Puka Nacua called the ejection “a learning experience” and said he let his emotions get the best of him. He described it as “a helpless feeling” watching the rest of the game in the locker room, glued to this very small TV. pic.twitter.com/HZzuVZuXVB

— Sarah Barshop (@sarahbarshop) November 4, 2024

zn wrote:

5. Jaylen McCollough is tied for 3rd in the league in INTs and he’s only played 81 snaps

😲

😵‍💫 *NO CAPTION NEEDED* 😮 pic.twitter.com/cN6UQLUrHR

— Rams Tapes 🥶 (@RamsTapes) November 4, 2024

pic.twitter.com/3d3hbYc5Do

— roberto clemente (@rclemente2121) November 5, 2024

#Rams

Rookie OLB Jared Verse.

Physical at the point. Plays with high effort. Disruptive. Really good tape. pic.twitter.com/Np5yujtGv0

— Matt Bowen (@MattBowen41) November 4, 2024

Lowest pressure rates allowed by rookie offensive linemen in Week 9 (min. 10 pass blocking snaps):

1. Beaux Limmer, LAR: 0% (44 pass snaps/0 pressures)
2. Jackson Powers-Johnson, LV: 0% (39/0)
3. Brandon Coleman, WSH: 0% (25/0)
4. Roger Rosengarten, BAL: 0% (22/0)
5. Taliese… pic.twitter.com/t5C4sJlZFy

— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) November 4, 2024

Before impossible final Matthew Stafford plays, Rams defense met its big moment

Jourdan Rodrigue

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5896577/2024/11/04/rams-beat-seahawks-overtime-defense/?source=emp_shared_article

SEATTLE — Before Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford unleashed his particular brand of dark chaos with two throws that bent the mortal rules of physics and led the Rams to a 26-20 walk-off overtime win against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday …

Before veteran receiver Demarcus Robinson grabbed, with one hand, the most improbable touchdown pass while using his other arm to keep defender Tariq Woolen at bay, Cooper Kupp had to seal an edge block against a linebacker. His block gave Stafford the room to flip his hips to get positioned for a deeper throw while on the move to his left. It also was that block that convinced Stafford to throw the kill shot against all-out pressure instead of to an underneath outlet — pre-snap, he said, he had no plans to cut that particular throw loose to Robinson off a high corner route. He thought he underthrew it, but that was because Robinson was selling that message to Woolen with his body language because the ultra-fast cornerback had made up most of the early distance Robinson gained against him and the savvy receiver didn’t want Woolen to think the ball was coming his way.

“I didn’t think I was throwing that ball pre-snap,” Stafford said. “Sometimes those things happen, you get out clean and D-Rob does a hell of a job winning at the point and then holding him off and catching it.”

Added Kupp, smirking, “get the ‘athlete’ out in space. Matthew, that is. And then give him a chance to make a play and do something sweet. So I just tried to stick on that edge a little more than normal and he did a great job to flip his hips and get the ball to D-Rob. … That ball is very rarely thrown to that route. … I just couldn’t believe it when I saw Matthew flip his hips how he did. I was like, ‘Oh, he’s about to let this thing go.’”

Before Stafford hit fourth-year receiver Tutu Atwell for another tough throw and catch to gain 16 yards with 6:29 left in the overtime period, he threaded a pass 24 yards toward the right sideline to another veteran, Tyler Johnson, through two sets of defenders’ arms. The throw and catch definitely, assuredly, convincingly were not possible. Except they were.

And before the Rams’ otherwise constipated and error-filled offense got the ball back in overtime — in a sudden-death situation, where any next points would win — a young defense that is starting to learn who it is made a stop.

It wasn’t just any stop; the Seahawks’ fourth-and-1 from the Los Angeles 16-yard line was a run play that featured an extra eligible offensive lineman, a jumbo run formation and perhaps the weight of an entire season at stake.

