rams

It began as something merely conceptual, a tantalizing possibility.

Last June, immediately after the Rams traded for star edge rusher Myles Garrett, the NFL grapevine began buzzing:

Would Aaron Donald, a three-time NFL defensive player of the year, consider coming out of retirement to play with Garrett, a two-time winner of the award?

After a summer of rampant speculation, Donald signed on to join what was already regarded as a Super Bowl-favorite team.

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Gary Klein breaks down what to watch for Sunday when the Rams face the Washington Commanders.

But Donald’s ramp-up to achieve football shape precluded him from playing in the season opener against the San Francisco 49ers. And Garrett underwent knee surgery after that loss, so the two stars were unable to play together for seven games.

On Sunday, it will finally happen.

Barring an unexpected setback, Garrett and Donald will line up together for the first time when the Rams play the Washington Commanders at Northwest Field in Landover, Md.

Two players accustomed to being double- or triple-teamed — two players with a combined 236½ sacks — are eager for opportunities.

“The offenses are really going to have to pick their poison,” said Garrett, who amassed an NFL season-record 23 sacks last season. “‘Who’s going to be freed-up this play?’

“I think either of us are pretty good at winning one-on-ones, so we’ll have some fun.”

Said Donald, one of the most dominant interior linemen in NFL history: “It’s always good when you’ve got all the pieces to the puzzles out there.”

The Rams (4-4) aim to build on their modest two-game winning streak and get over .500 for the first time this season.

The defense will be without cornerback Jaylen Watson, who suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in last Sunday’s victory over the Chargers. Cornerback Trent McDuffie is questionable after suffering a back injury against the Chargers and not practicing this week.

Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald tackles New York Giants running back Najee Harris for a loss during a Rams win on Sept. 21 at SoFi Stadium.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

But Garrett’s return should energize a team that still intends to play in Super Bowl LXI at SoFi Stadium.

The Rams have only 12 sacks, which is tied for 26th among 32 teams. Edge rusher Byron Young has a team-best 4½ sacks. Donald is still looking for his first.

The attention the Commanders and future opponents must pay to Garrett and Donald will open play-making opportunities for others, Young said.

“I always call it art,” he said of Garrett’s and Donald’s ability to excel despite double teams. “Because it’s not easy when you’ve got four hands on you 90% of the time. And they still make it work.

“So it’s going to be fun. I can’t wait.”

Defensive lineman Braden Fiske said players are acclimating to Garrett’s skill set and play style.

“I’m sure there will be some kinks to work out early on, but it’s still pretty early in the season,” Fiske said. “He’s been playing for 10 years, so it shouldn’t be too hard to catch his stride.

“But he looks damn good out there.”

Rams left tackle Alaric Jackson played against Garrett in 2023, when the Rams defeated the Cleveland Browns at SoFi Stadium. The 6-foot-4, 272-pound Garrett’s size, speed and burst at the snap is “amazing,” Jackson said.

“He’s like a running back with skill but like a D-lineman with his power,” Jackson said. “He’s good at change of direction — like on a dime…

“He’s kind of like a do-everything kind of guy who’s seen everything as far as looks.”

Coach Sean McVay wants Garrett to “play within himself” Sunday.

“He doesn’t have to do anything other than be Myles and play one-eleventh of what the rest were asking to do for the defense,” McVay said.

Garrett said he won’t fight the excitement, the joy and all the emotions of finally getting to play again.

“You don’t try to push them back,” he said. “You open yourself to them. You accept it.

“After acknowledging it, you go out there and do what you’ve always done.”

Barring a setback, Rams edge rusher Myles Garrett will return Sunday against the Washington Commanders, coach Sean McVay said Friday.

Garrett, the reigning NFL defensive player of the year, has not played since the season-opening defeat by the San Francisco 49ers in Australia. Garrett had no tackles in the 27-7 defeat and said afterward that his performance was “the worst version” of himself. He was placed on injured reserve after undergoing a procedure on his left knee, and returned to practice this week.

“It has been exciting to be able to get Myles back into the mix with the other guys that I think have played really well up front and we’ve got to be able to bring it to life, and it will be fun to see,” McVay said.

The Rams are 4-4 and won their last two games against the Las Vegas Raiders and the Chargers.

Sunday’s game will mark the first time that Garrett and defensive lineman Aaron Donald will play together. Donald ended a two-year retirement a few months after the Rams traded edge rusher Jared Verse, a first-round draft pick and two other future picks to the Cleveland Browns for Garrett, who amassed an NFL season-record 23 sacks last season.

Donald, 35, is a three-time NFL defensive player of the year. Garrett, 30, has won the award twice.

“He’s looked awesome in practice and I’m excited for him to just go play within himself, “McVay said. “Doesn’t have to do anything other than be Myles.”

Tight end Terrance Ferguson and running back Ronnie Rivers also are on track to be activated from injured reserve, McVay said.

Since coming out of retirement before this season, Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald adopted a humble approach, always allowing younger, less-accomplished players to go ahead of him during drills.

But on Thursday, the future Hall of Famer enthusiastically moved to the front of the line.

The Rams practiced scooping fumbled footballs off the turf.

“I needed that,” Donald said Thursday, chuckling. “Learn bending and getting down.”

Last Sunday against the Chargers, Donald missed the opportunity to score his first NFL touchdown when, with a clear shot to the end zone, he failed to come up with a fumble, albeit in hilarious fashion.

“I saw what he was thinking because it’s going right in front of you and he’s thinking, ‘I’m going to scoop and score,’” coach Sean McVay said after the game. “Then he knocks that … out of bounds. I mean, what the hell?

“His face, he couldn’t even look at me and make eye contact after that. But at least we can laugh about it right now.”

Donald was still laughing about it Thursday.

“I should have slowed down, but I felt people behind me and I’m like, ‘I’m going to get hit in my back. That’s going to hurt,’” he said. “So I tried to go full speed and scoop it. I thought the ball was going to bounce this way but it bounced that way, and it just looked all damn silly.

“Then I hit the ball out. I just laid down. ‘I can’t believe I just did that.’”

Donald was grinning throughout his session with reporters while replaying the missed opportunity — and the new opportunity on the horizon with edge rusher Myles Garrett back at practice.

McVay has not said whether Garrett will be activated from injured reserve and play for the first time since undergoing knee surgery after the season opener.

But Donald sounded as if that could happen Sunday when the Rams play the Washington Commanders in Landover, Md.

Donald did not play in the opener, so whenever Garrett returns would mark the first time the future Hall of Famers will play together.

“If Myles is 100% ready to go, and plays this week, that’s going to be amazing for us,” Donald said. “It’s always good when you have all the pieces of the puzzle.”

Donald, a three-time NFL defensive player of the year, and Garrett, a two-time winner, have a combined 236½ sacks. Last season with the Cleveland Browns, Garrett set an NFL season record with 23 sacks.

Donald has played in six games for a team that opened the season as the Super Bowl favorite but is 4-4 after its win over the Chargers.

Donald does not have a sack, but he has 12 tackles, three for losses.

Will Garrett’s return free Donald from double teams and other schemes?

“I’m pretty sure,” Donald said. “The guy did have 20-something sacks last year.”

Donald said the season has not gone as expected, but he is enjoying it.

“I’m enjoying the process, I’m enjoying myself week in and week out getting better, enjoying being out there with the guys,” he said. “And just playing this game.”

Etc.

The Rams activated kicker Joshua Karty to the roster from the practice squad and signed cornerback David Long to the practice squad. The Rams selected Long in the third round of the 2019 draft and he played three-plus seasons before stints with four other teams. … For the second day in a row, cornerback Trent McDuffie (back), tight end Colby Parkinson (ribs) and safety Kam Curl (foot) did not practice.

Hollywood Park was winning one fight and losing another, both by slim margins, as vote counting continued Tuesday night on two ballot measures in Inglewood.

According to results posted by the Los Angeles County registrar shortly after 10:30 p.m., Measure AT was losing, 51.9% to 48.1%, a margin of 583 votes; and Measure BB was losing 51% to 49%, a margin of 307.

Measure AT would mean more ticket taxes for big events in Inglewood, home to SoFi Stadium, Intuit Dome and the Forum. The City of Inglewood wants that.

Measure BB would bar the city from allowing billboard advertising on sidewalks, medians and the like. Owners of those sports and entertainment venues, who have their own sponsorship deals, are backing that measure.

Meanwhile, City Council member Gloria D. Gray led incumbent Mayor James T. Butts Jr., 34.6% to 29.8%, putting them on an early track for a runoff election in March.

Los Angeles County does not provide a timeline for when the election results will be listed as final.

The ballot measures were spawned by a feud between Inglewood and Hollywood Park, the nearly 300-acre development anchored by SoFi Stadium and owned by Rams owner Stan Kroenke.

The fight started last year over billboards. Inglewood signed a deal with WOW Media for 60 digital signs carrying 108 screens, some of them bus-shelter-sized kiosks. Others are street displays up to 22 feet tall on sidewalks and medians.

SoFi Stadium, Intuit Dome and the Forum sued to block the deal, arguing the signs would undercut their individual sponsors who paid for exclusivity. A judge sided with the city and an appeal is underway.

Measure BB, short for “Billboard Blight,” aimed to restrict billboard advertising on public property. It qualified with nearly 13,000 signatures.

The WOW deal runs 20 years with two 10-year options, so it could be around for 40 years.

