS
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Tarheeb Still’s modest wave toward the stunned crowd at Mercedes-Benz Stadium wasn’t just a parting shot to the home fans. It was the rookie cornerback saying hello.
The former fifth-round pick grabbed two interceptions, including a pick he returned 61 yards for the deciding touchdown, in the Chargers’ 17-13 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, leading a clutch defensive performance that overcame a sputtering offense.
While the Chargers (8-4) snagged four interceptions off Atlanta quarterback Kirk Cousins, they failed to score an offensive touchdown for the second time this season, missed on a fake punt attempt in the fourth quarter, and were held to 187 yards, their second-lowest total of the season.
None of the deficiencies could dim the wide smile on Jim Harbaugh’s face after the game.
“It’s a beautiful thing,” the coach said. “We’re witnessing complementary, winning football.”
LAKERS
From Dan Woike: The clock ticked down and the ball, like it has for most of the last two decades of professional basketball, was in LeBron James’ hands.
It’s been the recipe for years, James hunting the matchup on the court he wants, then methodically picking it apart with a combination of speed, strength and skill that’s been unmatched for most of the NBA’s history.
But this isn’t the basketball JJ Redick wants the Lakers to play, and quite frankly, this might not be the best version of basketball for a player in his 22nd NBA season, even if that player has scored more points than anyone ever to play in the league.
“This is my lowest usage rate of my career,” James would say later Sunday night (It’s actually his lowest usage rate since his rookie season). “So it’s an adjustment.”
But with the Lakers missing Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell and the young Jazz defense ripe for some bullying, the Lakers switched up.
“It felt like normal for myself,” James said. “But the way we want to play this year is a little bit different and I’m adjusting to it as well.”
Sunday, the styles collided with James doing it the old-fashioned way in the fourth quarter of the Lakers’ 105-104 win against the Jazz.
CLIPPERS
From Broderick Turner: The Clippers returned home from a four-game trip with a 2-2 record, and for all of the hard work it took to earn those results, they had to face one of the NBA’s best talents in Denver’s otherworldly center Nikola Jokic.
So, the challenge for coach Tyronn Lue on Sunday night and his team’s stingy defense was figuring out a way to deal with Jokic, who entered the game averaging a triple-double with 29.7 points per game (fourth best in the league), 13.1 rebounds (first in the league) and 10.6 assists (second best in the league).
The Clippers could not stop Jokic from delivering yet another triple-double, but L.A. withstood the MVP’s dominance to pull out a 126-122 win over Denver behind the all-around play from James Harden and the return of Norman Powell and the offense he brought with him.
UCLA BASKETBALL
Kiki Rice scored 14 of her 21 points before halftime to lead No. 1 UCLA to a 70-49 win over Hawaii on Sunday in the final day of the Rainbow Wahine Showdown.
Lauren Betts added 18 points but saw her string of five straight double-doubles end. Gabriela Jaquez had 11 points and seven rebounds for the Bruins (8-0).
Rice shot seven of 10 from the field, including a pair from beyond the arc and made all five of her free throws.
Lily Wahinekapu scored 10 points for the Rainbow Wahine (5-2), who saw their five-game win streak come to an end.
GALAXY
From Kevin Baxter: Galaxy playmaker Riqui Puig will miss the MLS Cup final and the start of the 2025 season after tearing the ACL in his left knee during Saturday’s 1-0 Western Conference semifinal win over the Seattle Sounders, the club announced Sunday.
There was no official timeline for Puig’s return, but recovery from a ruptured ACL can take between six and 12 months. He is expected to undergo surgery in the coming days.
Puig, who had the assist on Dejan Joveljic’s game-winning goal in the 85th minute, continued playing for 30 minutes after sustaining the injury. Before limping off to the locker room in tears after the final whistle, he gestured to his parents to come out of the stands and join him on the field, where they wrapped their arms around him and tried to try console him. Galaxy coach Greg Vanney was also seen embracing and comforting Puig, who was then wearing a towel over his head.
