Los Angeles riding a late-season surge
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Sean McVay turned the Los Angeles Rams’ already jubilant locker room into a party Thursday night with an announcement: The players are off until Tuesday, allowing them to spend the entire Christmas holiday with their families.
These surprising Rams earned their holiday with a surge of five wins in six games down the stretch, culminating in another impressive victory over a fellow NFC playoff contender.
Matthew Stafford passed for 328 yards and two touchdowns, rookie Puka Nacua had nine catches for a career-high 164 yards and a score, and the Rams surged forward in the race for a postseason berth with a 30-22 victory over the New Orleans Saints.
Kyren Williams rushed for 104 yards and a touchdown, and Demarcus Robinson added 82 yards receiving and another score for the Rams (8-7), who are above .500 for the first time since Week 1 after sitting at 3-6 in their bye week last month.
“We earned the opportunity to be at this point, in my opinion,” Stafford said. “We’ve had stakes since the bye, so I’m just proud of the way these guys have put their head down, gone to work and shown up.”
With its second win in five days during a self-described remodeling season, Los Angeles also jumped past Minnesota (7-7) and moved to sixth in the NFC standings in its bid to secure a wild-card playoff spot — and an increasingly possible opening-round showdown with the Detroit Lions, Stafford’s team for 12 seasons.
Derek Carr threw touchdown passes to Juwan Johnson and A.T. Perry in the fourth quarter, with a two-point conversion trimming the Rams’ lead to eight points with 3:53 to play. But Nacua recovered an onside kick and then got a key first down on a 9-yard jet sweep, and the Rams ran out the clock on their fourth straight home win.
Although this loss hurts its chances, New Orleans (7-8) is still in serious contention for a playoff spot and the NFC South title because it finishes the season with two games against division opponents, starting with Tampa Bay on New Year’s Eve.