FULL BOX SCORE
Jeremy Bergman’s takeaways:
- Rams adapt without Puka Nacua, roll in London. No Puka Nacua, no problem. Without Nacua, the NFL’s receptions leader and 36.6% of Los Angeles’ passing offense who was sidelined by an ankle sprain, the Rams under Sean McVay made the unorthodox decision to lean on the tight end. L.A. utilized 13 personnel (1 RB, 3 TEs) on 24 of 59 non-kneel plays, per Next Gen Stats; the Rams ran just six such plays from 2021 through 2024. As a result, Matthew Stafford spread the ball around more than he had all year with 10 players recording receptions; three tight ends caught passes on Stafford’s three first attempts, and the other one, Terrance Ferguson, reeled in his first career touchdown in the fourth quarter to salt the game away. L.A. moved the ball with ease in the first half, reaching inside the 10-yard line on three of its four drives and finishing those marches with TD tosses to Stafford targets obvious (Davante Adams, at home in the end zone with three short scores on the day) and surprising (Konata Mumpfield, reaching pay dirt on his second career catch). Stafford (21 of 33, 182 yards) finished with his fifth career five-TD day and his first for Los Angeles. The Rams were briefly slowed in the second half but still rumbled into their bye on a high, dominating an AFC opponent for the second straight week (by a combined score of 52-10) and securing at least a tie for first in the NFC West through seven weeks.
- Lawrence, Jags offense limp into bye. Jacksonville spent an entire week in London, re-acclimating to the familiar United Kingdom atmosphere ahead of Sunday’s game. So how on Earth did the Jags, London’s “home team,” look so lost at Wembley? Trevor Lawrence‘s attack was awful from the jump, with the quarterback missing easy passes, receivers dropping the ones that found them and the run game left in Duval. Jacksonville’s offensive line, which welcomed back center Robert Hainsey, let the Rams’ front run wild. Seven players had at least three QB pressures — Braden Fiske had eight! — and six had at least one sack of Lawrence; that’s two straight games that the Jags have given up seven sacks. Travis Hunter was a non-factor in the first half — as was Brian Thomas Jr. for the entirety of the game. Hunter broke out in the final two frames, punctuating his international debut with his first career TD, albeit down four scores in the fourth quarter. Too little, too late for the 2025 No. 2 pick. Hunter’s encouraging finish was the lone highlight for a Duval attack stuck in a soggy pitch. After their galvanizing win over Kansas City in Week 5, the Jaguars enter their bye losers of two straight and completely lost on offense. Life comes at you fast in the NFL, stateside or worldwide. Can the Jags rejigger their attack during the break, or will they let a competitive AFC South slip away?
- Master pummels protégé. Liam Coen was the latest Sean McVay disciple to parlay his time as an assistant to the Rams wunderkind into a head coaching job when the Jags hired him this offseason. In their first head-to-head meeting, the Jacksonville skipper was thoroughly outclassed. Trevor Lawrence, Coen’s project, was off all afternoon. After promising to get dual-threat rookie Travis Hunter more involved, Coen’s offense barely went to him in the first half; Hunter didn’t play a single defensive snap in the first half (12 on the day) and only awoke on offense when the Jags were already down three scores. The Jags reached Rams territory on six straight drives on either side of halftime and scored zero points; a missed field goal was followed by three straight turnovers on downs. It didn’t help that Jacksonville was also undisciplined, incurring 13 penalties for a season-high 119 yards, including one that wiped out a potentially game-changing punt-return TD. With the win over Coen’s Jags, McVay moved to 5-7 against his former assistants as head coaches (5-2 if you don’t count his awful record against Matt LaFleur).
Next Gen Stats Insight for Rams-Jaguars (via NFL Pro): Travis Hunter caught eight of his 13 targets for 101 yards and a touchdown, all career highs, against the Rams. From the slot, Hunter caught seven of eight targets for 90 yards, including his 34-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter. Hunter was more efficient against zone coverage, catching six of 10 targets for 51 yards, but more explosive against man coverage, catching two of four targets for 50 yards and a touchdown. Playing 12 snaps on defense, Hunter had one pass defensed while matched up against Davante Adams.
NFL Research: Matthew Stafford had five passing touchdowns in London, the most in an international game all time. Sunday’s win was also Stafford’s second career game with five passing TDs and zero interceptions (Week 12, 2015 versus Eagles with Lions) and his first career such game on the road. Meanwhile, Davante Adams became the first WR with at least three receiving TDs in an international game.
