Imperial Valley Press

LA Rams snap 3-game skid, roll over Jacksonvil­le 37-7

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INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — The Jacksonvil­le Jaguars were the cure for just about everything that ailed the Los Angeles Rams throughout November.

Matthew Stafford and the Rams hope they can stay up at this level when their stretch run gets a whole lot tougher.

Cooper Kupp, Van Jefferson and Odell Beckham Jr. caught touchdown passes from Stafford, and the Rams snapped their three-game losing streak with a 37-7 victory over Jacksonvil­le on Sunday.

Stafford passed for 295 yards while Sony Michel rushed for 121 yards and a score for the Rams (84), who rebounded from a winless month with a solid all- around effort against a struggling opponent. Kupp had his 100th reception of a remarkable season among his eight catches for 129 yards.

“It’s nice to get a win after three subpar performanc­es,” Stafford said.

Stafford snapped back into his early-season form, playing turnover- free football after giving the ball away six times during the threegame skid that threatened to derail the Rams’ playoff plans. Los Angeles still has never lost four straight in coach Sean McVay’s half- decade in charge.

“We really need to find a way to start playing our best ball in December,” McVay said. “Our guys did a great job just staying steady and trusting the process. ... You don’t take any wins for granted in this league. This is good for our team, and now we’ve just got to start stacking blocks.”

Jalen Ramsey made three tackles against his former team and recovered a fumble forced by Aaron Donald on the opening drive for the Rams, who comfortabl­y won what appeared to be the least daunting game remaining on a tough schedule. Los Angeles still must make trips to Arizona, Baltimore and Minnesota along with two NFC West games at home.

“When you get turnovers, you tend to win games,” Donald said. “We need to build off this type of win we had today. ... We can’t be satisfied. Got to stay hungry.”

Rookie Trevor Lawrence passed for 145 yards for the Jaguars (210), who have lost four straight. With their 16th consecutiv­e loss to NFC teams since September 2018, the Jaguars have lost 10 games for the 10th time in the last 11 years.

“There are some times when you’re at a loss for words, especially in a game like this where we were moving the ball earlier and then can’t get anything going,” said Lawrence, who went 16 for 28. “The turnovers hurt, and when you’re not moving the ball consistent­ly it is pretty much impossible to come back.”

Jacksonvil­le turned the ball over twice and struggled to get anything going offensivel­y against LA’s star- studded defense, managing just 197 total yards. This defeat means Urban Meyer will lose at least twice as many games in his rookie NFL season as he ever did in any of his 17 seasons as a head coach at the college level.

“I don’t mean to be redundant and go into coachspeak, but there’s nothing else I can tell you,” Meyer said. “Is it frustratin­g for everybody involved? Absolutely. Are we better than that? Absolutely. We have better players and coaches than that. So now it’s time to go produce.”

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