LONDON — Goodbye, London. Hey, bye week.
The Rams’ ended an prolonged street journey and welcomed a while off with a 35-7 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday at Wembley Stadium.
Matthew Stafford handed for 5 touchdowns — three to Davante Adams and one every to rookies Konata Mumpfield and Terrance Ferguson — and edge rushers Jared Verse and Byron Younger led a principally suffocating protection because the Rams improved their document to 5-2 heading into an off week.
“Man,” coach Sean McVay mentioned, “it should make for a way more gratifying flight residence.”
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Gary Klein talks about what went proper for the Rams of their 35-7 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday.
A giddy one, even, if the Rams don’t conk out en masse in the course of the eleven-plus hours within the air.
In a light-weight rain, and with out injured star receiver Puka Nacua, McVay and Stafford poured into 10 completely different receivers throughout a victory that not solely made the nine-day street journey price it, but in addition confirmed the remainder of the NFL that the Rams stay a reliable Tremendous Bowl contender.
Stafford, 37, is enjoying like he did in 2021, when the Rams gained the Tremendous Bowl. The protection is preserving opponents out of the top zone. And the troubled placekicking unit performed with out error.
For the primary time since 2021, the Rams will go into their off week with a successful document.
In 2023, the Rams have been 3-6 on the bye after which gained seven of eight video games to complete 10-7 and make the playoffs.
Final season, they have been 1-4 on the bye after which gained 9 of 12 video games to complete 10-7 and make the playoffs.
However Sunday’s victory tendencies nearer to 2017, when the Rams shut out the Cardinals 33-0 at Twickenham Stadium in London to enhance to 5-2 going into the bye. The Rams went on to win the NFC West and make the playoffs for the primary time since 2004.
The Rams’ defeats this season by the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers — “I can’t consider a time the place we’ve had two extra gut-wrenching losses,” McVay mentioned — are actually behind them.
“I really feel like we’re proper the place we have to be,” edge rusher Jared Verse mentioned. “We realized the teachings we needed to study and understand what it’s like once we put collectively 4 quarters.”
Mentioned Stafford: “Nonetheless so much to be cleaned up and lots of issues we will get higher at, however we’ve executed a pleasant job via the primary seven of discovering methods to win video games more often than not.”
The Rams have been coming off a 17-3 street victory over the Ravens. The Rams remained in Baltimore final week and practiced at Oriole Park at Camden Yards earlier than departing for London on Friday.
They arrived Saturday and performed Sunday.
They usually confirmed no indicators of jet lag.
Verse sacked Trevor Lawrence on the primary play, the Rams jumped to a 21-0 halftime lead after which cruised as McVay remained unbeaten in London video games.
Rams rookie Josaiah Stewart sacks Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence in the course of the second half Sunday.
(Ian Walton / Related Press)
Edge rusher Byron Younger, rookie exterior linebacker Josaiah Stewart, linebacker Nate Landman, lineman Larrell Murchison and security Quentin Lake additionally had sacks for the Rams. Lake, who additionally compelled a fumble, and lineman Kobie Turner batted down passes within the backfield.
In 2017, McVay’s first season, the Rams routed the Arizona Cardinals at Twickenham Stadium. Two years later, they defeated the Cincinnati Bengals at Wembley Stadium.
Although Sunday’s recreation was performed 1000’s of miles from Southern California, it had one thing of a Rams household really feel.
Jaguars coach Liam Coen was an assistant beneath McVay, and Jaguars first-year basic supervisor James Gladstone labored for 9 years beneath Rams basic supervisor Les Snead.
However the Rams didn’t let up on a day after they couldn’t lean on Nacua.
The week off ought to profit the third-year professional, who didn’t play due to an ankle harm sustained in opposition to the Ravens. The Rams thought it greatest to relaxation Nacua and let him heal in the course of the off week earlier than they play the New Orleans Saints on Nov. 2 at SoFi Stadium.
That opened the door for Adams and others.
By the top of the primary quarter, Stafford had accomplished passes to seven of eight completely different receivers focused, together with touchdowns to Mumpfield and two to Adams. Stafford related with Ferguson and Adams for touchdowns within the fourth quarter.
Stafford accomplished 21 of 33 passes for less than 182 yards — however he made them depend. The Seventeenth-year professional has handed for 17 touchdowns, with solely two interceptions.
Adams and Stafford had mentioned in Baltimore that they have been nonetheless working to seek out their timing collectively.
They discovered it Sunday: Adams caught 5 passes for 35 yards, and all of his brief landing receptions have been on the sorts of red-zone performs the Rams envisioned after they signed the three-time All-Professional. He was simply on his strategy to a 100-yard receiving effort if not for pass-interference penalties that netted the Rams enormous chunks of yardage.
Rams extensive receiver Davante Adams, left, celebrates with quarterback Matthew Stafford after scoring on a landing cross within the first half Sunday.
(Ian Walton / Related Press)
Adams, who performed eight seasons with Aaron Rodgers in Inexperienced Bay, channeled his youthful self.
“Much like what Aaron used to inform me: ‘We don’t want any Herculean efforts. Simply exit and be your self,’” Adams mentioned. “That’s what we did right this moment.”
The Rams left the stadium and headed instantly to the airport.
After taking journeys to Tennessee, Philadelphia, Baltimore and London, the Rams will depart the West Coast solely twice extra for a Nov. 30 recreation at Carolina and a Dec. 29 recreation at Atlanta.
They’d to be ok with that as they ready for his or her lengthy flight residence.