“I was like, ‘Hey, whoever comes out here we’re ready to ball,’” rookie defensive tackle Braden Fiske said. “I think we got kind of excited when they brought that offense out there and they tried to get into big personnel. I think we kind of all embraced it. It was like, ‘Well, let’s go. Run that ball. Bring it.’”

Seattle clearly watched the Rams’ last overtime game — a loss to Detroit in Week 1, in which the offense watched helplessly from the sideline as the Lions rammed the ball over and over again at a gassed defensive front and rolled over it for the win. The Seahawks opened their overtime game plan the same way, with physical runs and quick slants that looked all too familiar.

Not this time. This defense now stays late after practice, working on gap techniques and communication together against overturned trash bins set up to simulate opposing offensive line blocks. Fiske pulls weighted sleds alone on the side of the locker room after that to build his legs, hips and back. They aren’t just in better shape, they’re flat-out better.

“Yeah, it did have a similar feel (to the Week 1 loss),” Sean McVay said, “but this group has grown. The mental toughness, the physical toughness especially of this defensive group — you know, you talk about being able to ‘find your identity,’ that’s four straight weeks that they’ve scored now. … It’s pretty fun to be around this group. And they’ve got just a contagious energy and enthusiasm.”

Was that stop cathartic, particularly because of what happened to this young defense a few weeks ago?

“I’m not really sure what ‘cathartic’ means, but yes, based off the context yeah,” said Fiske, chuckling at himself postgame. “We just had to buckle up. That was the big thing. We remembered that. The Detroit game, they ran down the field on us. They scored kind of easily. Being put down in that situation … deep red zone. … It was time to buckle up. I’m just really proud of the guys who were out there.”

No, the Rams’ defense was not faultless. Interior defensive linemen jumping offside early in the game while trying to time the snap led to penalties and worse — teammates on the second and third levels who fell a step behind a free play for the offense after reacting to that movement. That led to a receiver getting behind veteran Darious Williams for Seattle’s first touchdown. Then, when second-year receiver Puka Nacua was ejected after an emotional, undisciplined moment right before halftime during which he swung at linebacker Tyrel Dodson (and after a contested ball intended for Nacua was intercepted), the defense broke down completely and Seattle scored again. The Seahawks led 13-3 at halftime. Seattle receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba finished with 180 yards and two touchdowns, while missed tackles (particularly in the middle of the field, as former leading tackler and team captain Ernest Jones IV watched from the other sideline) led to a couple of explosive gains.

Yet as the offense sputtered out of possessions over and over — minus one balanced, physical touchdown drive in the third quarter — and failed to close the game in two tries north and south of the two-minute warning (including after Seattle used its last timeout), the defense kept at it.

“There would be a lot of reasons for them to be upset with what the offense was doing today, and I never sensed that,” McVay said. “I think that is such a cool thing that is reflective of the caliber of the character of this team and the culture that these guys are building and establishing.”

Undrafted free agent rookie safety Jaylen McCollough’s first-quarter interception on a third-and-9 shouldn’t get lost in the utter chaos of Sunday’s game became (Seriously, what didn’t happen? They even had a punt blocked. Poor Ty Zentner got to the team Thursday as a fill-in for starter Ethan Evans as he recovers from an illness. Zentner shouldn’t have been on the field as often as he was, but the offense couldn’t sustain drives or even push the ball past midfield at times). McCollough leads the team with four interceptions. Rookie safety Kamren Kinchens, who saw more snaps with Kam Curl battling through a knee injury, got two of his own and one was a 103-yard touchdown return, the longest in franchise history.

“If you catch one, it’s not illegal to catch another one,” said Kinchens postgame. Legendary safety Ed Reed always told him that when Kinchens was at the University of Miami. The Rams have eight interceptions this season, tied for fifth in the NFL through the Sunday night slate of games.

