landman

Nate Landman punched in as a Ram on Sunday.

And the team’s new linebacker and team captain punched out the Houston Texans.

With the Texans threatening to score in the final minutes of the opener, Landman showed an artisan’s touch by separating the ball from a Texan running back’s grip and forcing a fumble that was recovered by lineman Braden Fiske.

The play all but sealed the Rams’ 14-9 season-opening victory before 71,346 at SoFi Stadium.

“It means so much,” said Landman, who played three seasons for the Atlanta Falcons before signing a one-year contract with the Rams. “You work, you work, you work, for that moment to happen there, and for that moment to come to fruition and expose itself is really great.”

Landman was one of several key players for a defense that limited the Texans to three field goals.

Cornerback Cobie Durant intercepted a pass, edge rusher Byron Young, lineman Tyler Davis and safety Jaylen McCollough recorded sacks and Fiske made a spectacular play to recover Dare Ogunbowale’s fumble after Landman punched it out.

Those efforts made it easier for an offense that will need some fine-tuning to live up to its hype.

“Landman making that punch out was so cool,” quarterback Matthew Stafford said.

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1. Rams tight end Davis Allen (87) celebrates with teammates after making a touchdown catch. 2. Rams safety Jaylen McCollough celebrates during the first half. 3. Rams running back Kyren Williams tries to evade Houston Texans defenders. 4. Quarterback Matthew Stafford celebrates the Rams’ win. 5. Houston cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. pushes Rams wide receiver Jordan Whittington out of bounds in the second quarter. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Stafford, in his 17th NFL season, did not commit a turnover while etching his name deeper into the NFL record book. He completed 21 of 29 passes for 245 yards and a touchdown, and became only the 10th player to pass for more than 60,000 yards.

After sitting out all of training camp and several weeks of preseason practices because of a back issue, his ability to start and finish the game was a victory unto itself.

Receiver Puka Nacua also showed characteristic grit and toughness. Despite suffering an injury that required stitches in his head, Nacua caught 10 passes for 130 yards. Receiver Davante Adams caught four passes for 51 yards in his Rams debut.

Running back Kyren Williams rushed for a touchdown and tight end Davis Allen caught a touchdown pass as the Rams improved to 7-2 in openers under ninth-year coach Sean McVay.

“Our guys found a way,” McVay said of his team’s overall effort, “and that’s what it’s about.”

Sunday’s game marked the start of the Rams’ 10th season in Los Angeles since returning from St. Louis.

And the defense’s performance, save for an untimely penalty or two, rated a near 10.

Rams coach Sean McVay shares a hand slap with wide receiver Puka Nacua during the Rams’ season-opening win.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

The Rams’ offense managed only Williams’ touchdown in the first half. Meanwhile, Ka’imi Fairbairn kicked three field goals to give the Texans a 9-7 lead.

But the Rams appeared to come out with a different attitude in the second half.

Stafford’s passes to Adams and Xavier Smith set up Allen’s touchdown catch that gave the Rams the lead, and they appeared on their way to increasing their advantage when they drove to the Texans’ 12-yard line with just over four minutes left.

But tight end Colby Parkinson fumbled after a short reception, putting the onus on the Rams defense.

When quarterback C.J. Stroud’s third-down pass fell incomplete, the Rams looked like they were on the verge of victory. But a roughing-the-passer penalty against lineman Kobie Turner kept the drive alive.

Stroud completed a pass to Ogunbowale, and on the next play they connected for another. But this time Landman punched the ball out of Ogunbowale’s grip.

McVay was not surprised.

Landman, who forced three fumbles in each of the previous two seasons, has had more punchouts in practice than any other player,” McVay said.

“He has just a great feel for it,” McVay said, “so he’s intentional, and I think it’s rubbed off on the rest of the group. And he got it at a critical time. You talk about competitive greatness — that was on display.”

Stafford’s 24-yard pass to Nacua in the final minute sealed the victory.

“That’s complementary football, right?” Stafford said. “That’s, ‘Hey, we make a mistake, defense comes out and makes a play for us. Hey, you know what, we aren’t going to put you back out on the field defense, we’re going to close this thing out taking a knee.’

“Those are things you can build on.”

The Rams play the Tennessee Titans and the defending Super Bowl-champion Philadelphia Eagles on the road the next two weeks.

“The sky’s the limit for this defense,” Landman said. “You see the guys we have up front, the pressure we’re able to create on the quarterback.

“And you pair that with the coverage behind it — it’s a lot to look forward to this year.”

“Yellowstone” creator Taylor Sheridan and Paramount are going big in Texas, joining forces to open a 450,000-square-foot production campus in Fort Worth, in a boost to the Lone Star State’s growing entertainment economy.

The venture, announced Wednesday, comes on the heels of Skydance’s $8.4-billion takeover of Paramount and just as Texas has taken major initiatives to encourage more film production, having recently passed legislation increasing its film incentives program to $1.5 billion over the next 10 years.

