The Rams currently hold the top seed for the NFC playoffs. Now their greatest challenge might be shutting out the distraction of being deemed a favorite to win the Super Bowl.
“Humility is only a day away,” coach Sean McVay said. “Our guys understand that.”
On Sunday the Rams will play a potential trap game against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. The Panthers are 6-6 and coming off a 20-9 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
The Panthers are the Rams’ third NFC South opponent. The Rams already dispatched the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They play the struggling Falcons on Dec. 29 in Atlanta.
The Rams are 10-point favorites over the Panthers — and with good reason.
They have won six games in a row and scored at least 34 points in four of their last five games, including their 34-7 victory over the Buccaneers last Sunday at SoFi Stadium.
The Panthers feature quarterback Bryce Young, the top pick in the 2023 draft. Young has passed for 15 touchdowns with nine interceptions for a team that counts victories over the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys among its wins.
Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero and outside linebackers coach AC Carter are former Rams assistants. The roster includes seven former Rams: defensive linemen Bobby Brown III and A’Shawn Robinson, offensive lineman Austin Corbett, cornerbacks Robert Rochell and David Long, linebacker Christian Rozeboom and safety Nick Scott.
With kicker Harrison Mevis solidifying their special teams, the Rams on Friday waived Joshua Karty.
Karty, a 2024 sixth-round draft pick, had several kicks blocked early in the season, including one that led to a last-second touchdown by the Philadelphia Eagles. He made 10 of 15 field-goal attempts and 23 of 26 extra-point attempts.
“It was just exclusively a numbers thing,” coach Sean McVay said. “It’s just hard to keep two kickers.”
McVay said that if Karty clears waivers, the Rams would like to sign him to the practice squad.
The Rams have of late been shuffling their roster, putting tight end Tyler Higbee, offensive lineman Rob Havenstein and safety Quentin Lake on injured reserve, bringing receiver Tutu Atwell and cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon back from injured reserve, and signing players such as tight end Nick Vannett and cornerback Derion Kendrick.
Mevis has kicked the last three games. He made 40- and 52-yard field goals in last Sunday’s 34-7 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and has made all six extra-point attempts.
The Rams also appear to be benefiting from experienced snapper Jake McQuaide, who replaced Alex Ward.
“I’m a lot happier as head coach when we’re kicking extra points, and not field goals,” McVay said of the place-kicking operation that includes holder Ethan Evans, “but I’ve been pleased.”
A crescendo is building, and the Rams might be best to ignore it.
So much can happen from week to week in the NFL — check out Philadelphia’s loss to Dallas — that the Rams can’t get too comfortable, even with the way they’re playing.
In the last five games, culminating with their 27-point stomping of Tampa Bay on Sunday night, the Rams have outscored opponents in the opening quarter, 63-3.
Matthew Stafford has thrown 27 touchdown passes without an interception.
In four of the games in this six-game winning streak, the Rams defense has allowed 10 points or fewer.
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Gary Klein breaks down what went right for the Rams in their 34-7 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at SoFi Stadium on Sunday night.
But it’s uncomfortably early for anyone in the organization to be thinking about Santa Clara in February. The Rams need to play with blinders on. Yes, they’ve secured the NFC’s No. 1 seed for the moment, but they have a one-game lead over the Eagles, who beat them earlier this season and therefore have the tiebreaker. There’s no wiggle room.
The glide path is far different than 2021, when the Rams wound up winning the Super Bowl on their home field. That season, they went 0-3 in November games.
This bears a closer resemblance to 2018, Sean McVay’s second season, when the last game before Thanksgiving was an instant classic at the Coliseum, Jared Goff and the Rams beating Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, 54-51.
There’s no ignoring that we’re watching something special in Stafford, who takes the snap, scans the field and delivers a laser with remarkable reliability. He processes with the speed of AI.
It was 10 years ago at Levi’s Stadium that Denver’s Peyton Manning, quarterbacking his second franchise, won his second Super Bowl ring and decided to retire.
Could that be Stafford? Second franchise. Potential for a second ring. Then again, Manning’s body was breaking down on him and he wasn’t at the top of his game. Those Broncos ran the ball and had a great defense.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford warms up before a 34-7 win over the Buccaneers at SoFi Stadium on Sunday.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
At the moment, Stafford is playing as well as anyone who has ever played the position. He looks nothing like a 37-year-old guy who sat out training camp with back problems.
His streak of 27 touchdown passes without a pick is, according to Elias, the longest such streak by any player since play-by-play was first tracked in 1978.
“It’s hard to conceptualize the fact that you can throw — put the ball in the end zone that much,” said Rams receiver Davante Adams, who has 12 touchdown receptions this season. “Most quarterbacks can’t throw 27 passes without throwing a pick.”
