Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua (12) catches a pass and runs for a touchdown against the Chargers during the second half of an NFL football game at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua (12) catches a pass and runs for a touchdown against the Chargers during the second half of an NFL football game at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
ORG XMIT: STAFF MUGS: SPORTS
(7/30/08, RIVERSIDE, Sports)
(The Press-Enterprise/Joey Anchondo)
ORG XMIT: STAFF MUGS: SPORTS (7/30/08, RIVERSIDE, Sports) (The Press-Enterprise/Joey Anchondo)
INGLEWOOD — For the better part of a half Sunday afternoon, this was a trap game for the Rams. Also, an invitation to disaster.
Let’s face it: A team already working from behind in its attempt to get to the postseason could ill afford a loss to the Chargers. But until the very end of a flaccid offensive first half, the Rams were facing that very possibility, trailing 9-3 and going without a first down until there was a little over a minute remaining in the half.
Maybe reality kicked in at that point. A successful two-minute drive gave them the lead, and they went on to dominate the second half in a 24-9 triumph that kept the Chargers winless at 0-7.
The Rams, now 4-4 and third in the NFC West behind San Francisco and Seattle, are in a scramble with at least six other teams for one of the NFC’s three wild card playoff spots, and going into Sunday there were four over-.500 contenders in front of them. A loss here could have complicated their postseason prospects, and would have at least provoked some deep thought over the direction in which they might be headed.
(As an aside: Who was that idiot who wrote about the possibility of a Rams-Chargers Super Bowl this February in SoFi Sta– … oh, right. Never mind.)
The reality Sunday? The Rams weren’t about to let the Chargers put a dagger in their postseason hopes. Kyren Williams jumped into the end zone right before halftime, three plays after Matthew Stafford’s second-and-1 pass to Tutu Atwell for 40 yards and the Rams’ initial first down of the afternoon. Williams’ score gave the Rams a 10-9 lead with 19 seconds left in the half, and Jalen Watson and Kamren Kinchens combined to stop Ladd McConkey at the 1-yard line on a 54-yard Hail Mary pass from Justin Herbert on the final play of the half.
A Blake Corum touchdown run and a Matthew Stafford-to-Puka Nacua reception later in the third quarter restored order and gave the Rams just their second victory in four tries on their home turf this season.
Combined, the Rams and Chargers have as many victories in Inglewood this season, two, as do the Arizona Cardinals, who came into SoFi and beat both the Chargers and Rams. Chew on that.
And consider that after Rams’ home games earlier this season against the New York Giants and Buffalo Bills – whose fans made themselves heard loudly, both tourists and transplants – this may have been the least vocal “visiting” crowd of the season, surprisingly so.
A quick check of the stands revealed a comparatively small percentage of the announced crowd of 73,621 wore powder blue. Maybe Chargers fans have decided to take a break from what has become a very discouraging season.
Was there pressure on the Rams to avoid being the first team to lose to the Chargers this season? NFL players, I suspect, generally don’t think that negatively, but more along the lines of the need to win each of those precious 17 games on the schedule.
Or if they do feel that potential for shame deep down, they’ll never say so.
“We knew going in, their record doesn’t show (the ability of) that team,” Corum said. “That’s a good team. They just haven’t been able to figure out how to finish. And so I mean, you saw the first half and really the whole game, that’s a good team, that defense is a solid defense. And so we didn’t go into the game like, we have to win because they haven’t won a game yet or we’re looking bad. No, it’s more so just focusing on ourselves.”
Still, when you go 28 minutes and 29 seconds before getting a first down … that’s reason for concern. The Rams had five straight three-and-outs to begin the game before Stafford’s pass to Atwell.
“It was just better execution,” Rams coach Sean McVay said. “We didn’t even have a chance to get any plays off. I mean, you’re first down, decent gain, second down, average, and then your third down and you’re off the grass, you know. So to even establish any sort of momentum or rhythm was non-existent for us. Credit (to) them. I thought there were some plays that we could have executed at a higher level, but there were so minimal opportunities.”
But, he added, “The defense deserves a ton of credit. They just kept getting stop after stop. They didn’t say anything except for just going out there and making their plays.”
So what is the mindset when you’re struggling just to get a first down?
“We’re trying to fix anything if there’s an issue that’s coming up,” Stafford said. “But each individual play is kind of its own, and for whatever reason, one play or another wasn’t being successful for us. We just want to try to find a way to get that first first down, stay on the field. That was the biggest thing.”
In the end, the Rams did what they needed to do. And before you ask, no, this isn’t the intra-city rivalry that we’re used to with SoCal’s other professional and (especially) college teams. For one thing, while the Rams and Chargers do meet in August exhibitions, they only play each other in the regular season every fourth year.
“Kevin Demoff cares” about the intra-city rivalry, McVay said, referring to the Rams’ president. “I don’t.
“We don’t see them much, just being in the other conference. What I do know is this – tremendous respect. I don’t care what their record is. Coach (Jim) Harbaugh does a great job, they’re really well coached in all three phases, and you wish them the best unless they’re playing us.
“… Hey, I’m just glad that we got the win.”
jalexander@scng.com