Overall, the Rams’ defense finished with seven sacks — their most in a game since 2020 — and three takeaways with a touchdown. Rookies Jared Verse and Fiske competed with each other all night for sacks (Fiske had two, Verse had one), and five players along the defensive front are above the league average in pressure rate (Verse, who has doubled the league’s average, Fiske, Byron Young, Michael Hoecht and nose tackle Kobie Turner). The measure of their confidence in each other and overall showed up in small moments of style points as they kept making plays. Defensive line coach Giff Smith did his “conductor” celebration with Turner from his spot on the sideline after Turner notched a sack. Verse waved at the famous “12s” — the raucous home crowd at Lumen Field between snaps. Hoecht stood authoritatively over a penalty flag (Seattle had held on the play) and pointed exaggeratedly at it, then the direction the ball would be moving (backward).

This is a group that is learning its personality, bumps and all. It’s a group that doesn’t quit.

“The film doesn’t lie,” Fiske said. “We’re a young defense. We’re coming together. I think that shined tonight, the way everyone came together. Everyone communicating on the field — it was cool. It’s really cool to see that happen for us. We’ve been working really hard.”

Rams win wild West game in Seattle as Demarcus Robinson catches second TD in overtime

gary klein

https://sports.yahoo.com/kamren-kinchens-big-interceptions-not-011101004.html

Sluggishly streaking in Seattle.

That’s what the Rams did Sunday.

They won their third game in a row, and accomplished it with a less-than-inspiring but wholly effective 26-20 overtime victory over the Seahawks before 68,632 at Lumen Field.

Matthew Stafford’s touchdown pass to receiver Demarcus Robinson ended a game that was devoid of sustained beauty but improved the Rams’ record to 4-4.

Consider:

Officials called 20 penalties, eight against the Rams.

The Rams gave up two touchdown passes in the final minute of the first half, right tackle Rob

Havenstein left the game because of an injury, the Seahawks blocked a punt and the Rams converted only three of 13 third downs.

And they still won.

“What a unique, weird game that was,” coach Sean McVay said.

That could just as well describe the first half of the Rams’ season.

They started 1-4. They were nearly left for dead. And the Rams acknowledged receiving inquiries about trading star receiver Cooper Kupp.

But, as they did in 2023, the Rams emerged from an off week and have played worthy of a playoff-bound team.

They defeated the Las Vegas Raiders and Minnesota Vikings — and did it within a five-day span.

Then they defeated the struggling Seahawks.

A young Rams defense that was maligned early in the season — remember the Detroit Lions steamrollering the unit in overtime in the season opener? — has become a turnover machine.

On Sunday, safety Jaylen McCollough intercepted another pass, giving the undrafted rookie four this season. Rookie safety Kamren Kinchens intercepted two passes, returning the first one 103 yards for a touchdown.

“There was no thought process behind it,” Kinchens said. “As soon as I caught it, I didn’t see anybody in front of me, and it was time to run. I just blanked out and went to running.”

It marked the fourth game in a row the defense scored. The Rams also amassed a season-high seven sacks.

The unit gave the Rams a chance to win the game after the Seahawks took the first possession of overtime and, looking a lot like the Lions in the season opener, drove to Rams’ 16-yard line.

On fourth and one, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald opted to go for it rather than kick a field goal.

“We got kind of excited when they brought that offense out there and they tried to get the big personnel out there in a short yardage situation,” Rams lineman Braden Fiske said. “I think we kind of all embraced it.

“It was like, ‘Yeah, let’s go. You know, run that ball. Bring it.’”

But it was not over until Stafford, as he has done dozens of times in his career, engineered a drive to win what had been a confoundingly chaotic game.

“It was a crazy one,” Stafford said.

It was anything but crazy to think that Stafford would end it the way he did.

The Rams needed only a field goal, and rookie Joshua Karty already had kicked two.

But after Stafford fired passes to receivers Tyler Johnson and Tutu Atwell, and Kyren Williams ran for a short gain to the Seahawks’ 39-yard line, Stafford did something he said he had not achieved since his rookie season in 2009. He found a receiver on a high corner route in the end zone for a walk-off victory.