Stafford’s the leading most valuable player candidate, and this could be the season that secures him a bronze bust in Canton.
As for the poetry of him walking off the biggest stage the way Manning did, that’s all fantasy football now, especially with more than a quarter of the regular season remaining.
(A little more premature conjecture: It’s not inconceivable that the Rams and New England Patriots could meet in the Super Bowl for a third time.)
What is irrefutable is the Rams are continually deepening their foothold on the Los Angeles market. They set their regular-season attendance record Sunday night (75,545 tickets distributed), surpassing the mark they set a week earlier with a home game against Seattle.
This is what Rams owner Stan Kroenke was talking about when he brought the team back in 2016, and when he built SoFi Stadium with the idea of making the nearly-300-acre campus a center of gravity on the West Coast.
It’s not just home to the Rams and Chargers, but it’s the integral role the stadium will play in the World Cup, the 2028 Olympics, and in early 2027, the second Super Bowl it will host. No matter how you feel about UCLA trying to wriggle out of its Rose Bowl deal, there’s a reason the school has turned its attention to SoFi.
Kroenke always told his development team that undershooting L.A. would be a huge mistake, that the opportunity here was immeasurable.
“Sometimes when you’re a real estate developer, I think you have to be tremendously optimistic,” Kroenke told the Los Angeles Times. “You encounter so many issues. … With the NFL, you saw how difficult that whole thing was. So you had to be the optimist.
“Then you get a night like tonight, and it’s just awesome.”
Rams defensive end Kobie Turner reacts during player introductions before facing the Buccaneers on Sunday at SoFi Stadium.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
The stadium was loud and overwhelmingly blue, with only a sprinkling of Tampa Bay fans. That’s progress.
The peril for the Rams now is letting down their guard. They travel across the country next weekend to play at Carolina, a team that won four of five not so long ago, including an upset of Green Bay.
In his postgame news conference, cornerback Cobie Durant was asked how it feels to have the No. 1 seed in the conference.
“I didn’t know that,” he said, sounding pleasantly surprised. “I don’t keep up with that.”
The Rams welcomed back two key players from injured reserve, placed another player on the injured list and claimed a former player off waivers.
It made for a busy Wednesday as the Rams prepared to play the Carolina Panthers on Sunday in Charlotte, N.C.
The Rams, who are 9-2 and hold the No. 1 seed for the NFC playoffs, designated receiver Tutu Atwell and cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon to return from injured reserve. Atwell was sidelined four games because of a hamstring injury but coach Sean McVay said Atwell is expected to play against the Panthers.
Witherspoon has been out since suffering a broken collarbone in the second game of the season.
Cornerback Roger McCreary, acquired in an October trade with the Tennessee Titans, was placed on injured reserve after suffering a hip injury in the Rams’ victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. McCreary had been playing special teams, and he played only one defensive snap against the Buccaneers.
The Rams welcomed back cornerback Derion Kendrick, a 2022 sixth-round draft pick by the Rams, who was claimed off waivers from the Seattle Seahawks.
Kendrick started 18 games for the Rams before suffering a season-ending knee injury on the first day of training camp in 2024. He sat out last season, was released and re-signed before he was cut before the start of this season and claimed by the Seahawks.
Less than an hour before the Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicked off on Sunday, fans in SoFi Stadium erupted in cheers.
Watching the giant video board, the crowd celebrated as the Philadelphia Eagles blew a huge lead and lost to the Dallas Cowboys.
That meltdown by the defending Super Bowl champions positioned the surging Rams to move to the top of the NFC.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford continued his MVP-caliber play by passing for three touchdowns, and the defense also produced big moments as the Rams seized the opportunity with a 34-7 victory that extended their winning streak to six games and improved their record to a conference-best 9-2.
That makes the Rams the current No. 1 seed for the NFC playoffs.
There is still a long way to go. And the Eagles hold the tiebreaker over the Rams by virtue of their Week 3 victory at Philadelphia.
But if the Rams maintain sole possession of first place and secure home-field advantage, they would avoid another potential January trip to Lincoln Financial Field to play the Eagles, who eliminated the Rams there in the NFC divisional round last season.
The Rams play at Carolina next week and then at Arizona before returning to SoFi Stadium for another NFC measuring-stick game against the Detroit Lions. The Rams finish the season with a Thursday night game in Seattle, a trip to Atlanta and a home game against the Cardinals.
Rams tight end Davis Allen catches a pass in the second half against the Buccaneers on Sunday.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
So the biggest question facing coach Sean McVay and the Rams: Are they peaking too soon?
