The Los Angeles Rams (5-4) came to Northwest Stadium with a 53 man roster that was better top to bottom than the Washington Commanders (2-5-1).
They were expected to win a game Sunday afternoon against a team that was less than them, and that’s exactly what happened.
Rams wide receiver Puca Nacua caught 14 passes form quarterback Matthew Stafford to 150 yards and a touchdown as Los Angeles beat Washington 20-13.
“They ran the same play all day, feeding the same person the same ball all day,” defensive end K’Lavon Chaisson said after the game. “So, as a defense, you have to figure out how you’re going to stop that. You know what I’m saying? If you’re not going to let it happen anymore. So, regardless of the individual results, when you have a game plan that easy, and they’re not hiding what they’re doing and running duo all day, they will find a way to get the ball to [WR] Puka [Nacua]. So, that’s what you have to hone in on, and find the ways to stop that and get your defense off the field and limit the points.”
The loss puts the Commanders three games behind the division leading New York Giants and makes Thursday night’s game at Met Life Stadium if Washington wants any hope of staying in the race for first place in a very weak division. It left Dan Quinn struggling for answers to a season that is quickly slipping away.
“It’s a short week against our division leader on the road, and we gotta go,” Quinn said. “And we have to play all three phases together. Seen too much of it where it’s part of it, not the whole thing. And so that’s what we’re gonna continue to do. Just practice it and that has to get right. It just has to. Too far along to not have it all working together.”
Washington jumped out to an early 3-0 lead on a Drew Stevens 37 yard field goal. LA answered with a field goal of its own before Washington took a 10-3 lead after Jayden Daniels led the offense on a six play, 80 yard drive ending with a seven yard strike to receiver Van Jefferson on a slant route in the end zone.
“We came out fast, we came out pretty smooth, obviously,” running back Rachaad White Then we got stagnant coming out of halftime, so we keep talking about, ‘you just gotta play a complete game.’zThat’s the biggest thing it come down to is trying to play a complete game. You’re gonna get stagnant, but you get out of them humps. It comes with it.”
The Rams cut the lead to 10-6 at halftime before Blake Corum went in from one yard out to make the score 13-10 Los Angeles. Washington was able to tie the score in the third quarter. Safety Nick Cross was able to undercut a Nacua receiving route to intercept Stafford deep in Rams territory.
The offense wasn’t able to move the ball, and had to settle for another Stevens field goal as the game was deadlocked at 13 at the start of the fourth quarter. Given the fact that Daniels had to dodge both Aaron Donald and Myles Garret, the latter making his first start since week one because of an injury, the Commanders were lucky to have been in the game so late.
“I think they battled,” Daniels said of the offensive line. “It’s tough, and you’re asking a lot of people to hold up and block [DE] Aaron Donald and [OLB] Myles Garrett. But we have to be able to go out there and communicate, and pass things off, and just hold up as much as we can. You can’t really stop a lot of people, but you can slow them down.”
Despite the score, it seemed as if the Rams were just waiting the take control and put the game away, the finally did when Stafford capped a 12 play, 65 yard drive with a 7 yard scoring pass to Nacua.
Washington got a last minute shot to tie the game after getting the ball back with 52 seconds left int he game. Daniels was able to complete a 42 yard pass to Stefon Diggs to set up the offense on the Rams side of the field. Unlike the 2024 game against the Chicago Bears, there would be no miracle finish. The last play of the game was a completion underneath to tight end Chig Okonkwo who tired to lateral the ball to Rashard White on the Rams 11 yard line. Ultimately, LA recovered the ball to end the game.
Postgame Notes
- Matthew Stafford finished the game 26-of-43 for 219 yards.
- Linebacker Frankie Luvu led the Washington defense with 15 tackles and one sack.
- Sonny Styles finished with 13 tackles.
- Nacua caught 14 of Stafford’s 26 completions.
- Rams defensive end Myles Garrett made an impact in his first game back since a Week 1 injury, recording three sacks of Daniels.
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