“It’s biblical in length,” said John Shallman, the political strategist managing the “Yes on BB” campaign. “You go back 40 years. We didn’t even have the Internet. We didn’t have cell phones.”

Skip Miller, lead attorney for the city, said the kiosks “blend in with the surrounding areas” and connect to a network that provides traffic and safety information.

The billboards are subject to Inglewood Ballot Measure BB, which calls for the halt of advertising on them.

(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)

Measure AT, backed by the city, would lift a $15-million cap on the 10% admission tax the stadium pays. Hollywood Park sees it as punishment for challenging the billboard deal.

The billboard fight led to a bigger one. Last month, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge ruled void the 2015 development agreement that cleared the way for SoFi Stadium, citing a 2018 Moreno Valley decision.

Under the 2015 agreement, Hollywood Park paid up front for roads, water lines, streetlights and event-day police and emergency services, with the city agreeing to eventually reimburse Kroenke for those expenses. Now that the agreement has been voided, the city argues it isn’t required to pay.

Rams defeat the Chargers

From Gary Klein: For much of Sunday’s game between the Rams and the Chargers, it was impossible to distinguish:

Which team had arrived at SoFi Stadium winless?

The Chargers, who had not won a game since last season, looked the part.

But so did the supposedly we’re-ready-to-make-a-run Rams.

The Rams showed life at the end of the first half and the beginning of the second, and that ultimately proved enough for a 24-9 victory in front of 73,621.

Matthew Stafford passed for a touchdown and Blake Corum and Kyren Williams rushed for touchdowns as the Rams improved their record to 4-4.

Safety Quentin Lake and cornerback Trent McDuffie intercepted passes to foil a Justin Herbert-led offense that went into the game as the NFL’s lowest-scoring outfit and did little to foster reason for optimism.

For a mostly underperforming Rams team that began the season as an overwhelming favorite to win Super Bowl LXI, it has turned into a season of firsts.

Consider: For the first time this season, the Rams have won two games in a row.

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Rams-Chargers summary

NFL standings

Lakers slide past the Raptors

From Broderick Turner: Lakers coach JJ Redick and defensive ace Walker Kessler applauded Luka Doncic for his standout defensive performance in the Lakers’ 131-125 victory over the Toronto Raptors at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday.

And Doncic’s response to the accolades?

“Finally,” Doncic said, laughing.

Doncic had five steals. He took three charges. And he collected 15 defensive rebounds. Oh, and he also had 45 points and six assists. He was 12 for 23 from the field, eight for 12 from three-point range and made all 13 of his free-throws.

But it was his defensive performance that drew the most attention on Doncic bobblehead giveaway night. As he sat in front of the media wearing a black baseball cap, Doncic was asked why he has this reputation of not being a very good defender.

“Why? I don’t know,” he responded. “Obviously, I’m not the best defender in the NBA, but I think this year I really took a step forward. Obviously, people are going to talk what they want to talk [about] me. … But I know, and my team knows, that I think I’m better this year. And that helps the whole team, I think.”

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Lakers box score

NBA standings

UCLA moves up to No. 5 in AP poll

Ohio State dropped out of the top 10 of the Associated Press Top 25 on Sunday for the first time in five years, UCLA entered the top five for the first time in 25 years and New Mexico earned the first ranking in program history.

The Buckeyes plummeted from No. 2 to No. 11 following their 30-18 loss at USC, making it four weeks in a row the No. 1 or 2 team has lost to an unranked opponent.

Miami was No. 1 for the third straight week after escaping North Carolina with a 38-35 victory. Georgia moved up a spot to No. 2 and was followed by Utah, Notre Dame and UCLA.

USC re-entered the rankings at No. 18.

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UCLA’s Cori Close has the right approach to college sports

From Mirjam Swanson: You’re either a hater, a Trojan, or you were happy to see Cori Close win the national championship last season.

Even Dawn Staley was glad to see it, and it was her South Carolina team that Close’s UCLA Bruins throttled 79-51 in last April’s NCAA Tournament championship clinic in Phoenix.

“I’m always happy for people that worked hard in this game, who are really quality people,” Staley said shortly after UCLA won its first NCAA women’s basketball title. “I want good things to happen for them. Cori is one of those people who really works at making our game better. Not just UCLA, but our entire game.”

As the whole enterprise of college sports teeters chaotically, Close winning was as healthy a thing as could happen.

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Clippers lose fifth in a row

Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg scored a career-high 37 points and dished out six assists in a game in which Golden State rested stars Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, and the Warriors beat the Clippers 124-112 for their fourth straight win Sunday night.

Lendeborg notched his fourth game with 20 or more points, scoring five straight midway through the third quarter that gave the Warriors their biggest lead to that point at 83-68. He shot 13 for 19 — six of 11 from three-point range — and his points were the most by a Warriors rookie since Curry went off for 42 on April 14, 2010, at Portland.

With two 30-point performances among his initial seven games, Lendeborg joined Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain and Rick Barry as the only other Warriors to do so. Lendeborg bounced back from a tough outing in a win against the Lakers on Friday in which he fouled out.

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Clippers box score

NBA standings

Angel City enters playoffs with a win

From Kevin Baxter: It has been a week since Angel City qualified for the NWSL playoffs. On Sunday, the team found out who and where it would be playing.

With a 4-1 victory over Boston Legacy, Angel City finished the regular season fifth in the standings and will travel to Kansas City on Saturday to meet the Current in its second-ever trip to the postseason. And it will enter the playoffs as the hottest team in the NWSL, riding a league-best 10-game unbeaten streak.

The goals Sunday came from Nealy Martin in the first half and Evelyn Shores, Sveindis Jonsdottir and Claire Emslie in the second. Boston’s only score came from Brazilian striker Amanda Gutierres just before intermission.

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Angel City summary

NWSL standings

NWSL playoffs schedule

LAFC falls to Minnesota

Joaquín Pereyra scored two goals, defender Cherrion Valerius scored the first of his career and Minnesota United kept its postseason hopes alive with a 3-1 victory over LAFC on Sunday night.

Minnesota (10-12-11) pulled within two points of a Western Conference postseason berth with one match remaining.

LAFC (12-10-11) had already clinched a playoff spot but missed a chance to finish in the top four and earn home-field advantage in the best-of-three first round.

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LAFC summary

MLS standings

Ducks rally past Senators

Cutter Gauthier had his second career hat trick, scoring the go-ahead goal early in the third period, and the Ducks overcame a three-goal deficit to beat the Ottawa Senators 6-3 on Sunday night.

Judd Caulfield scored twice, rookie Roger McQueen added another and Leo Carlsson had three assists to help the Ducks win for the second time in nine games. The Ducks went four for five on the power play.

Laurent Brossoit made 20 saves in his Ducks debut. Brossoit played his second NHL game in three seasons after being recalled from San Diego of the AHL on Saturday.

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Ducks summary

NHL standings

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. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Prediction columns are silly.

If you want to guarantee something won’t happen, go ahead and predict — as Bill Plaschke did — that the Rams are going to go undefeated.

See, what happened was that his crystal ball was misfiring. Kind of like Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert has this season, throwing an interception in every game so far.

Actually, it’s Herbert’s Chargers who are going to go 0-17.

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Gary Klein breaks down what went right for the Rams in a 24-9 win over the Chargers at SoFi Stadium on Sunday.

After the Rams’ suspense-free 24-9 victory over the “visiting” Chargers on Sunday at SoFi Stadium, the Rams are 4-4. But the Bolts are 0-7 and barreling toward most unfortunate history.

NFL teams have gone winless before, but it hasn’t happened since the schedule grew to 17 games in 2021. Are the Chargers desperate enough to avoid being the first? It doesn’t feel like it.

They have 10 games left, of course. Each one “an opportunity,” as Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said, to figure it out. Or even to trap an unsuspecting, wounded opponent.

But there’s also the fact that the Chargers are 0-10 since their last win on Dec. 21 in Dallas — even longer ago than the Chargers’ last touchdown, which was nine quarters and 27 possessions in the rearview mirror.

What’s 10 more losses if not on the table?

Just about everything should be on the table — though not trading Herbert, by all accounts — for this banged-up, head-scratching, flat tire of a football team.

The Chargers’ lost season is the opportunity for major renovations.

It would even be really silly for the Chargers not to give the market a good shake before the NFL’s Nov. 10 trade deadline.

Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh reacts in the fourth quarter of a 24-9 loss to the Rams at SoFi Stadium on Sunday.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

No one wants to say goodbye to Chargers mainstay Khalil Mack that way, but the veteran defender should be worth a pretty pick to a contender. What about receiver Quentin Johnston? Running back Kimani Vidal?

But do not excuse Mike McDaniel. Let the beleaguered offensive coordinator keep calling games.

Why? Because history is on the line!

And so is the No. 1 draft pick that could land Ohio State’s sensational receiver, Jeremiah Smith.

The Detroit Lions went winless in 2008 and got Matthew Stafford — a Super Bowl winner and last season’s league MVP for the Rams — with the top pick in the next draft for their suffering.

But neither that season, nor the Cleveland Browns’ 0-16 2016, will go down as an abject disappointment on the level of this Chargers season.

Those teams weren’t supposed to be special. ESPN’s consensus was that the 2008 Lions would finish fourth in the division. And the Browns were coming off a 1-15 season (after which they drafted Myles Garrett No. 1 overall).