Despite being without veteran tight end Tyler Higbee, right tackle Rob Havenstein and safety Quentin Lake — all placed on injured reserve last week — the Rams appeared nearly unstoppable on offense in the first half and dominant on defense throughout.
The Rams scored at least 34 points for the fourth time in five games. Stafford tossed two touchdown passes to Davante Adams and one to tight end Colby Parkinson, increasing his league-leading total to 30, with only two interceptions. Stafford has not had a pass intercepted in eight games.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford threw three more touchdown passes Sunday against the Buccaneers, giving him a league-leading 30.
(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)
On Sunday the 17th-year pro completed his first 12 passes for 121 yards and a touchdown before a second-quarter pass fell incomplete. He finished 25 of 35 for 273 yards, the crowd chanting “M-V-P” after each of his last two touchdown passes.
Adams, who had bemoaned his performance in last week’s 21-19 victory over the Seahawks, seemingly was happier after catching five passes for 62 yards and increasing to 12 his league-leading total of touchdown catches.
On a night the Rams honored future Hall of Fame defensive lineman Aaron Donald with a bobblehead giveaway and other tributes, defensive end Kobie Turner and edge rusher Jared Verse each had two sacks. A secondary that intercepted four passes last week picked off two more, cornerback Cobie Durant returning one for a 50-yard touchdown and Emmanuel Forbes Jr. catching a desperation heave on the final play of the first half.
Rams linebackers Jared Verse, left, and Josaiah Stewart, center, and defensive end Kobie Turner celebrate in the first half.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
Rams special teams, which cost the team dearly in losses against the Eagles and the San Francisco 49ers, appear to be operating with efficiency since kicker Harrison Mevis replaced Joshua Karty and veteran Jake McQuaide supplanted Alex Ward as the snapper.
After Mevis kicked only extra points in his first two games, McVay finally gave him field-goal opportunities, and Mevis converted 40- and 52-yard kicks.
The Rams ruined Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield’s return to the stadium where he resurrected his career in 2022 by leading the Rams to a last-second victory over the Las Vegas Raiders with only two days of practice.
Mayfield sustained a left-shoulder injury and did not play in the second half. He completed nine of 19 passes for 41 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions.
It all added up to a convincing victory for the Rams. And here’s a scary thought for the rest of the NFL: The Rams are on track to get stronger down the stretch.
Receiver Tutu Atwell is eligible to return from injured reserve next week. Cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon, who suffered a broken collarbone in the second game of the season, is closer to a return. And McVay said Higbee and Havenstein could be back in four games, and Lake could return for the playoffs.
Those reinforcements would be a desirable situation for any Super Bowl contender in the NFC.
The immigrant experience holds special meaning to Rams defensive end Kobie Turner — his grandfather immigrated to the U.S. from Jamaica and his wife’s parents immigrated from Peru. When choosing an organization to highlight in the NFL’s “My Cause My Cleats” campaign, he wanted to show support not only for his family but all immigrants as well.
“There’s been a lot of hard times as of late, a lot of families that are not sure what comes next and I just want to uplift them,” Turner said. “Immigrants are so important to America; they are the backbone to this country.”
The NFL’s “My Cause My Cleats” initiative started after Chicago Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall was fined for violating the league’s uniform policy when he wore cleats promoting Mental Health Awareness Week in October 2013.
After criticizing the NFL for failing to support players and their charitable causes, he met with league officials and two sides created a campaign that allowed players to wear custom-designed cleats that highlighted an organization they support. Since 2016 the “My Cause My Cleats” campaign has been a mainstay on the NFL calendar.
With the immigrant community in Los Angeles and across the country dealing with raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Turner wanted to meet the moment by partnering with the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, an organization that advocates for the civil rights of immigrants and refugees.
Rams defensive end Kobie Turner’s cleats for the NFL’s 2025 “My Cause My Cleats” campaign. The cleats support CHIRLA, an organization dedicated to the advance the human and civil rights of immigrants and refugees.
(Los Angeles Rams)
He is the only player in the NFL supporting an immigrant rights charity via the “My Cause My Cleats” campaign.
“I really wanted to do something to lend a voice to the immigrant community,” Turner said, “and I know that CHIRLA does a really good job of providing opportunities and pathways for citizenship.”
Luis Tadeo, director of marketing and public relations of CHIRLA, understands the critical role sports and culture play in shaping the way that the community engages and heals in unprecedented times. He knows having the support of a star player on one of L.A.’s biggest sports teams is a powerful statement.
“We hope that other players and other teams in Los Angeles, who have been silent during these moments, see Turner and the Rams as an example of what they could do for immigrant families,” Tadeo said.
