From Gary Klein: Humility, as Sean McVay likes to say, is only a day away. And the Rams lived it Sunday.
McVay, quarterback Matthew Stafford and the Rams defense all were humbled in a 31-28 defeat by the Carolina Panthers before 71,292 at Bank of America Stadium.
Stafford’s stellar MVP-caliber play ended with two interceptions — his first since September — a crucial delay-of-game penalty and a lost fumble.
Panthers quarterback Bryce Young sliced the Rams’ secondary for three touchdown passes, and running backs ran through what had been a mostly impenetrable defense.
But this was not a meltdown. It was costly but not disastrous.
Yes, the Rams’ six-game winning streak ended. Their record dropped to 9-3. They no longer hold the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
But it’s the NFL. Great players abound. Parity rules.
CHARGERS
From Sam Farmer: Ladies and gentlemen, the unflinching and unrelenting Justin Herbert.
Give him a hand.
(The Chargers wish you could.)
Herbert, who has been knocked around a lot this NFL season but so far had escaped injury, saw that streak come to a disappointing end Sunday, even in leading the Chargers to a 31-14 win over the Las Vegas Raiders at SoFi Stadium.
Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said Herbert sustained a broken bone in the back of his non-throwing hand and will undergo a surgical procedure Monday in hopes of playing a week later against the Philadelphia Eagles.
“I’m treating it as if I’m playing on Monday,” said Herbert, who directed three of his four touchdown drives after the injury. “I think [Chargers personnel] were very hopeful for that. So I think that’s just something we’ll see tomorrow and we’ll get a feel for, but I think they’re really hopeful. So that’s always a good thing.”
He said the only way he wouldn’t play is if a doctor told him it was “very unwise” for him to do so.
The Chargers are heading into a brutally difficult finish to the regular season, with games against the Eagles, Kansas City, Dallas, Houston — who knocked them out of the playoffs last season — and Denver.
LAKERS
From Broderick Turner: As long as Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves are playing, the Lakers always stand a good chance of winning — even if LeBron James is out.
That proved to be the case yet again Sunday night at Crypto.com Arena as the Lakers rolled over the injury-depleted New Orleans Pelicans 133-121 with James out managing a left foot injury.
The Lakers (15-4) won their seventh straight game behind Doncic’s 34 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists and Reaves’ 33 points and eight assists.
“I don’t know what made it special, but I think we’re just good basketball players,” said Doncic about his success playing alongside Reaves.
The Lakers have a game Monday against the visiting Phoenix Suns, but it’s unclear if James will play.
James missed the first 14 games of this season with sciatica and has played in just four games. Left foot injury management also kept him out of some games last season.
UCLA BASKETBALL
From Ben Bolch: It might seem hard to imagine, watching the pure stroke and true form that provides Gabriela Jaquez such steady success from beyond the three-point arc.
But there was a time when Jaquez’s long-range shooting was the part of her game that gave UCLA women’s basketball coach Cori Close hesitancy in offering a scholarship.
Eager to prove herself, Jaquez tirelessly toiled at a park during the pandemic, getting up one shot after another. She joined a club team based in Oakland, flying north twice a month for weekend practices.
Good thing she stuck with it.
Jaquez earned that scholarship and is fully flourishing in her senior season, her all-around brilliance powering the No. 3 Bruins to a 99-77 victory over No. 14 Tennessee on Sunday afternoon before a small but spirited crowd at Pauley Pavilion.
DUCKS
Connor Bedard scored the tie-breaking goal at 9:55 of the third period, added an empty-net score and had two assists as the Chicago Blackhawks rallied from an early three-goal deficit to top the Ducks 5-3 on Sunday and break a five-game slide.
Tyler Bertuzzi, Ryan Greene and Colton Dach also scored as Chicago tied it at 3 by 12:34 of the second. Chicago converted two of four power-play chances and killed all three Anaheim advantages.
Bedard beat Ville Husso with a nifty move from the front of the crease to put Chicago ahead 4-3 after a turnover by Alex Killorn. Husso had entered the game 44 seconds earlier after starter Petr Mrazek exited with an undisclosed injury.
THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
1936 — End Larry Kelley of Yale is named the Heisman Trophy winner.
1951 — Arnold “Showboat” Boykin of Mississippi scores seven touchdowns in a 49-7 rout of Mississippi State.
1956 — The United States beats the Soviet Union 89-55 to win the gold medal in men’s basketball at the Melbourne Olympics. Bob Jeangerard (16), K.C. Jones (15), Jim Walsh (14) and Bill Russell (13) each score double-digits.
1959 — Louisiana State halfback Billy Cannon is named the Heisman Trophy winner.
1961 — Paul Arizin of the Philadelphia Warriors scores 33 points in 138-177 win over the Lakers to become the third NBA player to reach the 15,000-point plateau.
1973 — Jack Nicklaus wins the Disney World Open to become the first pro golfer to surpass $2 million in career earnings.
1980 — South Carolina running back George Rogers is named the Heisman Trophy winner.
1984 — Boston College quarterback Doug Flutie is named the 50th Heisman Trophy winner.
1990 — Ty Detmer of Brigham Young wins the Heisman Trophy. Detmer, who had set or tied 25 NCAA passing and total offense records, becomes the first BYU winner and third consecutive junior winner.
1996 — Wayne Gretzky becomes the first player in NHL history to reach the 3,000-point plateau.
2001 — North Texas (5-6) loses to Troy State 18-16 to become the third team to go to a bowl with a losing record. The Mean Green, bound for the inaugural New Orleans Bowl as the Sun Belt Conference champion, joins SMU (4-6 in 1963) and William & Mary (5-6 in 1970) as the only teams to play in a bowl game with losing records.
2003 — Sylvester Croom becomes the Southeastern Conference’s first Black head football coach, accepting an offer to take over troubled Mississippi State.
2004 — McKendree College coach Harry Statham tops Dean Smith with his 880th victory, an 83-72 win over Maryville. Smith, with 879 wins, still holds the NCAA record for career victories because all of Statham’s wins are at the NAIA level.
2012 — Landon Donovan scores the tiebreaking goal on a penalty kick in the 65th minute, and David Beckham leaves the MLS as a two-time champion with the Galaxy’s 3-1 victory over the Houston Dynamo in the MLS Cup.
2013 — Josh Gordon has 10 catches for 261 yards and two touchdowns in Cleveland’s 32-20 loss to Jacksonville. He becomes the first player in NFL history to record 200 yards receiving in consecutive games.
2015 — The Philadelphia 76ers end the longest losing streak in the history of major pro sports in the United States, topping the Lakers 103-91 to snap a 28-game skid.
2018 — In a dramatic twist on last season’s national championship game, Jalen Hurts comes off the bench to pass for one touchdown and run for another in the fourth quarter, rallying No. 1 Alabama to a 35-28 win over No. 4 Georgia for the Southeastern Conference title.
2018 — Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury fights to a split draw, with Wilder retaining his WBC heavyweight title after knocking down his British challenger twice at Staples Center.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
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