The Chargers came into this year with the eighth best odds to win the Super Bowl. They were fresh off consecutive 11-win seasons in Harbaugh’s first two seasons at the helm. And they were pairing Herbert and McDaniel. They were supposed to be a dynamic duo. Instead, the pairing has been a colossal dud.

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert looks up at the videoboard after the Rams add to the lead on Sunday.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Herbert’s two interceptions Sunday pushed his season total to an NFL-leading 10. In 2024, he threw only three.

“Turnovers are what’s stopping us [offensively], and that’s something that we have to clean up,” Herbert said after Sunday’s loss, in which he hit both Rams safety Quentin Lake and Rams cornerback Trent McDuffie in the chest with passes.

The first interception led to a Rams field goal, the second set up a Rams touchdown.

It was that kind of game in that kind of season.

Herbert’s Hail Mary before halftime came down in Ladd McConkey’s grasp a foot short of the goal line. It was the second time this season Herbert completed a pass of 50 or more yards and had the play end on the one-yard line — an NFL record, according to ESPN.

The Chargers also went into halftime with 129 more yards of total offense, nine more minutes of possession and prevented the Rams from achieving a first down on their first five drives for the first time in Sean McVay’s decade as coach.

But still the Chargers — they of little faith — trailed 10-9. Because the Rams closed the half by charging 66 yards to score a touchdown on a five-play, 1-minute, 36-second drive immediately after the Chargers had elected to kick a field goal rather than go for it on fourth and two.

They played like a team ready to accept another defeat and fell to 0-7 for the first time since 2000, when Harbaugh was their quarterback.

They finished 1-15 that season, the franchise’s worst. I wondered: Did that experience teach Harbaugh — who is just the fifth coach ever to win a college national title and also appear in a Super Bowl — anything?

“I mean, there’s no quit, there’s no surrender,” Harbaugh said. “It’s going to be an opportunity next week, get ourselves ready for that. It’s that motivation, it’s that dedication that, you know, there’s next week. There’s an opportunity, and … you got to keep working, you got to keep moving forward.”

Unless they can put in a reverse jinx, the only thing they’re moving toward is some ignominious history.

For much of Sunday’s game between the Rams and the Chargers, it was impossible to distinguish:

Which team had arrived at SoFi Stadium winless?

The Chargers, who had not won a game since last season, looked the part.

But so did the supposedly we’re-ready-to-make-a-run Rams.

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Gary Klein breaks down what went right for the Rams in a 24-9 win over the Chargers at SoFi Stadium on Sunday.

The Rams showed life at the end of the first half and the beginning of the second, and that ultimately proved enough for a 24-9 victory in front of 73,621.

Matthew Stafford passed for a touchdown and Blake Corum and Kyren Williams rushed for touchdowns as the Rams improved their record to 4-4.

Safety Quentin Lake and cornerback Trent McDuffie intercepted passes to foil a Justin Herbert-led offense that went into the game as the NFL’s lowest-scoring outfit and did little to foster reason for optimism.

For a mostly underperforming Rams team that began the season as an overwhelming favorite to win Super Bowl LXI, it has turned into a season of firsts.

Consider: For the first time this season, the Rams have won two games in a row.

They did it, for the first time, with two kickers — Joshua Karty and Brandon McManus — active for a game, though the kicking-game problems are far from resolved.

And yet the Rams found a way to win the kind of game they had previously lost. Who can forget their 18-15 defeat by the Arizona Cardinals at SoFi Stadium, a loss in which the Cardinals — like the Chargers — did not score a touchdown?

“Our team is becoming battle tested and finding ways to win those games that maybe we didn’t earlier on in the year,” said Stafford, who completed 17 of 25 passes for 157 yards and a touchdown, with an interception.

McVay had bristled this week when asked if he feared a letdown by his team against a winless opponent.

“I couldn’t care less about what their record is,” McVay said. “I would hope that we’re mature and professional enough to know that we have to be able to have the right focus, concentration, level of urgency.”

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1. Rams safety Quentin Lake intercepts a pass in the first half. 2. Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh walks on the sideline in the fourth quarter. 3. Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert slides for a short gain against the Rams in the first half Sunday at SoFi Stadium. 4. Rams offensive linemen run onto the field before the start of the game. 5. Rams coach Sean McVay celebrates with Jordan Whittington and Matthew Stafford after a touchdown in the second half.

Message apparently not received.

The Rams, the NFL’s top offense in yards per game, generated only 24 yards in 15 plays during their first five possessions and were zero for five on third down.

“Couldn’t have started any worse offensively,” McVay said.

For a time, they looked in danger of repeating 2020, when they lost to the 0-13 New York Jets at SoFi Stadium.

“To even establish any sort of momentum or rhythm was nonexistent for us,” McVay said.

But the Rams’ defense stepped up.

“Our job is, ‘OK, if the offense can’t create momentum, how can we create that for them,’” Lake said. “We were able to do that.”

The hapless Chargers also lent a hand.

They fell to 0-7 for the first time 2000, when they finished 1-15.

It was the Chargers’ 10th straight loss dating to last season, and no doubt keeps offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel on the hot seat.

Herbert continued to struggle, increasing his league-leading interception total to 10. He completed 24 of 32 passes for 257 yards.

The Rams led 10-9 at halftime after Williams rushed for a short touchdown in the final minute to cap a five-play, 66-yard drive.

The Chargers’ frustration could be summed up in one play: Receiver Ladd McConkey hauled in Herbert’s desperation 54-yard pass on the final snap of the second quarter … at the one-yard line.

The Rams came out strong to start the second half, Corum breaking off a 23-yard touchdown run for a 17-9 lead. Late in the third quarter, McDuffie picked off a pass, setting up Puka Nacua’s 18-yard catch and run for a touchdown.

As they did in last week’s victory over the Las Vegas Raiders, Corum and Williams proved a valuable combination. Corum rushed for 73 yards and a touchdown in 11 carries and Williams had 56 rushing yards and a touchdown in 16 carries.

The Rams play at Washington next Sunday and at Arizona the following week. They will have a short bye week before playing the Green Bay Packers the night before Thanksgiving.

Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua slips a tackle by Chargers defensive lineman Teair Tart on his way to scoring a touchdown in the third quarter Sunday at SoFi Stadium.

So there is ample opportunity for the Rams to put together a win streak worthy of a star-studded team that was built to play in the Super Bowl in February.

McVay has indicated that the Rams would not be very active as next week’s NFL trade deadline approaches, saying that the team would count on the return of injured players.

But the injured list might continue to grow.

Cornerbacks McDuffie and Jaylen Watson both left against the Chargers because of back and shoulder injuries, respectively.

That did not keep the Rams from breathing a sigh of relief. They had avoided a loss to their winless neighbors.

“It’s not something that we can exhale from,” said Nacua, who caught 11 passes for 80 yards. “There’s still a lot of improvement.”

But for a day at least, they could cling to a hint of momentum.

Rams running back Blake Corum breaks a tackle from Chargers safety Elijah Molden on his way to scoring a touchdown Sunday.

The Rams finally found it.

For one game at least, running backs Kyren Williams and Blake Corum each carried the ball nearly the same number of times, rushed for nearly the same amount of yards and each scored a touchdown last week in the Rams’ victory over the Las Vegas Raiders.

“We have similarities running the ball but also differences too,” Williams said. “And I think that’s what makes that 1-2 punch everybody keeps talking about.”

Before the victory over the Raiders, most of the conversation about the rushing attack centered around a question: When would coach and play-caller Sean McVay find a way to effectively use both?

Now the question is whether McVay and the backs can repeat or produce a similar performance Sunday against the Chargers and beyond.

McVay noted that Williams and Corum are interchangeable.

“As a play-caller, the best thing is you just call the plays,” McVay said. “It’s not like I have a specific menu of plays for Blake or for Kyren or vice versa.”

Williams, 26, is 5 feet, 9 inches, and 207 pounds. Corum, 25, is 5-8 and 202 pounds.

Williams wears jersey No. 23, Corum No. 24.

The Rams drafted Williams in the fifth round out of Notre Dame in 2022, and selected Corum in the third round out of Michigan in 2024.

“There’s a difference in their run style,” McVay said. “You’re defending different things. They’re nice complements.”

That was in full effect against the Raiders.

Williams rushed for 99 yards and a touchdown in 16 carries. Corum rushed for 93 yards and a touchdown in 17 carries.

Their effort helped the Rams take a 35-21 victory that ended a two-game losing streak and kept alive hope for a team that started the season as the Super Bowl favorite.

The two backs share a “growth mindset,” Williams said.

“It’s a great vibe, where we’re able to play off each other, not just on the football field but also in life,” he said.

Rams running back Kyren Williams takes the field before facing the Buffalo Bills at SoFi Stadium on Oct. 12.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

They also enjoy “a healthy, competitive relationship,” Corum said.

“It’s like I want to see the best for you and he wants to see the best for me,” Corum said. “If he does something great, it’s ‘All right, can I do something greater to help the team.’

“And if I do something great, he’s like, ‘Can I do something greater.’ It’s all love, and all for the team.”

Williams, a 2023 Pro Bowl player, signed a three-year extension before last season that included $23 million in guarantees. He went into this season having rushed for at least 1,144 yards in each of the last three seasons, including more than 1,200 in each of the last two.