Turner, 26, will wear the bright pink cleats when the Rams go for their sixth consecutive win Sunday night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at SoFi Stadium. One of the stars of a Rams pass-rushing contingent that includes Byron Young, Jared Verse and Braden Fiske, Turner has 22 tackles and 1½ sacks for an 8-2 Rams team that is among the favorites to win the Super Bowl.
Bursting onto the NFL scene two years ago with an impressive nine-sack rookie campaign, Turner gained fame for an appearance on “The Masked Singer” last year, belting out notes befitting of “The Conductor” nickname he earned while singing in college. Music and football played big roles in Turner’s life while growing up in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Clifton, Va.
Rams defensive end Kobie Turner tries to break through the Baltimore Ravens’ offensive line during a game on Oct. 12.
(Terrance Williams / Associated Press)
Now he wants to give a voice to something that goes beyond football and singing — he wants to remind everyone that immigrants are an integral part of American culture.
“You look around and you see ‘Vamos Rams,’ the communities that we serve are immigrant communities,” Turner said. “It’s important to be able to lend a voice to those people and let them know that they are being heard.”
For Turner, his charitable efforts go beyond this weekend. On Tuesday, Turner, Rams staff members and cheerleaders, in conjunction with South L.A. nonprofit A Place Called Home, will serve meals and distribute 400 turkeys and Thanksgiving supplies to families in need. Turner also will perform with 29Live, the youth band of A Place Called Home, during the event.
“Our mission is to achieve a just society fully inclusive of immigrants, and whether that’s on the football pitch, if it’s in the halls of Congress, if it’s at the White House making decisions on laws that will impact the lives of immigrants, we need all of the support,” Tadeo said.
That performance, one of five games Mayfield started to finish that historic Super Bowl-hangover season for the Rams, jump-started Mayfield’s then-stalled career.
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Gary Klein previews Sunday’s game between the Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers at SoFi Stadium.
In 2023, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed him to a one-year contract, and he led them to the divisional round of the NFC playoffs. In 2024, he signed a three-year contract that includes $55 million in guarantees and could be worth as much as $100 million, according to Overthecap.com.
And on Sunday, he returns to SoFi Stadium to face a Rams team that is 8-2 and looks very much like a Super Bowl contender.
“There is no way for me to sugarcoat it. … It was pivotal in my career and in my journey,” Mayfield, speaking about his time with the Rams, told Tampa Bay reporters this week, adding, “It helped me find the fun in football again. … It was instrumental in my career, something I am forever grateful for, and it will be fun to go back and see some familiar faces.”
During his short stint with the Rams, Mayfield brought “a spark” and displayed “pretty impressive mental stamina” to process and put into action so much information, Rams coach Sean McVay said.
“It’s one thing to absorb it, it’s a totally different thing to be able to bring it to life when the enemy has a say,” McVay said. “It was impressive. I think when you watch what he’s done and who he is, I think it’s probably more on par for what we expect of Baker than the outlier when you look at the totality of everything he’s done.”
Mayfield, 30, has passed for 17 touchdowns, with three interceptions this season for the Buccaneers (6-4), who lead the NFC South.
The game matches Mayfield, the top pick in the 2018 draft, against Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, the top pick in 2009.
“His ability to come in and play pretty darn well on a shortened timeline was really awesome,” Stafford said, adding, “He’s been through a lot and came out on the other side playing about as good as ball as anybody.”
The Rams are coming off a 21-19 victory over the Seattle Seahawks, a victory that extended their winning streak to five games and gave them sole possession of first place in the NFC West.
Stafford has passed for a league-leading 27 touchdowns, with only two interceptions. Davante Adams has a league-best 10 touchdown catches.
The Rams will be without three veteran starters — tight end Tyler Higbee, right tackle Rob Havenstein and safety Quentin Lake — who were placed on injured reserve this week.
The Rams on Wednesday placed safety Quentin Lake, tight end Tyler Higbee and right tackle Rob Havenstein on injured reserve.
Lake, who had surgery Tuesday for a dislocated left elbow, Higbee (ankle) and Havenstein (knee/ankle) must sit out at least four games before they are eligible to return. The earliest return would be a Dec. 18 game against the Seahawks in Seattle.
“You don’t replace players like that,” McVay said of the experience and leadership that will be missing when the Rams play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday at SoFi Stadium. “You can’t expect others to be able to do that. You expect guys that are getting opportunities to step up to be the best versions of themselves.”
Lake, 26, was injured last Sunday in a victory over the Seattle Seahawks, a win that improved the Rams’ record to 8-2. McVay indicated that if Lake returns, it would possibly be for the playoffs.
Josh Wallace played in Lake’s place as a hybrid nickel corner/linebacker. McVay said the Rams would continue to evaluate and formulate a plan to replace Lake moving forward, but they are expected to consider utilizing a combination that includes safety Kam Kinchens, Wallace and cornerbacks Cobie Durant and Roger McCreary.
Higbee also was injured against the Seahawks.
The 10th-year pro has 20 receptions, including two for touchdowns, as the leader of a tight end group that includes Davis Allen, Colby Parkinson and rookie Terrance Ferguson, who is expected to get an increased role in Higbee’s absence.
Havenstein, an 11th year pro, played the first four games before he was sidelined for three games because of injuries. Third-year pro Warren McClendon played in his place.
Havenstein returned against the New Orleans Saints and has played the last three games, but McVay said time on injured reserve would enable him to work back to full strength.
“Both of those guys are obviously big-time leaders and catalysts on our team and our offense,” quarterback Matthew Stafford said of Higbee and Havenstein. “But we’ll just move forward with the guys that we have, and then hopefully those guys can heal up and be ready to go at some point.”
In corresponding moves, the Rams signed kicker Harrison Mevis to the active roster, claimed safety Chris Smith II off waivers from the Las Vegas Raiders and signed cornerback Alex Johnson to the practice squad.
McVay said the Rams were awaiting results from an MRI exam and a consultation with team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache before deciding how long Lake might be out, whether he will be placed on injured reserve or if it is a season-ending injury that would require surgery.
“Not great for our captain and leader,” McVay said during a videoconference with reporters. “Bummed out for him.”
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Gary Klein breaks down what went right for the Rams in a 21-19 victory over the Seattle Seahawks at SoFi Stadium on Sunday.
Lake, a team captain, has been something of an Ironman the last few seasons. He played every defensive snap in 2024 before starters were rested for the season finale. He played every snap this season before he was injured on Sunday in the 21-19 victory that improved the Rams’ record to 8-2, extended their winning streak to five games and put the Rams in sole possession of first place in the NFC West.
Josh Wallace replaced Lake at the nickel spot on Sunday.
Safety Kamren Kinchens, who intercepted two passes against the Seahawks, got increased snaps in Lake’s absence. Cornerback Cobie Durant can also play inside and Roger McCreary also is a candidate to play in that spot when the Rams play host to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday at SoFi Stadium.
Safety Kam Curl is an experienced veteran. But replacing Lake’s leadership is a tall order.
“You don’t replace a Quentin Lake,” McVay said. “He’s so valuable for so many reasons with what he can do, with who he is as a human, with the way that he elevates and leads. … We’ll have to figure out what is the next best thing for us to be able to do.
“I think it would be insincere to think that you’re going to ask somebody to do the things that he’s capable of. It’s what makes him so special. But I do have a lot of confidence in the other guys.”
On the day the Rams donned black uniforms for the first and only time this season, the offense largely went dark.
Red-hot quarterback Matthew Stafford cooled. Star receivers Davante Adams and Puka Nacua struggled to consistently make the clutch plays that they often make look routine.
But safety Kamren Kinchens and the Rams’ defense managed to keep the Seattle Seahawks at bay — just barely.
Kinchens intercepted two passes, and cornerbacks Cobie Durant and Darious Williams also picked off passes as the Rams held off the Seahawks for a 21-19 victory Sunday before 75,323 at SoFi Stadium that was not secured until Seattle’s Jason Myers missed a 61-yard field goal as time expired.
Stafford tossed touchdown passes to Adams and tight end Colby Parkinson, and Kyren Williams rushed for a touchdown as the Rams improved to 8-2, extended their winning streak to five games and assumed sole possession of first place in the NFC West.
The Rams can thank Kinchens, a second-year safety who has six career interceptions, including four against the Seahawks. His interceptions set up Williams’ touchdown in the first quarter and Parkinson’s in the fourth.
The Rams went into the game having scored at least 34 points in each of their last three games. But that production was absent against a Seahawks team that fell to 7-3 and had its four-game winning streak end.
Stafford increased his league-leading total of touchdown passes to 27 and did not have a pass intercepted for the seventh consecutive game. But the 17th-year pro was not as sharp as he had been during a stretch that put him in the conversation for NFL most valuable player. Stafford completed 15 of 28 passes for 130 yards.
Stafford enjoyed a banner day compared to Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold.
The Rams’ front pressured Darnold into multiple poor decisions, and Kinchens, Durant and Williams made him pay. Darnold completed 29 of 44 passes for 279 yards with four interceptions.
Seahawks receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who was on pace to set an NFL record for yards receiving in a season, caught nine passes for 105 yards. But he did not score.
Cooper Kupp, the former Rams star making his return to SoFi Stadium, did not have a catch in the first three quarters but had three during a late scoring drive that trimmed the Rams’ lead to two points.
The Rams led 14-9 at halftime on Williams’ one-yard touchdown run and Stafford’s one-yard touchdown pass to Adams.
