Akers runs wild, Newton benched as Rams rout Patriots
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Cam Akers rushed for 171 yards in a breakout performance, Kenny Young returned an interception 79 yards for a touchdown and the Los Angeles Rams clinched their fourth straight winning season with a 24-3 victory over the New England Patriots on Thursday night.
Jared Goff rushed for a touchdown and threw a TD pass to Cooper Kupp as the Rams (9-4) rolled to a onesided victory in a rematch of their 13-3 Super Bowl loss in 2019.
Cam Newton passed for 119 yards before getting replaced by Jarrett Stidham in the fourth quarter of another dismal offensive game for New England (6-7). Five days after the Patriots scored 45 points at SoFi Stadium against the Chargers, New England endangered its push for a 12th straight playoff berth with only its second loss in six games.
The Rams got a superb game from Akers, the second-round draft pick out of Florida State. Akers’ yards mostly came in big chunks during the biggest rushing game by an NFL rookie this season and just the ninth 150-yard game against a Bill Belichick-coached defense since 2000.
Aaron Donald had 1½ sacks to move into the overall NFL lead with 12½ this season while leading another strong game from Los Angeles’ defense, which held New England to 62 yards in the second half, recorded six sacks and scored a touchdown in its third consecutive game.
New England again struggled to move the ball through the air, and Newton threw his first pick-six of the season to Young, who also had a sack.
Newton was 9 of 16 when Belichick replaced him early in the fourth quarter with Stidham, who went 5 of 7 on three series.