The game against the Raiders is what the Rams envisioned — but did not achieve — last season when they aimed to reduce Williams’ workload as a way of keeping him fresh for the latter part of the season and the playoffs.

In 2025, Williams rushed for 1,252 yards and 10 touchdowns in 259 carries. Corum gained 746 yards and scored six touchdowns in 145 carries.

So far this season, Williams has rushed for 492 yards and five touchdowns in 96 carries. He also has 32 receptions for 239 yards and a touchdown.

Corum has rushed for 316 yards and two touchdowns in 64 carries. He has 10 catches for 99 yards and a touchdown.

“I haven’t been a part of that before where you haven’t thought to yourself, ‘OK, we want to lean on these types of plays when this guy’s in and these types of plays when the other guy’s in,’” quarterback Matthew Stafford said. “I think you’re really comfortable with both those guys doing everything we ask of a halfback in this offense.”

Offensive linemen said they often are unaware which running back is in the game — until they look up to see who is celebrating in the end zone.

“It’s crazy to say — but legit,” guard Kevin Dotson said. “It feels just like a plug and play. I don’t know who’s really in, and it doesn’t really matter.

“I know they can make it happen.”

Although All-Pro safety Derwin James Jr. will miss his fourth consecutive game because of a hamstring injury, the winless Chargers are coming off their bye week with some much-needed reinforcements.

Wide receivers Ladd McConkey (concussion) and Tre’ Harris (hamstring) and offensive tackle Joe Alt (neck) are all set to play Sunday against the Rams at SoFi Stadium.

“It’s a good thing,” Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said. “It’s good to have them back out there. Good work put in. Feel good about the preparation and feel like we’re in a good place, ready to go.”

Harris and McConkey have been the Chargers’ top two receivers when available this season. Harris leads the team in receptions (15), receiving yards (225) and targets (26), while McConkey is right behind him with 13 receptions for 200 yards on 18 targets.

And Alt’s return instantly improves the Chargers’ banged-up offensive line, which has allowed Justin Herbert — who carries a league-worst 29.4 quarterback rating — to be sacked nine times in the two games the offensive tackle has missed.

“Regrouping. Retooling. Thought it was a really good week of preparation,” Harbaugh said.

Offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel and his unit desperately need all hands on deck.

The Chargers are averaging a league-worst 15 points per game and are tied for the second-fewest yards per play (4.6).

“I spend all of my time focusing on the best plan for the players that we have available this week, to attack the defense we have,” McDaniel said. “And then you have to illustrate, in a good manner, what the vision is for how we’re going to play and improve the results.”

McConkey, Harris and Alt returning will help McDaniel’s cause, especially as wideout Brenen Thompson (quad/hamstring) remains out alongside key offensive linemen Rashawn Slater (ankle) and Kayode Awosika (fibula).

Meanwhile, the Chargers’ defense, which allows the eighth-fewest passing yards per game (206.2), must hold the fort again without James, who suffered a rehab setback.

“You can’t replace Derwin,” defensive coordinator Chris O’Leary said. “It’s not possible. He’s one of the best in the league, if not the best in the league.”

That task will be even harder if cornerbacks Donte Jackson and Rodney Shelley, who are both questionable with hamstring injuries, can’t play.

“For us, our message from the offseason to now is: team defense,” O’Leary said. “Play together. We’re not going to put too much on one guy’s plate. … And that’s really just spiked, now that Derwin’s out.

“It’s just a group effort, and I think the guys have done a great job.”

O’Leary’s defense has bent but rarely broken all season.

McDaniel’s offense, however, could use a breakout performance. And with more of Herbert’s primary targets fully healthy, there’s no better time than Sunday.

“It was much-needed,” Herbert said of the bye.

Rams players are increasingly aware of the risks of playing their sport, especially as it relates to chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a neurodegenerative brain disease.

But they try not to think about it.

This week, a Boston University study was published that analyzed the medical records of more than 2,000 deceased former NFL players. The study estimated that 74.5% of them likely had CTE.

Defensive tackle Aaron Donald, 35, played 10 seasons before retiring after the 2023 season. He rejoined the Rams this season. When asked about the study and CTE, Donald said, “That’s a real thing.”

But he said, “You don’t think about it. You just play. When you sign up to play football, you know what you’re signing up for.

“You obviously don’t want nothing like that to occur.”

Receiver Puka Nacua, 25, said that as a young player he was grateful for information about the possible long-term effects.

“I think it’s something that’s obviously very prevalent in our sport and the more information, the better I think we’re able to take care of ourselves,” he said.

Offensive lineman Kevin Dotson, 30, wears a guardian cap on his helmet during practices and games but said that, “it’s almost like a placebo effect” and was “more of a dampener than a savior.”

Playing a game that rewards financially but could have long-term effects is a “double-edged sword,” Dotson said.

“It’s one of those things, you’ve just got to keep that in the back of your mind that this is a possibility,” he said. “So every time you think about retirement or stuff like that, you think the longer I play the better chance of me getting CTE.”

The NFL trade deadline is less than two weeks away, and NFC West teams have been busy making moves.

But Rams coach Sean McVay indicated Wednesday that the injury-ravaged Rams are standing pat — for now.

The defending Super Bowl-champion Seattle Seahawks added three-time All-Pro offensive lineman Quenton Nelson. The San Francisco 49ers reacquired All-Pro defensive lineman DeForest Buckner. Both teams executed trades with the Indianapolis Colts.

Have the Rams made plans or had trade discussions?

“No,” McVay said. “Based on our situation, I mean the good thing for us is, what you look at is hopefully some of those trades will be guys getting back from injury that haven’t played for us.

“That’s kind of the way we look at it.”

Multiple Rams star players are on injured reserve or are done for the season because of injuries.

Edge rusher Myles Garrett, the reigning NFL defensive player of the year, has not played since undergoing knee surgery after the season-opening defeat by the 49ers in Australia. He has been eligible to return since before the Rams played the Arizona Cardinals on Oct. 18, but McVay said Wednesday that the Rams would not open the 21-day window for Garrett to return.

Tight end Terrance Ferguson, on injured reserve because of an ankle injury, also is eligible to return but will not practice this week.

Defensive lineman Poona Ford is out for the season because of a triceps injury, and defensive lineman Kobie Turner must sit out three more games while on injured reserve because of a groin injury. Star receiver Davante Adams is on injured reserve because of a hamstring injury that is expected to keep him out several more weeks.

General manager Les Snead is known for pulling off unexpected deals — see his trade for Garrett last June. But the Rams lack draft capital and have a league-low $206,406 of cap space, according to Overthecap.com.

So the Rams are apparently looking inward.

“The amount of guys that have not been available, that are key and focal points for really both sides of the football, you look at those guys hopefully being able to return within a month,” McVay said, “and that’s kind of where that value lies for us.”

Snead has a history of making big moves before or at the deadline.

In 2018, they traded for edge rusher Dante Fowler Jr. In 2019, they traded for cornerback Jalen Ramsey. In 2021, they signed receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and traded for edge rusher Von Miller.

Last season, the Rams made a low-key move, trading for defensive back Roger McCreary.

McVay acknowledged that “you always think about” possible deals and that the “conversation” might be different if more players were out for the season.

“But the good thing is a lot of the guys that are big, huge parts that we’re missing, we do expect to get back at some point, just not exactly sure when that is,” he said.

The Rams are suddenly paying special attention to special teams — and they are turning to former players for help.

On Wednesday, the Rams signed to the practice squad kicker Joshua Karty and long-snapper Jake McQuaide — both of whom played previously for the Rams — and linebacker Jon Rhattigan.

The moves came after the Rams gave up significant kick returns in their 35-21 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders, the latest miscues in a season that has featured a seemingly nonstop array of special teams issues.

The Rams (3-4) play the winless Chargers (0-6) on Sunday at SoFi Stadium.

The Rams have already gone through three kickers this season. Harrison Mevis, who replaced Karty midway through the 2025 season, was released a few weeks ago and the Rams signed Blake Grupe. But in his first game against the Arizona Cardinals, Grupe suffered a knee injury making a tackle on a kick return. The Rams signed veteran Brandon McManus, who kicked five extra points against the Raiders.

“Thought McManus did a really good job last week,” coach Sean McVay said. “but we’re looking at just being able to add value to our specialists with the different situations that have occurred.”

Karty, 24, was a sixth-round draft pick by the Rams in 2024. He made 29 of 34 field-goal attempts as a rookie but struggled in 2025. The Philadelphia Eagles blocked two kicks — returning one for a touchdown on the final play — and Karty had made only 10 of 15 field-goal attempts before the Rams released him and signed Mevis. Karty was signed to the practice squad, but the Arizona Cardinals signed him to their roster and eventually released him.

Would McVay consider having two kickers on the 48-man game-day roster?

“You’ve gotta really ask yourself, ‘OK, does that really make sense? Does it fit?” McVay said, “And there’s a lot of layers to it, so I wouldn’t be ready to answer that question yet.”

McQuaide, 38, is a 15-year veteran who played his first 10 seasons with the Rams, most as part of a special teams triumvirate that included kicker Greg Zuerlein and punter Johnny Hekker. The Rams reacquired McQuaide midway through the 2025 season to replace Alex Ward.

The Rams signed McQuaide on Wednesday because long-snapper Joe Cardona suffered an ankle injury against the Raiders, McVay said.

“Good contingency plans if need be,” McVay said.