It was a satisfying situation for the Rams, whose first drive ended at the Seahawks’ eight-yard line when Stafford’s fourth-down pass to tight end Tyler Higbee fell incomplete.
Kinchens’ 31-yard interception return, however, set up Williams’ touchdown. And after Myers kicked the first of three first-half field goals for the Seahawks, Stafford led a long drive that ended with Adams’ 1,000th career reception and his 10th touchdown catch of the season.
The Rams had an opportunity to seize control early in the third quarter when Durant returned an interception to the Seahawks’ 35-yard line. But two plays later, Nacua lost a fumble after making a catch.
Myers’ fourth field goal pulled the Seahawks to within 14-12 midway through the third. But Kinchens intercepted another pass late in the quarter, setting up Stafford’s six-yard touchdown pass to Parkinson for a 21-12 lead.
Still, the Rams struggled to put away the Seahawks. Kenneth Walker III’s one-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter pulled the Seahawks to within 21-19 with 2:23 left.
After Ethan Evans’ punt pinned them at the one-yard line, the Seahawks got the ball back with 1:40 left and drove 56 yards in nine plays.
But Myers could not match his career-best 61-yard field goal against the Rams in 2020. This time it went wide right.
The Rams play host to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-4) next Sunday at SoFi Stadium.
Rams left tackle Alaric Jackson is being sued by a woman who alleges that Jackson recorded her without her consent during sex, repeatedly refused to delete the video and taunted her with it, ESPN reported.
Jackson was not available in the locker room after practice Thursday. A Rams official said the team was aware of the ESPN report but would not comment because it was an ongoing legal matter. Jackson and coach Sean McVay will address the matter on Friday, the official said.
Jackson, 27, was suspended for the first two games of the 2024 season for an unspecified violation of the NFL’s personal-conduct policy. The previous March, the Rams gave him a three-year contract that includes about $35 million in guarantees, according to Overthecap.com.
“It’s behind us now,” Jackson said in September 2024 after he served the suspension.
Asked if the suspension was warranted, Jackson said, “They did what they had to do, and I understand it,” he said. “So I’m just going to move past it.”
Sam Farmer makes his picks and predictions for Week 11 of the NFL season, with the Rams defeating the Seattle Seahawks in an NFC West showdown at SoFi Stadium.
Otherwise, risk missing the master class that Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford is conducting this season.
One that has the 17th-year pro squarely in the conversation for his first NFL most valuable player award.
“I see those people say stuff like that,” Stafford said Sunday after passing for four touchdowns in the Rams’ 42-26 victory over the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium, “and all I can think about is like I’m just lucky to have unbelievable teammates.”
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Gary Klein breaks down what went right for the Rams in their 42-26 win over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
Stafford, 37, is playing as if he were in the middle, not near the end, of a possible Hall of Fame career.
On Sunday he tossed touchdown passes to receivers Puka Nacua and Davante Adams and tight ends Davis Allen and Colby Parkinson as the Rams avenged an overtime loss to the 49ers in Week 5 and improved to 7-2.
How efficient has Stafford played this season?
He has passed for a league-leading 25 touchdowns.
With only two interceptions.
“He can walk on water right now,” Nacua said.
In the last three games, Stafford has passed for 13 touchdowns. His second touchdown pass Sunday, to Allen, was the 400th of his career.
Stafford’s name already fills the NFL record book. He is among the top 10 in several passing categories. But he never has been this efficient for this long.
Stafford has not had a pass intercepted in the last six games, the longest such stretch of his career.
“It looks like the game is really in slow motion to him right now,” coach Sean McVay said.
Rams players (from left) Puka Nacua, Matthew Stafford, Jordan Whittington and Davante Adams celebrate in the third quarter of a 42-26 win over the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday.
(Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)
Stafford’s recent run of excellence is on par with other awe-inspiring Los Angeles sports icons.
He has been as dominant as the UCLA fast break and full court press from the 1970s. Clayton Kershaw’s 12-to-6 curveball. Freddie Freeman’s walk-off homer swing.
This is a Wayne Gretzky assist. A Nolan Ryan no-hitter.
A Reggie Bush breakaway run. A Serena Williams backhand winner. A Kareem Abdul-Jabbar sky hook, a Magic Johnson no-look pass, a Kobe Bryant game-winning three. A Lisa Leslie low-post move. A Candace Parker dunk.
A Jim Murray or Bill Plaschke column.
A fill-in-the-blank run of excellence.
Overblown? Perhaps. The NFL is a humbling league. Stafford’s recent run could end next Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks at SoFi Stadium.
So enjoy it in real time. Follow Stafford’s lead.