The massive production hub will be situated on the Alliance Texas campus, a 27,000-acre development owned by billionaire Ross Perot Jr.’s Hillwood, a commercial and residential real estate developer and a partner in the project along with Sheridan’s and Paramount Television.

It will be the largest studio facility in the state, according to officials, and marks another step toward Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s goal “to make Texas the Film Capital of the World.”

“We are at a pivotal moment where Texas can become a global force in the film industry, and North Texas offers the location and resources to play a central role in this development,” said Hillwood President Mike Berry in a statement.

The film campus is composed of two buildings with six sound stages that can support four large-scale productions simultaneously. It is expected to be the home base for such Sheridan-produced shows as “Landman” and “Lioness,” which currently film in Texas.

The second season of “Landman” has been filming at the facility since March.

Taylor Sheridan at the premiere of Paramount+’s “1883” at Wynn Las Vegas in 2021.

(Greg Doherty / Getty Images for Wynn Las Vegas)

The move also marks a turning point for Sheridan’s productions.

In recent years, Sheridan, who grew up in Fort Worth, has filmed many of his hit television shows — including “1883” — across the state.

His productions have brought in hundreds of millions of dollars to local businesses and a stream of tourists in what some in the industry began calling “the Sheridan Effect.”

“SGS Studios isn’t just about sound stages or incentives — it’s about reclaiming the independence and grit that built this industry in the first place,” said Taylor Sheridan in statement about the new project.

The lion’s amber gaze fixes forward on Nate Landman’s left bicep, its mane fanning across the curve of his arm. Above Landman’s wrist, a zebra bends to graze, while a giraffe behind steps through a stand of wind-bent acacia trees.

Together, they form a tattooed sleeve of Zimbabwe — an inked landscape of home carried by the Rams’ newest defensive signal-caller.

“There’s not many Zimbabwe migrants in the United States,” Landman said, “so to represent my country and have this platform to do it is huge.”

Rams linebacker Nate Landman shows tattoos on his left arm of a lion, giraffe and zebra from his native Zimbabwe.

(Ira Gorawara / Los Angeles Times)

At age 4, Landman’s family of six traded the southern tip of Africa for Northern California, chasing wider playing fields and educational opportunities for their children. Twenty-two years later, the red soil and wild coastlines of his first home still ride with him — in the way he stalks, strikes and erupts.

So when tight end Davis Allen cut through a seam and caught a pass during Saturday’s training camp session, Landman tracked him with the patience of a predator. He measured each step, sprang forward and then uncoiled, thumping the ball out of Allen’s grip to send it skidding to the turf.

After witnessing several of those jarring shots, safety Quentin Lake coined the nickname “Peanut Punch Landman,” a nod to Landman’s ability to force fumbles.

“He has just a knack for the ball,” Lake said.

The Atlanta Falcons were the first to detect that hunch, scooping Landman out of Colorado as an undrafted rookie. In each of the last two seasons, he forced three fumbles.

That instinct — and the trust he’s earned — fast-tracked Landman’s role with the Rams. Signed as a free agent in March, Landman wasted little time winning over Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula, who stuck a green dot on Landman’s helmet, designating him as a commander of the defense.

“The way that he understands the game, he’s able to talk to everybody on the defense,” Rams inside linebackers coach Greg Williams said. “It was almost a no-brainer when coach Shula came to me and said, ‘I think Nate should have the green dot.’”

And for the Rams, that leadership and knack for creating turnovers came at a bargain. In a defense that doesn’t spend big at linebacker, Landman — who signed a one-year, $1.1-million contract — arrived as a low-cost addition with high potential return.

“He’s a great communicator. He’s got great command. He’s got the ability to elevate people,” coach Sean McVay said, adding, “I just like the way that this guy’s got a great vibe.”

Before Landman became an on-field general for the Rams, he was in teacher mode, offering teammates a primer that had nothing to do with playbooks.

During a team meeting, Landman unfurled a map of Africa, tracing its outline with his finger before shading the small patch of land he calls home — wedged right above South Africa — to give his locker room a visual pin on where his story began.

“A lot of guys don’t know that Africa, the continent, is full of just individual countries,” Landman said. “They think it’s states and stuff. So it’s cool to be able to share that with them — not everybody believes when I say I’m from Africa.”

Amid that crash course, one question kept resurfacing.

Are there lions and deer roaming around?

“A lot of people are fascinated,” Landman said. “It’s such a rare thing, that’s why I’m so proud of it.”

Though it’s been a few years since Landman last stood on Zimbabwean soil, his family ties still tether him there. And as football sent him crisscrossing the United States, his homeland’s hues and emblems have come along for the ride.

The tattoo sleeve climbs into his chest, framing a map of Africa with Zimbabwe shaded deep. He still eats sadza nenyama , the maize-and-meat staple that fed his childhood. And in his parents’ home, light falls on a gallery of African vignettes and keepsakes.

His helmet bears the same allegiance, Zimbabwe’s flag tagged proudly on the back.

“I love wearing that Zimbabwe flag on the back of my helmet,” Landman said, “and I’ll do that as long as I’m in the NFL.”