Rhattigan, 27, has played for Seattle, Arizona, Pittsburgh and Las Vegas, almost exclusively on special teams.

“We’re looking to just increase and just figure out ways to improve some of the areas that need to be improved upon,” McVay said, adding, “This is a case of, he’s had success, coached against him, and if need be, if you’re in a flex-up situation, he would be a guy that would be in consideration because of the value he provides special teams-wise.”

Etc.

The Rams will not start the clock this week on edge rusher Myles Garrett and tight end Terrance Ferguson to return from injured reserve, McVay said. Garrett is “making good progress” and his situation is a “week-to-week basis, McVay said. … Receiver Davante Adams is recovering from a procedure to address his injured hamstring and is “doing really well,” McVay said. Adams was initially projected to be sidelined for six to 10 weeks. “I think based on how everything went, on the shorter end is what is projected,” McVay said. … Cardona, center Coleman Shelton (hip) and tight end Colby Parkinson (rib) were not scheduled to practice Wednesday, McVay said.

Rams get nice win over Raiders

From Gary Klein: What happened in Vegas cannot stay in Vegas.

Not if the Rams want to make a run to the playoffs.

Matthew Stafford must continue to flash his 2025 MVP form. Star receiver Puka Nacua and Rams tight ends must keep carrying a Davante Adams-less receiving corps. Kyren Williams and Blake Corum must build on an impressive combo rushing performance.

And the Rams’ defense must negate potential comebacks.

The Rams displayed all those attributes Sunday in a 35-21 victory over the Raiders at Allegiant Stadium.

Stafford became the franchise’s all-time leader in touchdown passes by connecting with tight end Davis Allen for two and with Nacua for another in a victory that improved the Rams’ record to 3-4.

“A good step in the right direction,” coach Sean McVay said.

Williams and Corum each rushed for a touchdown as the Rams bounced back from consecutive defeats by the Buffalo Bills and Arizona Cardinals to keep alive their turnaround from their third poor start in three seasons.

For the first time in the Rams’ last five games, the outcome did not come down to the final play.

Continue reading here

Rams summary

NFL standings

Luka Doncic scores 52 in Lakers victory

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Luka Doncic raised three fingers toward the Utah crowd. Fans were left counting more than just his points.

Doncic hit three clutch three-pointers late in the fourth quarter and took a momentum-swinging charge to lead the Lakers to a nail-biting 132-123 victory over the Utah Jazz on Sunday at Delta Center. Doncic led the Lakers (3-0) with 52 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds as the team fought back from an 18-point second-quarter deficit.

Guard Austin Reaves hit a dagger three with 34 seconds remaining to give the Lakers a seven-point lead. As Doncic salted the game away from the free-throw line, he was serenaded with chants of “MVP!” Reaves finished with 29 points.

“Getting MVP chants in someone else’s arena is crazy,” center Walker Kessler said. “But, you know, obviously deserving.”

Kessler knows this arena well. It’s where he spent the first four years of his career. But the center was quiet in his return to Salt Lake City. After he joined the Lakers in a massive sign-and-trade deal that cost the Lakers two first-round picks and two first-round pick swaps and a four-year, $130-million contract, Kessler was held to just two points on one-of-two shooting with seven rebounds.

Continue reading here

Lakers box score

NBA standings

UCLA’s start has a big flaw

From Mirjam Swanson: In the most complimentary way, I ask: What the heck was that first half, UCLA?

Yes, really. With Saturday’s 28-10 victory over Michigan State, Bob Chesney has the Bruins football team 7-0 for the first time since 2005. Still undefeated and still the only team in the Big Ten — and SEC — conferences that can say so. Ranked No. 9 in the nation and moving on up.

And so I ask: Two lost fumbles before halftime? Two drops? Two holding penalties? A meager 84 yards through the air and a modest 14-7 halftime lead? Against a majorly depleted Michigan State team fielding a freshman third-stringer at quarterback — that also lost two more of its best players to injury in the first half?

These Bruins are too good to be letting the wounded Spartans (2-6, 0-5 Big Ten) hang with them for even a half.

And yet, for a hot moment, doubt started to creep back in: Was this the day Chesney’s chariot turned back into a pumpkin? Was the last petal from the enchanted rose about to fall, this beauty of a season due to turn ugly? Was the fairy tale almost over?

Continue reading here

Clippers lose to the Thunder

Shai-Gilgeous Alexander scored 34 points, Ajay Mitchell had 18 off the bench, and the Oklahoma City Thunder stayed undefeated with a 108-101 victory over the Clippers on Sunday night.

Isaiah Hartenstein added 12 points and 12 rebounds for Oklahoma City, which won its third straight to start the season but lost three players to injury, including All-Star guard Jalen Williams, who went down hard on a drive to the basket with 1:14 left. Williams left the court on a stretcher with towels covering his left leg.

Guard Cason Wallace (left shoulder soreness) and forward Jaylin Williams (right wrist soreness) left the game in the first quarter and did not return. Mitchell was eight-for-14 shooting with six rebounds, four assists and three steals in 28 minutes.

Continue reading here

Clippers box score

NBA standings

LAFC and Galaxy play to a draw

Leo Walta scored the tying goal in the 62nd minute, and LAFC clinched a playoff spot by rallying from two goals down in the second half for a 2-2 draw with the Galaxy on Sunday night.

Joseph Paintsil scored his first two goals since August as the Galaxy hung on impressively for a point, but endangered their own playoff hopes by blowing the lead in another thrilling El Tráfico derby.

The final seconds of injury time were breathtaking: Galaxy goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski and defender Justin Haak both made spectacular stops on LAFC chances before Denis Bouanga scored on a redirection of Tyler Boyd‘s bicycle kick — only for the play to be ruled offside.

Continue reading here

LAFC-Galaxy summary

MLS standings

World Series results, schedule

All games at 5 p.m. PT
All game on FOX/FOX Deportes/FOX One

No. 1 Milwaukee vs. No. 1 Tampa Bay
at Milwaukee 3, Tampa Bay 2 (box score)
at Milwaukee 5, Tampa Bay 4 (box score)
Monday at Tampa Bay
Tuesday at Tampa Bay
*Wednesday at Tampa Bay
*Friday at Milwaukee
*Saturday at Milwaukee

* if necessary

This day in sports history

1907 — Jim Thorpe makes his Carlisle (Pa.) debut dazzling a crowd of 22,800 in a 26-6 defeat of No. 4 Penn at Philadelphia’s Franklin Field. Thorpe rushes, returns kicks and does all the kicking in putting on a one-man show.

1951 — Joe Louis loses his last fight, an eighth-round TKO to Rocky Marciano at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Marciano knocks Louis down with a left hook in the eighth round. Louis gets to one knee at the count of three and takes an eight-count before getting up. Marciano ends the fight with a right that sends Louis through the ropes and onto the ring apron. Louis’ career record is 66-3 with 52 knockouts.

1968 — Brooks Dawson of Texas El Paso completes 17 of 24 passes for 304 yards in the final 10:21 of the fourth quarter as the Miners beat Brigham Young 31-25.

1968 — Boxer George Foreman beats Ionas Chepulis of the Soviet Union for the gold medal in the heavyweight division at the Mexico Olympic Games.

1970 — Muhammad Ali returns to the ring after a 2 1/2-year layoff due to his refusal to be drafted into the United States Army. Fighting in Atlanta, Ali opened a cut over Jerry Quarry’s left eye with a right hand in the third round, causing the fight to be stopped before the start of the fourth round.

1980 — The St. Louis Cardinals sack quarterback Baltimore quarterback Bert Jones 12 times in a 17-10 victory.

1982 — Philadelphia Phillies Steve Carlton became the first pitcher to win four Cy Young Awards

1990 — Wayne Gretzky becomes the NHL first player to reach the 2,000-point plateau when he helps set up a goal by Tomas Sandstrom at 14:32 of the first period of the Kings’ game at Winnipeg.

2000 — The New York Yankees become the first team in more than a quarter-century to win three straight World Series titles, beating the New York Mets 4-2. The Yankees match the Oakland Athletics’ three in a row from 1972-74, and win their fourth title in five years.

2002 — Volponi, a 43-1 long shot, finds room along the rail and blows past the fading Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner War Emblem to take the Breeders’ Cup Classic by 6½ lengths ahead of Medaglia d’Oro.

2006 — Ryan Miller stops 29 shots as Buffalo beats the New York Islanders 3-0 to win its 10th straight game. The win matches the best start in NHL history, tying the 1993-94 Toronto Maple Leafs.

2012 — The NHL cancels all its games through the end of November because of the labor dispute between owners and players.

2013 — Octavias McKoy runs for 455 yards, setting an NCAA record for all-divisions, as Division III Western Connecticut State beats Worcester State 55-35. McKoy scores five touchdowns in the game and breaks the rushing record previously held by Dante Brown of Marietta College. Brown ran for 441 on Oct. 5, 1996 against Baldwin-Wallace.

2014 — Serena Williams wins the WTA Tour Finals for the third straight year and fifth time overall, beating Simona Halep 6-3, 6-0. Williams joins Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf as the only players to have won five titles in the season-ending championship.

2014 — Ben Roethlisberger is 40 for 49 for 522 yards and six touchdown passes in Pittsburgh’s 51-34 win over Indianapolis. Roethlisberger became the first player in NFL history with two 500-yard passing games — 503 yards vs. Green Bay on Dec. 20, 2009.