“I have fun out there,” he said when asked about what Nacua described as Stafford’s ‘shimmy shake’ touchdown celebration. “I lose my mind when we score touchdowns.”
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford smiles while being interviewed after the Rams’ win over the 49ers on Sunday.
(Godofredo A. Vásquez / Associated Press)
That’s how defensive coordinators must feel when Stafford completes one of his patented no-look passes.
Adams played eight seasons in Green Bay with Aaron Rodgers. He knows what an MVP looks like.
“It’s looked like MVP play to me all year,” Adams said, pointing to a Week 2 game against the Tennessee Titans, when Stafford shook off an interception and led the Rams to victory. “Just to rally a team and continue to lead at a high level when things don’t go your way, I think that’s what really shows what an MVP is like.”
Stafford’s success harks to 2021, when he passed for 41 touchdowns and led the Rams to a Super Bowl title. He is on pace for an even more impressive statistical finish.
“The heater that he’s on, it’s elevating everybody else’s play,” Nacua said, “and we’re continuing to jump on that bandwagon with him and let him take us as far as he can.”
If Stafford continues his stellar play the Rams could find themselves right back here at Levi’s Stadium.
Since they first squared off in 2017, nearly half of their 18 matchups have been decided by three points or fewer, including the 49ers’ 26-23 overtime victory on Oct. 2 at SoFi Stadium.
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Gary Klein breaks down what you need to know for Sunday’s matchup between the Rams and San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.
So expect another game that could come down to the final possession when the Rams play the 49ers in an NFC West game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.
“Two good teams with two good staffs that are familiar with each other,” Rams tight end Tyler Higbee said in explaining the tight nature of the matchup, “and then you throw the rivalry part into it.”
McVay is 7-11 against Shanahan, his former mentor, though the Rams had won three in a row before the Week 5 loss that ended when 49ers star linebacker Fred Warner stopped Kyren Williams on a fourth-and-one play at the 49ers’ 11-yard line.
Rams kicker Joshua Karty missed a 53-yard field goal attempt and had an extra-point attempt blocked in the defeat.
The Rams this week moved to improve their season-long kicking-game issues by signing rookie kicker Harrison Mevis and veteran long snapper Jake McQuaide to the practice squad. Both will be elevated to the roster and play on Sunday.
Mevis, 23, made 89 of 106 field-goal attempts at Missouri, including one from 61 yards. In the United Football League this past season, he made 20 of 21 field-goal attempts.
The 49ers wasted no time addressing their own kicking-game issues.
After a season-opening defeat that included a missed field goal and a blocked kick, they released Jake Moody and signed Eddy Pineiro.
Pineiro has made all 19 of his field-goal attempts and 14 of 15 extra points.
A week ago, Harrison Mevis was working out on his own, kicking and preparing for the day an NFL team came calling.
On Sunday, Mevis will be the Rams’ kicker when they play the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, coach Sean McVay said Friday.
Mevis and long snapper Jake McQuaide were signed to the practice squad this week because of kicking-game issues that led to early-season losses against the Philadelphia Eagles and the 49ers and resurfaced in last Sunday’s victory over the New Orleans Saints.
Mevis and second-year pro Joshua Karty competed during practices on Wednesday and Thursday.
“Ultimately, in its simplest form, who do I think gives us the best chance to have successful outcomes, particularly in that operation with the given factors on Sunday,” McVay said.
Mevis, 23, made 89 of 106 field-goal attempts at Missouri, including one from 61 yards. In the United Football League this past season, he made 20 of 21 field-goal attempts.
Mevis said he had been preparing for a call every week since the New York Jets cut him from their practice squad in September. He said he performed well this week.
“I feel like I put myself out there, I showed what I can do and proved that I can play at this level,” he said after Friday’s practice. “And I’m ready to go.”
Not only for this week.
“The work’s just starting,” he said. “This is not the end goal. I didn’t come here just to be the starter for one week. So I’m just here to help the team win.”
McVay said he still has “a lot of confidence” in Karty, a 2024 sixth-round draft pick in Karty, who has made 10 of 15 field-goal attempts and 23 of 26 extra-point attempts.
“He’s not going anywhere,” McVay said, noting that the situation would be evaluated again after Sunday’s game.
McQuaide, a 15th-year pro who played for the Rams from 2011 to 2020, replaces Alex Ward. He will work with punter/holder Ethan Evans and Mevis in what the Rams hope will be an improved operation.
“It’s definitely been a little chaotic,” Evans said of the changes this week. “But I feel very confident we’ll be able to go out there and execute our jobs.”
Don’t start planning any parades just yet. Hold off on those February plans to travel to Santa Clara.
The Rams still have a long way to go make the playoffs and try to advance to the Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium.
