terrance ferguson

LONDON — Goodbye London. Hello bye week.

The Rams’ ended an extended road trip and welcomed some time off with a 35-7 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday at Wembley Stadium.

Matthew Stafford passed for five touchdowns — three to Davante Adams and one each to rookies Konata Mumpfield and Terrance Ferguson — and edge rushers Jared Verse and Byron Young led a mostly suffocating defense as the Rams improved their record to 5-2 heading into an off week.

In a light rain, and without injured star receiver Puka Nacua, coach Sean McVay and Stafford poured into 10 different receivers during a victory that made the nine-day road trip worth it.

The Rams were coming off a 17-3 road victory over the Ravens. They remained in Baltimore last week and practiced at Oriole Park at Camden Yards before departing for London on Friday.

They arrived Saturday and played on Sunday.

And they showed no signs of jet lag.

Rams rookie Josaiah Stewart sacks Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence during the second half Sunday.

(Ian Walton / Associated Press)

Verse sacked Trevor Lawrence on the first play, the Rams jumped to a 21-0 halftime lead and cruised as McVay remained unbeaten in London games.

Young, rookie outside linebacker Josaiah Stewart, linebacker Nate Landman, lineman Larrell Murchison and safety Quentin Lake contributed to seven sacks on Lawrence. Lake, who also forced a fumble, and lineman Kobie Turner batted down passes in the backfield.

In 2017, McVay’s first season, the Rams routed the Arizona Cardinals at Twickenham Stadium. Two years later, they defeated the Cincinnati Bengals at Wembley Stadium.

Though Sunday’s game was played thousands of miles from Southern California, it had something of a Rams family feel.

Jaguars coach Liam Coen was an assistant under McVay, and Jaguars first-year general manager James Gladstone worked for nine years under Rams general manager Les Snead.

The week off should benefit Nacua, who did not play because of an ankle injury sustained against the Ravens. The Rams thought it best to rest the third-year pro and let him heal during the off week before they play the New Orleans Saints on Nov. 2 at SoFi Stadium.

Rams wide receiver Davante Adams leaps above Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Montaric Brown to catch his third touchdown pass of the game in the fourth quarter Sunday.

(Ian Walton / Associated Press)

That opened the door for Adams and others.

By the end of the first quarter, Stafford had completed passes to seven of eight different receivers targeted, including touchdowns to Mumpfield and two to Adams.

Stafford connected with Ferguson and Adams for touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

Adams and Stafford had said in Baltimore that they were still working to find their timing together.

They found it Sunday: Adams caught five passes for 35 yards, and all of his short touchdown receptions were on the kinds of red-zone plays the Rams envisioned when they signed the three-time All-Pro.

Stafford completed 21 of 33 passes for only 182 yards, but he made them count.

So for the first time since 2021, the Rams will go into their off week with a winning record.

In 2023, the Rams were 3-6 at the bye and then won seven of eight games to finish 10-7 and make the playoffs.

Last season, they were 1-4 at the bye and then won nine of 12 games to finish 10-7 and make the playoffs.

But Sunday’s victory trends closer to 2017, when the Rams shut out the Cardinals, 33-0, at Twickenham Stadium to improve to 5-2 going into the bye. The Rams went on to win the NFC West and make the playoffs for the first time since 2004.

After taking trips to Tennessee, Philadelphia, Baltimore and London, the Rams will leave the West Coast only twice for a Nov. 30 game at Carolina and a Dec. 29 game at Atlanta.

They had to feel good about that as they prepared for their long flight home.

Ferguson, a second-round draft pick from Oregon, made his debut after sitting out the first two preseason games because of a hamstring injury.

Ferguson was quiet the first quarter, but in the second he got a chance to show why the Rams selected him to be the heir apparent to veteran tight end Tyler Higbee.

Lining up in the left slot, the 6-foot-5, 247-pound Ferguson broke toward the sideline and made an over-the-shoulder catch for a 33-yard gain. Ferguson, not realizing he slid out of bounds, got to his feet and ran to the end zone.

“It was a big thing for me to have that first catch and be able to stretch the field a little bit, showcase some vertical speed,” Ferguson said during the television broadcast.

A few plays later, Ferguson lined up in the right slot, caught a short pass and turned it into a 15-yard gain.

That was all coach Sean McVay and his staff needed to see.

“You feel him,” McVay told reporters in Cleveland after the game. “He’s just got a nice pace to his game. Thought it was great to be able to get him out there.”

Ferguson showed he will be a factor in a tight end group that also includes Colby Parkinson and Davis Allen.

By Tuesday, NFL teams must cut their rosters to 53 players.

So the Rams’ third preseason game against the Cleveland Browns on Saturday in Cleveland is the final opportunity for coach Sean McVay and his staff — and other pro teams — to evaluate players.

“We have a good idea of what a handful of things look like,” McVay said of the roster, adding, “while also knowing that hey, things can change with the snap of a finger, if you will, just because of injuries and some of the uncertainty.

“I’m looking forward to watching a handful of guys compete because there are still some spots to be determined.”

Quarterback Matthew Stafford, who practiced for the first time this week, will rest his back and not make the trip. McVay said he was still determining which other players would not make the trip.

Here are five things to watch when the Rams face the Cleveland Browns on Saturday at 10 a.m. PDT (ABC):

Sean McVay has led the Rams to two Super Bowl appearances, one championship and six playoff appearances.

Now, as he prepares for his ninth season, the 39-year-old coach once again has a team regarded as a legitimate Super Bowl contender.

The roster includes experience — quarterback Matthew Stafford is entering his 17th season — and young stars such as receiver Puka Nacua and edge rusher Jared Verse, the 2024 NFL defensive rookie of the year.

“I love the natural, just zest and the joy that this group has,” McVay said this week as players reported for training camp at Loyola Marymount.

After Stafford and the Rams agreed to terms on a contract adjustment last spring, general manager Les Snead provided McVay and Stafford with a bonus of sorts by signing receiver Davante Adams. The three-time All-Pro joins Nacua, receiver Tutu Atwell, running back Kyren Williams and tight ends Tyler Higbee and Terrance Ferguson to give the offense multiple weapons.

Snead also signed center Coleman Shelton — a member of the Rams’ Super Bowl LVI championship team — and defensive lineman Poona Ford. Ford will bolster a front that includes Verse, edge rusher Byron Young and tackles Kobie Turner and Braden Fiske, among others.

“We are stacked,” Williams said.

Which is not to say that McVay, Snead and the Rams do not have concerns.

Here are five issues to watch as the Rams prepare for their Sept. 7 opener against the Houston Texans: