Matthew Stafford, potent defense help Rams rally to beat Ravens

BALTIMORE — Rams won't be in London until the end of the week.

But on Sunday they got something of a preview and a head start.

On an overcast, gray and very London-like fall day at M&T Bank Stadium, they played a sloppy game more typical of NFL games overseas.

And the Rams came out with a big one. victory with a score of 17-3 over the struggling Baltimore Ravens and a huge sigh of relief after the star receiver Puka Nacua returned from what was initially a serious ankle injury.

Matthew Stafford threw a touchdown pass Kyren Williams ran after the other and the midfielder Nate Landmanedge rusher Jared Wehrs and safety Quentin Lake led the defense, which closed Ravens without Lamar Jackson when the Rams bounced back overtime loss to the San Francisco 49ers and improved their record to 4-2.

“It was weird,” receiver Davante Adams said. “But we can move on and turn the page to at least a W.”

Or, as Stafford put it: “We did just enough to win the game, that's the name of the game, so we'll take it.”

The Rams will stay in Baltimore this week before heading to London to play a Jacksonville Jaguars team that is down 4-2 after Sunday's loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

And the Rams are sure to get back to their low-scoring ways just as quickly as they tried to forget their loss to the 49ers.

Oh, there were some moments.

Stafford passed by Dan Marino ranked ninth on the NFL's all-time list with 61,391 career passing yards.

“It’s one of those moments where you sit back and think, ‘Man, I remember watching him do his thing,’ and you just think he’s incredible,” Stafford said. “Being able to be on the same page is really cool.”

Landman made a franchise-record 17 tackles.

Lake, a fourth-year punter, intercepted a pass for the first time in his NFL career.

“Felt like a big weight off my shoulders,” said Lake, who also recovered from the mistake.

Verse forced a fumble and stopped the Raven running back. Derrick Henry on fourth-and-goal at the one-yard line late in the first half.

“It kind of revitalized us,” Wehrs said of the defensive goal line position. “It kind of changed the whole dynamic of the game.”

That goal stand sparked an early second-half surge that included a short touchdown pass from Williams and a short touchdown pass from Stafford to Tyler Higbee.

“It's moments like these that you test the temperature of your defense,” Landman said, “and you see what you're made of… It sets the tone not only for this game, for the second half, but for the future and what we're capable of.”

A defensive stance and two quick scoring plays made it easy to forget about the late penalties, failed passes, special teams errors and Nacua's scare that kept them tied 3-3 at halftime.

“The way our defense played, until we made a catastrophic mistake, it looked like it would be enough to control the game.” Rams coach Sean McVay said.

Disaster came to mind when Nacua went down in the second quarter.

Nacua, who entered the game with an NFL-best 52 receptions and 588 receiving yards, was helped off the field by coaches with about 10 minutes left in the second quarter after attempting to catch a pass in the end zone.

Nacua jogged down the right sideline with a Ravens defender. Marlon Humphrey in tight coverage. Both players jumped for the ball and fell hard.

Nacua stood up carefully, clearly in pain, then took a few steps and sank back down to the ground.

“You worry about him to a certain extent, but at the end of the day, it's still Puka Nacua,” Adams said. “You know how tough he is, and there's a good chance he can get out of this.”

Nacua returned in the second half but missed the target. Nacua, who declined a request to speak to reporters after the game, finished the game with two catches for 28 yards.

“He probably could have really broken through,” McVay said, “but we were smarter than anything else.”

McVay said he doesn't know if Nacua will be able to play Sunday against the Jaguars. Also to be determined is the status of wide receiver Tutu Atwell, who sat out against the Ravens with a hamstring injury.

The Rams will practice at nearby Camden Yards, home of the Baltimore Orioles, in preparation for their game against the Jaguars.

Kicking will be a constant focus.

Unlike games against the Philadelphia Eagles and 49ers, it didn't cost them a game against a Ravens team that fell to 1-5.

But one of Joshua Carty field goal attempts bounced off the post.

“The defense was good,” McVay said. “We must strike.”

Another attempt went through the goalposts.

But those concerns were largely overshadowed by a defense that kept the Ravens out of the end zone despite Henry rushing for 122 yards.

“We can learn a lot and learn a lot,” McVay said. “And it’s much easier to do it after winning.”