Their 34-10 victory Sunday over the struggling New Orleans Saints at SoFi Stadium was no revelation or landmark win. But the Rams did something important. Something championship-caliber teams are supposed to do: They convincingly dispatched of a weaker opponent before 72,055.
Matthew Stafford passed for four touchdowns, receiver Puka Nacua returned from an ankle injury in spectacular fashion, and the defense dominated again as the Rams won their third game in a row, improved to 6-2 and showed that the Dodgers might not be the only L.A. team hoisting a championship trophy.
The Rams’ victory put them atop the NFC West heading into next Sunday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium.
“I like the fact that we’re getting better,” McVay said, adding, “There’s just a good vibe.”
On most fronts, anyway.
The Rams’ first victory over an NFC opponent did not come against the defending Super Bowl-champion Philadelphia Eagles or the rival 49ers, teams the Rams lost to in part because of kicking-game disasters.
Rams coach Sean McVay watches from the sideline during the first half Sunday against the Saints.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
And those issues remain: Joshua Karty missed a field goal and an extra point.
So McVay’s patience with the kicking game is wearing thin. And no team will win a title without a competent one.
McVay once again said he had confidence in Karty, but that was after he said “it can’t continue like this … it’s gone on for too long,” and “it’s not getting better,” among other things.
Can the Rams be a championship team without an adequate placekicking unit?
“No,” McVay said. “It’s going to cost us — it’s cost us already. It’s been a momentum killer. … The harsh truth of it is this is not sustainable.”
But if the Rams solve the kicking issue and stay healthy — Nacua said he would play against the 49ers after leaving the game in the second half because of a chest injury — and McVay can keep his team focused against division opponents and other playoff contenders, the Rams might earn their own parade.
Stafford is positioning himself to lead one.
Already a fixture on NFL career passing lists, the 17th-year pro is enjoying another sensational season.
As he did in 2021, when he passed for 41 touchdowns and led the Rams to a Super Bowl title, Stafford is playing at a level that should have him in the most-valuable-player discussion.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford passes in front of Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan during the first quarter Sunday.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
On Sunday his two touchdown passes to Davante Adams and one each to Nacua and tight end Tyler Higbee increased Stafford’s season total to 21, with only two interceptions.
Stafford, who passed for five touchdowns in an Oct. 19 rout of the Jacksonville Jaguars, completed 24 of 32 passes for 281 yards and extended to five his streak of games without an interception.
Stafford’s wife and their daughters attended the game wearing No. 22 Dodgers jerseys, a salute to retiring pitcher Clayton Kershaw, Stafford’s high school teammate.
Now Stafford is chasing a second Super Bowl title.
“It’s not like we’ve got it all figured out,” he said, adding, “Got to keep continuing to find ways to put more points on the board.”
Nacua sat out against the Jaguars because of an ankle injury. But he said in the days leading up to the game that he was “feeling fantastic.”
Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua, left, celebrates with wide receiver Davante Adams after catching a touchdown pass in the second quarter Sunday against the Saints.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
He looked like it at the outset, making two catches for first downs to start a drive that ended with Stafford’s touchdown pass to Higbee. The veteran tight end, in an apparent salute to the Dodgers, celebrated by taking an imaginary swing and then doing their post-hit celebration.
Adams then followed his breakout three-touchdown performance against the Jaguars with the first of two more red-zone touchdowns. The 12th-year pro is tied for eighth all time with 111 touchdown catches.
Early in the second quarter, Stafford and Nacua went for the home run, connecting on a 39-yard pass that Nacua hauled in for a touchdown and a 20-3 lead.
Stafford’s short strike to Adams in the third quarter put the game out of reach, and Kyren Williams’ short touchdown run early in the fourth quarter provided the finishing touch.
Williams rushed for 114 yards and Blake Corum ran for 58 on a day when the Rams once again utilized all four tight ends in the pass and run attacks.
Meanwhile, the Rams defense made it rough on Saints rookie quarterback Tyler Shough in his first start.
Several Rams defensive players tackle Saints quarterback Tyler Shough in the second quarter of the Rams’ 34-10 win Sunday at SoFi Stadium.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Lineman Braden Fiske got his first sack of the season, linebacker Nate Landman forced another fumble, and cornerback Emmanuel Forbes Jr. intercepted his first pass as a Ram.
“We’re growing at a great rate,” Landman said, “and we’re going to peak at the right time.”
The game against the Saints was the start of a stretch that includes two home games after the 49ers. Only two remaining nine games — a late November trip to play the Carolina Panthers and a late December trip to play the Atlanta Falcons — will require the Rams to travel farther east than Arizona.
A lot can happen between now and the start of the playoffs. But the Rams look like the Super Bowl contender they were built to be.