2014 — Abby Wambach scores four goals and the World Cup-bound United States beat Costa Rica 6-0 for its fifth CONCACAF women’s title.

2018 — The longest World Series game by innings and time; Dodgers beat the Boston Red Sox, 3-2 in the 18th inning (7 hours, 20 minutes) in Game 3 at Dodger Stadium with a Max Muncy walk-off home run.

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. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

LAS VEGAS — What happened in Vegas cannot stay in Vegas.

Not if the Rams want to make a run to the playoffs.

Matthew Stafford must continue to flash his 2025 MVP form. Star receiver Puka Nacua and Rams tight ends must keep carrying a Davante Adams-less receiving corps. Kyren Williams and Blake Corum must build on an impressive combo rushing performance.

And the Rams’ defense must negate potential comebacks.

The Rams displayed all those attributes Sunday in a 35-21 victory over the Raiders at Allegiant Stadium.

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Gary Klein breaks down what went right for the Rams in a 35-21 win over the Las Vegas Raiders.

Stafford became the franchise’s all-time leader in touchdown passes by connecting with tight end Davis Allen for two and with Nacua for another in a victory that improved the Rams’ record to 3-4.

“A good step in the right direction,” coach Sean McVay said.

Williams and Corum each rushed for a touchdown as the Rams bounced back from consecutive defeats by the Buffalo Bills and Arizona Cardinals to keep alive their turnaround from their third poor start in three seasons.

For the first time in the Rams’ last five games, the outcome did not come down to the final play.

“I like those,” said Stafford, who ranks fourth all-time in fourth-quarter comebacks. “It’s nice feeling a little bit more comfortable in the fourth quarter.”

It was not a perfect performance — Williams lost a fumble and penalties nullified two Corum touchdown runs.

But that did not matter against a Raiders team that served as a welcome antidote for the injury-depleted Rams.

The Raiders (3-4) went into the game having lost three in a row, and they showed no sign that their struggles against quality opponents will end anytime soon.

Next up for the Rams: The winless Chargers.

After that, trips to Washington (1-4-1) and Arizona (2-5) before a bye.

Rams running back Blake Corum tries to fend off Raiders safety Treydan Stukes during the fourth quarter Sunday.

(Candice Ward / Getty Images)

If the Rams keep playing the way they did Sunday, they could begin to round into a semblance of the team they were projected to be when they opened the season as Super Bowl favorites.

They certainly might be healthier.

Edge rusher Myles Garrett and tight end Terrance Ferguson are eligible to come off injured reserve. Cornerback Trent McDuffie, who sat out the last two games because of a groin injury, could make his way back.

Defensive lineman Kobie Turner will be out at least three more games but could possibly return for the matchup against the Green Bay Packers the night before Thanksgiving. Adams also will be back at some point.

In the meantime, McVay needs Stafford to play with the efficiency he showed Sunday.

The 18th-year pro completed 23 of 29 passes for 195 yards. A catchable fourth-quarter pass to tight end Colby Parkinson bounced off Parkinson and into the hands of Raiders linebacker Nakobe Dean. Stafford has passed for 14 touchdowns, with seven interceptions.

His second-quarter touchdown pass to Nacua was the 155th since he joined the Rams in 2021, moving him past Roman Gabriel into first on the team’s all-time list. Stafford is also the first player in NFL history to lead two different franchises in touchdown passes; he had 282 with the Detroit Lions.

Nacua was questionable for the game because of a calf injury he suffered during practice. But the fourth-year pro caught eight passes for 68 yards, including his catch-and-run for an 11-yard touchdown.

Williams rushed for 99 yards and a touchdown in 16 carries. Corum gained 93 yards and scored a touchdown in 17 carries. He would have amassed more than 100 yards rushing if a 43-yard touchdown had not been nullified by a penalty.

Rams running back Kyren Williams stiff-arms Raiders cornerback Hezekiah Masses in the second quarter Sunday.

(Ethan Miller / Getty Images)

“It feels great being able to have a partner back there like Kyren,” Corum said. “It just makes you want to go harder, seeing him do some of the things that he does on the field.

“You’re just like, ‘All right, it’s my time. Let me go do it.’ And so I feel like we just make each other proud and feed off each other’s energy.”

On a day when the NFC West-leading San Francisco 49ers lost for the first time, the Rams avoided falling further behind and appeared capable of possibly engineering turnarounds similar to the ones they produced in 2023 and 2024.

The Rams led 14-3 early in the second quarter on Stafford’s touchdown passes to Allen.

A few minutes before halftime, Nacua scored. Williams’ 17-yard touchdown run gave the Rams a comfortable 28-6 lead.

The Raiders threatened in the fourth quarter when Kirk Cousins connected with Tre Tucker for a 37-yard touchdown pass and, after Dean’s interception, found Ashton Jeanty for another.

But Corum sealed the victory with a four-yard touchdown run.

The Rams’ performance was more than enough against the Raiders.

Now they must build on it.

Still a lot of games left.

No one is panicking.

Been in this position before.

Those are affirmations Rams players and coaches have utilized during a season of great expectations mired in major underachievement.

The Rams, who opened the season as the Super Bowl favorite, will arrive in Las Vegas for Sunday’s game against the Raiders with a 2-4 record and a two-game losing streak.

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Gary Klein breaks down what to watch for when the Rams face the Las Vegas Raiders on the road Sunday.

And they will be without several key players counted on to reverse their fortunes.

Star receiver Davante Adams is out — and is expected to be sidelined five to nine more weeks because of a hamstring injury. Star receiver Puka Nacua, who suffered a calf injury this week in practice, will be a game-time decision.

Defensive lineman Kobie Turner was placed on injured reserve this week because of a groin injury, joining edge rusher Myles Garrett, who has been sidelined since the season-opening defeat by the San Francisco 49ers following knee surgery. Defensive tackle Poona Ford this week was declared out for the season because of a triceps injury.

Linebacker Nate Landman won’t play against the Raiders because of a concussion, and All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie is questionable because of a groin injury.

Meantime, the NFC West-rival San Francisco 49ers are 6-0, and the Rams are last in the division.

The Rams and coach Sean McVay have turned around seasons before. In 2023 and 2024 they overcame slow starts to win 10 games and make the playoffs.

“You can’t sit there and go, ‘Because we did X, we’re going to do Y,’ but we obviously know what it takes to win football games,” quarterback Matthew Stafford said. “We can’t sit there and look at the big picture and go, ‘OK, we have X amount of games left. These guys are doing that,’ or whatever.

“That’s not the mindset at all around here.”

The Rams have their own concerns, most notably a receiving corps that will be without Adams and possibly Nacua.

Adams, 33, is a three-time All-Pro and probable future Hall of Famer.

“You’re not going to one-for-one sub in a guy that’s going to be wearing a gold jacket one day, in Davante,” Stafford said. “It’s a team effort.”

It became an even more urgent one Thursday when Nacua was unable to finish practice.

Tutu Atwell, Konata Mumpfield, Jordan Whittington, rookie CJ Daniels and Alex Bachman are other receivers on the roster.

“Whether you’re talking about Davante, whether you’re talking about Puka, you don’t ever ask anybody to replace those guys,” McVay said, adding, “I want those players to be their best selves. … It’s a great opportunity for other guys to step up if that’s the situation that we’re dealing with.”

Rams wide receiver Konata Mumpfield catches a pass in front of Denver Broncos cornerback Riley Moss on Sept. 27.

(Justin Tafoya / Getty Images)

Atwell, Mumpfield and Whittington have combined for only 13 receptions. This could be the first game Daniels will be active.

“We’re all held to a certain standard,” Whittington said. “When you are held to that standard, I think the drop-off shouldn’t be that big. We all have a culture we abide by and everybody displays and embodies that. And I think it will work how it needs to work.”

McVay also could rely more heavily on running backs Kyren Williams and Blake Corum, and tight ends Tyler Higbee, Colby Parkinson and Davis Allen.

“It’s not any more pressure to anyone on the team,” Williams said.

With Turner and Ford sidelined, the Rams’ interior defensive front will include Aaron Donald, Braden Fiske, Tyler Davis, Larrell Murchison and Ty Hamilton.

Donald, who ended a two-year retirement to rejoin the Rams, is averaging just over 38 snaps a game.

Will that role grow?

“We have a general snap count that he’s always going to have going into the game,” defensive coordinator Chris Shula said. “I don’t think we would go crazily past that, but it’s going to be hard if it’s a tight game and he’s at that number.

“Just like one of those pitchers in the ninth inning, you’re probably going to leave him in for a few extra snaps.”

Said Donald: “If it’s 30 plays, 40 plays, 50 plays, 60 plays, that’s what it’s going to be.”

The Rams have 11 games remaining, including Sunday’s against the Raiders, a home game against the Chargers and road games at Washington and Arizona before their bye week.

“It’s not over,” Donald said. “Is there a sense of urgency? For sure, because we want to win.

“But as far as curling up and panicking like this is the end of the world, it’s not that. We have a lot of ball to play, a lot of games left.”

Lawrence McCutcheon, a five-time Pro Bowl running back for the Rams who went on to have a long career in the team’s front office, died Friday. He was 76.

McCutcheon’s family announced his death through the Rams. In a statement, the family said McCutcheon had “a long, courageous battle with Parkinson’s disease.”

