Turf Show Times
The Los Angeles Rams enter their bye week on a happy note after defeating the Jacksonville Jaguars 35-7 early Sunday morning. Los Angeles bounced back from a dismal offensive showing last week and took care of the Jaguars in London. Now, the Rams sit at 5-2 and atop the NFC West (for now), with four of those wins coming against the AFC South.
Let’s dive into the good, the bad and the ugly from L.A.‘s jolly good show they put on at Wembley Stadium.
How does one follow up a mediocre showing in Baltimore? By throwing five touchdown passes, the most ever in an international game, of course!
If this game didn’t prove it to the haters, then I don’t know what will, as Matthew Stafford is firmly in the MVP conversation. Given how no one has really stood out this season, he could even possibly be the favorite.
No Puka, no problem, as Stafford didn’t miss a beat and was especially perfect on play action passes.
Stafford also matched a feat that only Tom Brady and fellow Rams legend Kurt Warner achieved during their lengthy NFL careers.
The veteran quarterback is playing some of the best football of his career, particularly in a Rams jersey. For whatever reason, people have loved to hate Stafford his entire career. The hate didn’t exactly stop following his Super Bowl win. Would an MVP trophy end that? It wouldn’t, yet it would make Stafford’s Hall of Fame case that much stronger.
Hall of Fame coach Bill Cowher made the case during the NFL on CBS postgame report, and for any MVP voters out there, they might want to pay attention and listen to the expert:
Sean McVay and the coaching staff raised eyebrows before the team made its way to London. Usually, teams leave for England anywhere from a week to a few days before playing in the city. The Rams didn’t arrive in London until Saturday morning—less than 24 hours before facing the Jaguars—a travel strategy that no one has tried until now.
So go figure that L.A. would play its first complete game of the season overseas.
Los Angeles jumped out to a 21-0 lead before halftime and didn’t look back. The defense was spectacular, sacking Trevor Lawrence seven times and holding the Jags to a combined 5-of-21 on third and fourth-down attempts.
Perhaps the Rams found a winning travel strategy that no staff in the NFL had the guts to try until now. Keep in mind that not every team could pull off what L.A. had, since the Rams have McVay and his wonderful mind, and the rest of the league doesn’t, plain and simple.
Now, the Rams need to stay in London until the day before their game against the Saints and see if they can play a complete game on American soil. Worth a shot!
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