The Los Angeles Rams did not pick up a first down until the final two minutes of the first half, then scored three straight touchdowns to beat the winless Los Angeles Chargers 24-9 on Sunday, November 1, at SoFi Stadium. Blake Corum and Kyren Williams ran for scores, Puka Nacua caught 11 passes and a touchdown, and the Rams’ defense intercepted Justin Herbert twice.
The Rams improve to 4-4 and have won two games in a row for the first time since January. The Chargers, coming off their bye, fall to 0-7, their worst start since 2000. They are the league’s only winless team and have not scored a touchdown in their last nine quarters.
Field goals and a stalled Rams offense
Both offenses started with interceptions. Tarheeb Still picked off Matthew Stafford on the Rams’ first drive, and on the Chargers’ next series Quentin Lake intercepted Herbert’s short pass for Charlie Kolar and returned it 45 yards to the Chargers 19. That set up a 30-yard Brandon McManus field goal. Herbert has now thrown an interception in all seven games this season.
After that, the Chargers controlled the half without finding the end zone. Cameron Dicker kicked field goals of 34, 46 and 41 yards. Offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel even called back-to-back flea-flickers that both worked on the drive to the second field goal. Meanwhile, the Rams gained just 24 yards on their first 15 plays and did not get a first down on any of their first five drives, the first time that has happened in Sean McVay’s career.
Three touchdown drives
Trailing 9-3 with 1:55 left in the half, the Rams finally got going. Stafford hit Tutu Atwell for 40 yards for their first first down, and Williams walked in untouched from the 1 with 19 seconds left to give the Rams a 10-9 halftime lead.
Corum took over the opening drive of the third quarter. He gained 55 yards on the eight-play, 74-yard march and finished it by going straight up the middle for a 23-yard touchdown. Later in the quarter, Trent McDuffie intercepted Herbert and returned it 26 yards to the Chargers 22, and two plays later Nacua turned a screen pass into an 18-yard touchdown to make it 24-9 with 3:41 left in the third.
The Chargers’ last real chance ended on downs at the Rams 24 midway through the fourth quarter, after Josaiah Stewart sacked Herbert. Late in the third quarter, Aaron Donald nearly had the highlight of the day: he chased a Herbert fumble with open field in front of him, but the ball skittered out of bounds before he could pick it up. “Oh man, I’m going to give him such a hard time about that,” McVay said.
The numbers
- Matthew Stafford: 17 of 25 for 157 yards, one touchdown and one interception; sacked once.
- Puka Nacua: 11 catches for 80 yards and a touchdown on 12 targets. Atwell had two catches for 52 yards.
- Rams run game: Corum ran 11 times for 73 yards and a touchdown, and Williams 16 times for 56 yards and a score.
- Rams defense: interceptions by Lake and McDuffie, sacks by Stewart and Wesley Bailey, and nine tackles from McDuffie.
- Justin Herbert: 24 of 32 for 257 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions; sacked twice.
- Chargers receivers: Ladd McConkey had four catches for 86 yards, including a 54-yarder, and Oronde Gadsden five for 52.
- Chargers run game: 64 yards on 25 carries. Cameron Dicker was 3 of 3 on field goals and scored all nine points.
The Chargers actually outgained the Rams 295-281 and held the ball for 32:24, but they went 0 for 1 in the red zone and turned the ball over twice. The Rams ran for 129 yards at 4.8 a carry and played without receiver Davante Adams.
What it means
“This is something that we’ve got to build upon, but it’s not something we can exhale from,” Nacua said. The Rams are back to .500 after a rough start to the season.
The Chargers’ season keeps getting worse. “I think the turnovers are what’s stopping us, and that’s something we have to clean up,” Herbert said. Jim Harbaugh insisted, “There’s no quit. There’s no surrender.” Safety Derwin James missed his fourth straight game with a hamstring injury and went on injured reserve on Saturday. The Rams lost cornerback Jaylen Watson to a shoulder injury early in the second half, and McDuffie hurt his back but was on the sideline in his helmet late in the game.
What comes next
The Chargers host the Houston Texans next Sunday. The Rams visit the Washington Commanders.
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