“I wasn’t planning on shooting that one out there pre-snap,” Stafford said.

Robinson, who caught a one-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter, made a spectacular one-handed catch to win the game.

“It was either us score … and end the game or not leave it up to the kicker,” said Robinson, who has a career-best five touchdowns this season. “We were just trying to get a touchdown so it could be over with.”

69RamFan

The Hags defense put us in check in the first quarter,

& most of the first half of the second quarter.

The Hags really disguised their defense pretty good,

they made it look like they were playing zone, not following the man in motion.

Basically, they played man who ever was on their side if not in zone,

Depending on what our offense was doing.

But they were actually mixing it up pretty well.

Then finally the RAMs figured it out at the end of the 2nd quarter where they score 3 pts.

Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigue
Really blunt but telling quote from McVay on the personality of this young defense as it keeps growing up: “There would be a lot of reasons for them to be upset with what the offense was doing today, and I NEVER sensed that. I think that is such a cool thing that is reflective of

the caliber of the character of this team and the culture that these guys are building and establishing.”

Rookie safety Kam Kinchens, who had two interceptions (one for a 103-yard touchdown return), said Ed Reed used to tell him “If you catch one, it’s not illegal to catch another one!”

Los Angeles Rams PR@TheLARamsPR
S Kamren Kinchens (@KKinchens5) 103-yard interception returned for a touchdown is the longest in franchise history. It is tied for the fourth-longest in NFL history and is the longest return in the NFL since Marcus Maye in Week 5 of 2018 vs. Denver (104). It is also the longest interception return by a rookie in the Super Bowl era (1967).

Sarah Barshop@sarahbarshop
The Rams defense had seven sacks — their most in a game since October 2020 vs. Washington (8), according to @ESPNStatsInfo
.
Los Angeles Rams PR@TheLARamsPR
WR Cooper Kupp (@CooperKupp) became the fifth player in NFL history to record at least 600 receptions in his first 100 career games, joining Keenan Allen (624 receptions), Antonio Brown (622), Julio Jones (619) and Anquan Boldin (614). He also passed Marvin Harrison (591) for the fifth-most receptions by a player through their first 100 games.

Sarah Barshop@sarahbarshop
According to Elias, Matthew Stafford’s game-winner today was his 13th career game-winning touchdown pass in the final two minutes of the 4th quarter or overtime. That broke a tie with Dan Marino for the second-most since the 1970 merger, trailing only Tom Brady’s 14.

Rams Bros.@RamsBrothers
The fact that the Rams just hit a walkoff home run via a Demarcus Robinson one-handed catch with Riq Woolen draped all over him is everything we needed to see today

J.B. Long@JB_Long
Matthew Stafford ties Eli Manning for 10th in NFL history with his 366th career touchdown pass, and it was a memorable one: 39 yards to Demarcus Robinson for the Rams overtime win in Seattle to get to 4-4.

Tom Pelissero@TomPelissero
Three weeks ago, the #Rams were 1-4 and deciding whether to be sellers at Tuesday’s trade deadline.

They’re now o a three-game winning streak after walking off the #Seahawks in Seattle.

Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigue
A fourth-and-1 of great consequence.
And the Rams defense gets the stop.

In Week 1, the Lions ran the ball down the Rams’ throat to win in overtime. On a day this defense bailed out its offense time and again, getting a stop like this has to mean so much for this still-growing group.

Jim Youngblood 53@53_jim70721
Rams defense has been dominating at times, but 149 by one receiver? But they scored a TD, picked off 3, 7 sacks …

I mean I know — Rams D fell apart end of 1st half and 2ns half … and that counts … but still this defense, to me has been super and super exciting to watch

Ramblin’ Fan@RamblinFan
Fun Fact: Rams WR Demarcus Robinson has scored 4 touchdowns in 10 days.

Including today’s game winner