McCutcheon played his first eight NFL seasons for the Rams, who drafted him out of Colorado State in 1972. The native of Plainview, Texas, quickly emerged as one of the most dynamic running backs of the 1970s, earning a Pro Bowl selection and leading the Rams in rushing each year from 1973 to 1977 in coach Chuck Knox’s productive offense.

McCutcheon, nicknamed “Clutch,” was a second-team AP All-Pro selection in 1974.

Rams running back Lawrence McCutcheon carries the ball against the St. Louis Cardinals in a divisional round playoff game at the Coliseum in December 1975.

(Associated Press)

He appeared in 11 postseason games for the Rams. In the Super Bowl in January 1980, he even threw a touchdown pass to Ron Smith to put Los Angeles ahead before the Pittsburgh Steelers rallied to win.

McCutcheon was the Rams’ career rushing leader when he left in 1980. After he finished his playing career with stops in Denver, Seattle and Buffalo over two seasons, McCutcheon became an executive for the Rams, eventually spending more than three decades in their front office.

McCutcheon rose to become the St. Louis Rams’ director of player personnel from 2003 until his retirement in 2016, shortly before the team moved back to Los Angeles.

“Through a decade-long playing career and another 32 years in the Rams’ front office, Clutch earned the respect and admiration of teammates, opposing players, colleagues and fans alike,” McCutcheon’s family said in its statement. “Clutch will be missed and remembered forever.”

McCutcheon’s son, Daylon, was a cornerback for the Cleveland Browns from 1999 to 2006. Lawrence McCutcheon’s grandson, Dyson, is a defensive back at Middle Tennessee.

Beacham writes for the Associated Press.

Rams receiver Puka Nacua will not practice Friday because of a calf injury and will be listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders, coach Sean McVay said Friday.

Nacua took part in the majority of practice on Thursday but did not finish it. McVay indicated that tests revealed “a little minor thing in there,” and that Nacua would be a game-time decision Sunday.

“I don’t think he knows exactly when it occurred,” McVay said, adding, “he felt it where he wasn’t able to have some of the power and full explosion … but i don’t think he was aware of any sort of specific play that led to it.”

Nacua played in the season-opening loss to the San Francisco 49ers and then sat out two games because of a hip injury that caused abdominal soreness. He returned and produced more than 100 yards receiving in each of the next two games, and then caught six passes for 80 yards in last Sunday’s 18-16 defeat by the Arizona Cardinals.

Nacua, the NFL receptions leader in 2025, has 37 catches for 417 yards and a touchdown, and he also has rushed for a touchdown this season.

Nacua’s injury is the latest in a series suffered by a Rams team that opened the season as the favorite to win Super Bowl LXI at SoFi Stadium, but has lost its last two games to fall to 2-4.

Receiver Davante Adams is expected to be sidelined six to 10 weeks because of a hamstring injury suffered against the Cardinals.

Jordan Whittington, Konata Mumpfield, Tutu Atwell and rookie CJ Daniels are other Rams receivers.

“It’s our job to figure out, all right, what are some of the spots we can put them in that accentuate their skillsets,” McVay said.

Inside linebacker Nate Landman is out because of a concussion, McVay said. So veteran Eric Kendricks, who was signed to the practice squad a few weeks ago, will be activated to the roster against the Raiders.

Cornerback Trent McDuffie, who sat out against the Cardinals because of a groin injury, did not practice this week and will be listed as questionable against the Raiders.

Puka Nacua leaves practice with injury

From Gary Klein: The Rams’ injury woes continued Thursday when star receiver Puka Nacua left practice because of a calf injury, a team official said.

Nacua was sidelined for two games this season because of a hip injury, but he has played the last three games for a Rams team that opened the season as the Super Bowl favorite but is 2-4 heading into Sunday’s game against the Raiders in Las Vegas.

The Rams are already thin at receiver in the wake of a hamstring injury suffered by Davante Adams during the Rams’ 18-16 defeat by the Arizona Cardinals last Sunday. Adams, 33, will be sidelined for six to 10 weeks, coach Sean McVay said.

It remains to be seen if Nacua, who led the NFL in receptions last season, will play against the Raiders. He has 37 catches for 417 yards and a touchdown, and he has also rushed for a touchdown this season.

Jordan Whittington, Konata Mumpfield, Tutu Atwell and rookie CJ Daniels are other Rams receivers.

Mumpfield, a second-year pro, said he would be ready if called upon for a larger role.

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NFL Week 7 picks: Seahawks defeat Chiefs; Rams prevail over Raiders

Walker Kessler has great Lakers debut

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: He spent the offseason admiring the great Lakers centers that came before him. He pondered how he could possibly continue such a legacy.

Turns out, Walker Kessler makes it look easy.

The new Lakers center scored 26 points on 12-for-12 shooting with nine rebounds, one assist and two blocks in his purple and gold debut to help the Lakers (1-0) to a dominant 127-105 win over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday at Crypto.com Arena.

After admiring Lakers legends, Kessler can now be mentioned in the same breath. His 12 made field goals without a miss were the most by a Laker since Wilt Chamberlain in 1969. His 10 dunks are the most for a Laker since Shaquille O’Neal in 2003.

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Clippers should do more for their fans

From Mirjam Swanson: Starting over has to start somewhere, and so the Clippers got on with it Wednesday.

While Kawhi Leonard got an NBA Finals hero’s welcome upon his return up north in Toronto, the Clippers did what they could to entice fans back to Intuit Dome.

Not with superstars or championship aspirations. But with the promise of free parking, a jersey trade-in and a basketball team that is, at least, better than the Sacramento Kings, who they beat 121-96 in both teams’ season opener. Coach Tyronn Lue dedicated the win to suspended team owner Steve Ballmer: “Just want to say thank you for everything. We’re still fighting for him.”

Yeah, but the Clippers should focus on fighting for their fans, not the billionaire whose apparent salary cap circumvention has the organization in hot water.

Wednesday’s fan appreciation stuff was a swell gesture, as a start. But it wasn’t nearly far-reaching enough.

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Dodgers fans should be rooting for Brewers

From Bill Shaikin: The Dodgers have been dead for a week. The sting has dissipated. The World Series starts Friday.

For the first time in three years, Los Angeles faces a Fall Classic with no rooting interest.

Might we suggest the Milwaukee Brewers?

No?

So maybe the sting has not dissipated, not after the Brewers so rudely swept the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series. But did you see the thousands of Brewers fans that arose within Dodger Stadium to salute the newly crowned NL champions, sticking around long after the Dodgers fans had retreated to traffic jams in the parking lot?

“It’s a good time to be a Milwaukee Brewers fan, for sure,” NLCS MVP Jake Bauers said. “It’s always fun going into a road stadium, especially in a postseason environment, and coming out with a win and seeing how many people hang around after the game.”

The Brewers are L.A.’s team, at least for the next week.

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Budget cuts threaten soccer refugee program

From Kevin Baxter: Mohammed Annour spent much of his youth living in a flimsy shelter in a dusty, overcrowded refugee camp in east Africa, where the days were long, the food was poor and the future nonexistent.

“Go to the army and fight. That’s one option,” said Annour, who fled war in Sudan for the refugee camp in Chad when he was 9. “The other one is you stay there. But you don’t have a future.”

If he had stayed, Annour, now 33, has little doubt how his story would have ended.

“Probably,” he said, “I’m dead.”

Instead, he’s in Sweden, raising two boys, working as a quality control inspector for a textile company and playing amateur soccer for a team in the country’s fifth division. And the only thing that separates his experience from the tens of thousands of desperate people he left behind in the camp is the fact someone believed in him enough to give him a chance.

That would be Katie-Jay Scott and Gabriel Stauring, a pair of South Bay activists who showed up at Annour’s camp on a blazing hot day in 2011, rolled a battered soccer ball across a barren field and transformed an untold number of lives.

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Kings defeat Islanders in OT

Artemi Panarin had two goals, Brandt Clarke scored in overtime and the Kings won their second consecutive game, 3-2, at the New York Islanders on Thursday night.

The Kings have back-to-back victories after losing their first six games. They were the final NHL team without a win before defeating Washington on Tuesday night.

The Kings were outplayed for much of the game and were outshot 43 to 26. Panarin beat rusty backup Semyon Varlamov glove side twice, and Darcy Kuemper kept making stops even as his rebound control was lacking, finishing with 41 saves.

Kuemper cracked for the first time with just under six minutes left in the second period when rookie Victor Eklund’s shot squeezed through on a power play. Matthew Schaefer wired a wrist shot past Kuemper 7:06 into the third.

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Kings summary

NHL standings

Ducks lose to Devils

Arseny Gritsyuk and Nico Hischier scored first-period goals, Nico Daws made 16 saves and the New Jersey Devils beat the Ducks 4-1 on Thursday night.

Anthony Mantha restored the two-goal lead with 6:33 left in the third, and Jack Hughes added an empty-netter with 6.1 seconds remaining. New Jersey won its second straight to improve to 6-4-0, while the Ducks dropped their fifth in a row to fall to 4-6-0.

Gritsyuk and Hischier each scored their fifth goal of the season, with Jesper Bratt assisting on both scores. Hughes assisted on Gritsyuk’s goal.

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Ducks summary

NHL standings

MLB postseason schedule

World Series
All games at 5 p.m. PT
All game on FOX/FOX Deportes/FOX One

No. 1 Milwaukee vs. No. 1 Tampa Bay
Friday at Milwaukee
Saturday at Milwaukee
Monday at Tampa Bay
Tuesday at Tampa Bay
*Wednesday at Tampa Bay
*Friday at Milwaukee
*Sat., Oct. 31 at Milwaukee

* if necessary

This day in sports history

1921 — Green Bay Packers play 1st APFA (forerunner to NFL) game; beat Minneapolis Marines, 7-6 at Hagemeister Park, Green Bay, Wis.

1945 — Jackie Robinson signs a contract with the Montreal Royals, minor league farm team of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

1949 — Don Doll of the Detroit Lions intercepts four passes in a 24-7 victory over the Chicago Cardinals.

1960 — Jim Martin of Detroit becomes the first kicker to kick two field goals over 50 yards in a game as the Lions beat the Baltimore Colts 30-17.

1964 — Joe Frazier dominates German Hans Huber for an easy points win to capture the boxing heavyweight gold medal in Tokyo.

1971 — Greg Pruitt rushes for 294 yards on 19 carries to lead the Oklahoma Sooners to an NCAA record 711 yards rushing and a 75-28 pounding of Kansas State.

1976 — Pittsburgh’s Tony Dorsett rushes for 180 yards in a 45-0 rout over Navy to become the top career rusher in NCAA history with 5,206 yards.

1988 — Dan Marino passes for 521 yards, three touchdowns and five interceptions as the Miami Dolphins lose to the New York Jets 44-30. Marino completes 35 of 60 passes as he produces the second-best single-game total yardage in NFL history.

1993 — The Toronto Maple Leafs break the NHL record for most victories at the start of the season, winning their ninth straight game by beating the second-year Tampa Bay Lightning 2-0.

1999 — Florida State’s Bobby Bowden gets his 300th win with a 17-14 win over his son, Clemson coach Tommy Bowden. With the victory Bowden joins Bear Bryant, Pop Warner, Joe Paterno and Amos Alonzo Stagg as the only major college coaches to reach 300 victories.

2000 — The New York Jets, trailing 30-7 at the end of the third quarter, come back to beat the Miami Dolphins 40-37 in overtime on Monday night. The Jets score four touchdowns and a field goal in the fourth quarter to force overtime.

2005 — San Diego’s LaDainian Tomlinson is held to a career-low seven yards rushing in 17 carries and fails to score in the Chargers’ 20-17 loss at Philadelphia, ending his NFL record-tying streak of games with a touchdown at 18.

2008 — Carolina’s Brandon Sutter gives one of hockey’s most famous families another milestone, scoring his first NHL goal in a 4-1 loss at Pittsburgh. The 19-year-old Sutter, son of New Jersey Devils coach Brent Sutter, is the ninth member of the Sutter family to play in the NHL.

2011 — Tim Tebow rallies the Broncos for two touchdowns in the final 2:44 of the fourth quarter to force overtime, and Matt Prater’s 52-yard field goal gives Denver an improbable 18-15 victory over the stunned Miami Dolphins. The Broncos appeared beaten when they trailed 15-0 with 5:23 left and took over at their 20.

2016 — Jay Ajayi ties an NFL record by surpassing 200 yards rushing for the second game in a row, helping the Miami Dolphins rally past the Buffalo Bills 28-25. Ajayi rushes for 214 yards in 29 carries after totaling 204 yards a week earlier in a win over Pittsburgh.

2019 — All Star point guard Kyrie Irving pours in 50 points, setting a new NBA record for points on debut with a new team as his Brooklyn Nets go down 127-126 at home to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

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. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Matthew Stafford does not typically stray much from comments about sticking with his process.

But in the wake of a rash of injuries suffered by several of the Rams’ key players, the veteran quarterback and reigning NFL most valuable player on Wednesday sounded as if he intended to be a calming presence.

“Been a part of these times before,” said Stafford, an 18th-year pro. “That’s when my role becomes even more important as a leader, as somebody that can try and help steady the ship for us and make sure that I’m doing my part to do everything I can to help us win football games becomes even more important.”

Stafford has passed for 11 touchdowns with six interceptions for a team that has lost two games in a row to fall to 2-4.

The Rams play the Raiders on Sunday in Las Vegas.

For that game — and more — they will be without star receiver Davante Adams and defensive linemen Kobie Turner and Poona Ford, all of who suffered injuries Sunday in an 18-16 defeat by the Arizona Cardinals.

Coach Sean McVay has said Adams would be out six to 10 weeks because of a hamstring injury. The Rams on Wednesday placed Turner on injured reserve because of a groin strain, and Ford is out for the season because of a ruptured triceps.

On Monday, McVay said linebacker Nate Landman was in concussion protocol. And All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie, who sat out against the Cardinals because of a groin injury, did not practice Wednesday.

Edge rusher Myles Garrett and tight end Terrance Ferguson remain on injured reserve.

“Everybody sees these and they’re on their fantasy team or whatever and they’re like, ‘Aww. I’ve got to trade a guy in and out now,’” Stafford said. “And we’re like, well that guy’s worked … for the last eight months to get this opportunity and it’s unfortunate he doesn’t get to do what he loves to do. … I know the work that they put into it to be out here doing what they love.

“I just feel even more responsibility to try and be as good as I can be.”

The Rams have four more games — against the Raiders, Chargers, Washington Commanders and the Cardinals — before a bye.

Stafford indicated he would lead by example — and more.

“I’m not going to go outside of the framework of what I feel comfortable with when it comes to leadership,” Stafford said, “but at the same time, just how steady can I be? How good can I be?

“Sometimes that’s having a conversation with a guy. Other times that’s checking the ball down and not forcing one…

“I just want to lead the way for those guys and let them know that, ‘Listen, I’ve been in instances like this before and I’ve been on teams that have turned things around in that regard.’ So hopefully they can look to me and feel comfortable that I’m leading the way and doing what I can to help us be where we want to be.”

The Rams’ injury woes continued Thursday when star receiver Puka Nacua left practice because of a calf injury, a team official said.

Nacua was sidelined for two games this season because of a hip injury, but he has played the last three games for a Rams team that opened the season as the Super Bowl favorite but is 2-4 heading into Sunday’s game against the Raiders in Las Vegas.

The Rams are already thin at receiver in the wake of a hamstring injury suffered by Davante Adams during the Rams’ 18-16 defeat by the Arizona Cardinals last Sunday. Adams, 33, will be sidelined for six to 10 weeks, coach Sean McVay said.

It remains to be seen if Nacua, who led the NFL in receptions last season, will play against the Raiders.

Jordan Whittington, Konata Mumpfield, Tutu Atwell and rookie CJ Daniels are other Rams receivers.

The Rams moved to augment their struggling special teams on Tuesday, signing veteran kicker Brandon McManus.

The Rams worked out McManus and veteran Matt Prater on Tuesday and then chose McManus to replace Blake Grupe, who is on injured reserve after suffering a knee injury during his Rams debut in an 18-16 defeat by the Arizona Cardinals at SoFi Stadium on Sunday.

McManus will be the third kicker on the roster this season for a team that opened as the favorite to win Super Bowl LXI but is now struggling with a 2-4 record heading into Sunday’s game against the Raiders in Las Vegas.

Harrison Mevis, signed by the Rams at midseason in 2025, was released last week after making only five of nine field-goal attempts this season. Grupe kicked a 44-yard field goal against the Cardinals but was injured on the ensuing play when he knocked a Cardinals kick returner out of bounds.

Punter Ethan Evans kicked an extra point that put the Rams ahead, 17-15, with less than a minute remaining before the Cardinals kicked a winning field goal.

McManus, 35, has made 297 of 362 field-goal attempts (82%) during a 12-year career that has included stints with the Denver Broncos, Jacksonville Jaguars and Green Bay Packers. In 2025, he made 24 of 30 field-goal attempts for the Packers.

The Rams also placed receiver Davante Adams and defensive lineman Poona Ford on injured reserve because of hamstring and triceps injuries, respectively. Coach Sean McVay said Monday that Adams would be sidelined six to 10 weeks and that Ford is out for the season.

U2 is coming to SoFi Stadium for the first time — and performing during a Rams game for the first time in nearly 25 years.

The legendary Irish rock band will headline the halftime show for the NFL’s first Thanksgiving eve game as the Rams host the Green Bay Packers on Nov. 25. The game will stream live on Netflix.

The only other time U2 has performed at halftime of an NFL game was at Super Bowl XXXVI on Feb. 3, 2002, when the New England Patriots defeated the then-St. Louis Rams 20-17 at the Superdome in New Orleans.

“There’s a reason U2 has headlined stadiums for decades: they don’t just perform, they deliver iconic moments audiences remember forever,” Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said in a statement. “We’re thrilled that they’ll bring that same magic to the NFL stage on Netflix. It’s going to be an unforgettable night for football fans and Netflix members worldwide.”

U2’s halftime show will feature special guests, the streaming service said.

Netflix has featured big-name halftime performers during some of the previous NFL games it has streamed, including Beyoncé on Christmas day in 2024 and Snoop Dogg on Christmas last year.

U2 — which features singer Bono, lead guitarist the Edge, bass player Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen Jr. — celebrated their 50th anniversary last month with a concert. The group performed at Mount Temple Comprehensive School, where the four members were students when they first got together as a band in 1976.

The band has won 22 Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005. Its 16th studio album, Carnival de Luz, is set to drop on Nov. 13.