From Dylan Hernández: This season is officially worse than the last, USC completing its regular season with a 6-6 record and probably destined for a minor bowl in a desert wasteland.
Remember how an 8-5 season last year felt as if it was rock bottom?
Well, things have unraveled at USC to the point where the infamous Clay Helton era, in retrospect, is starting to look half-decent.
After a 49-35 defeat to No. 5 Notre Dame at the Coliseum on Saturday, Lincoln Riley has a 25-14 record as USC’s coach. In the same role, Helton was 28-11 through his first 39 games.
Once viewed as a savior, Riley has imprisoned USC in a cycle of mediocrity. His shortcomings as have kept the Trojans from even dreaming of realizing their championship ambitions. His eight-figure annual salary pretty much guarantees he won’t be fired any time soon.
A program that defines itself by championships risks becoming irrelevant when there’s an absence of hope, and USC is hopeless at the moment. If there’s a way out of his purgatory, no one can see it, the mounting defeats and shortage of high-end talent obscuring the path ahead.
“Finish 6-6 and just really have no clue what we are?” former USC quarterback Matt Leinart posted on social media. “Who we are? There’s no identity. We have good players. Need to recruit harder. As frustrated as anyone. Want to see USC back to being a contender. Don’t think we are close at the moment.”
DUCKS
Troy Terry tied a career high with three assists and scored the go-ahead goal in the shootout as the Ducks beat the Ottawa Senators 4-3 on Sunday.
Terry — who has a four-game point streak with seven assists — scored in the second round of the shootout to put the Ducks in front. Trevor Zegras added another goal in the third round after Lukas Dostal stopped Ottawa’s Tim Stützle and Josh Norris.
Frank Vatrano had two goals and an assist and Jackson LaCombe also scored for the Ducks. Ryan Strome had two assists and Dostal stopped 29 shots.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1907 — Tommy Burns defends his world heavyweight title by knocking out Gunner Moir in the 10th round at London.
1944 — Ohio State quarterback Leslie Horvath wins the Heisman Trophy.
1947 — Notre Dame quarterback Johnny Lujack wins the Heisman Trophy.
1951 — Future Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Don Hutson has his #14 jersey retired by the Green Bay Packers; first number retired in franchise history.
1952 — Oklahoma halfback Billy Vessels is named the Heisman Trophy winner.
1958 — Army back Pete Dawkins is named the Heisman Trophy winner.
1977 — Veterinarian Mark Gerard is indicted in a horse-switching scandal. Cinzano, a purportedly dead 4-year-old champion colt, won a race on Sept. 23 at Belmont Park, under the name of Lebon, a 57-1 long shot.
1984 — Dan Marino throws his 37th touchdown pass to break NFL single-season touchdown pass record.
1995 — Notre Dame advances to the NCAA women’s soccer championship by becoming the first team to beat 13-time champion North Carolina in the national semifinals. The lone score comes when Tar Heels forward Cindy Parlow accidentally heads a ball into her own net.
2002 — Oakland’s Tim Brown and Jerry Rice take turns rewriting the NFL record book in a 26-20 win over the New York Jets. Brown becomes the third player with 1,000 receptions and the third with 14,000 yards receiving. Rich Gannon ties an NFL record with his ninth 300-yard passing game of the season. On the very next play after Brown’s 1,000th catch, Rice scores on a 26-yard catch, giving Oakland a 13-10 lead. It’s Rice’s record 192nd TD catch and puts him over 1,000 yards receiving for a record 14th season.
2009 — The New Jersey Nets are pounded into NBA infamy, falling 117-101 to the Dallas Mavericks for their 18th straight loss to start the season. The Nets pass the 1988-89 Miami Heat and 1999 s Clippers, who both dropped their first 17 games.
2018 — Dallas Dorosy of Florida State scores in the 60th minute to help the Seminoles beat North Carolina 1-0 for the NCAA Women’s College Cup championship. Florida State wins the NCAA women’s soccer title for the second time. North Carolina, a 21-time NCAA champion, is shut out for the second time this season.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latimeshouston. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.