Surely, everyone saw this one coming. Everyone expected the Rams to absolutely steamroll the Broncos and their top-five defense on Christmas Day.
Buy Rams TicketsRight?
The Rams, who hadn’t scored more than 23 points since Week 6, put up 31 first-half points against the Broncos and cruised to a 51-14 win at SoFi Stadium on Sunday, improving their record to 5-10 despite remaining out of playoff contention.
It was a shocking result for a Rams team that has fielded one of the worst offenses in football all year, and despite the season being all but lost, Los Angeles showed a ton of heart and effort in this win over Denver.
Here’s a quick recap of how the game went and where the Rams go next.
Final score: Rams 51, Broncos 14
Game notes
- The Rams got off to a scorching hot start against the Broncos, putting up 17 points in the first quarter alone. That’s more than they’ve scored in four of their last eight games, and their most first-quarter points since Week 6 of the 2017 season against the Jaguars.
- Turnovers helped set up the Rams’ first two touchdowns of the game. Cobie Durant picked off Russell Wilson, which led to Tyler Higbee’s second touchdown of the season, while Bobby Wagner’s interception set up Cam Akers’ touchdown, his fourth in the last four games.
- Baker Mayfield started the game a perfect 11-for-11, looking incredibly sharp out of the gates. He’s still getting a hang of the Rams offense after joining the team earlier this month, and it’s easy to see his growing comfort in Los Angeles.
- Larrell Murchison, who the Rams added just two weeks ago, was a monster in the first half of his first game with Los Angeles. He had two sacks in the first 25 minutes alone, looking explosive in his No. 52 uniform, which was recently vacated by Terrell Lewis, who was cut.
- Cam Akers had by far his best game of the season. He rushed for 118 yards on 23 carries, also adding two catches for 29 yards receiving.
- This was also the offensive line’s best performance of 2022. There were gaping holes for Akers and Kyren Williams to run through, while Mayfield also had plenty of time in the pocket. It’s a big reason the Rams were able to move the ball so consistently throughout the game.
- The defense was flying around the field, making plays all afternoon against Wilson. They picked him off three times, sacked him six times and generated constant pressure on the quarterback despite missing Aaron Donald and A’Shawn Robinson. Larrell Murchison and Michael Hochet were a big part of that. The icing on the cake was Durant’s 85-yard pick-six in the fourth quarter, the Rams’ fourth interception of the day.
It was over when...
… Akers scored a 2-yard touchdown with 1:06 left in the first half to make it 31-3 Rams. The game was already getting out of hand before that touchdown, but that one really put it over the top by giving the Rams a 28-point lead, their biggest of the season.
The Broncos tried to claw back with a field goal before halftime to make it 31-6, but they were never going to have a chance to win this game after falling behind by four touchdowns.
CAM GOIN' (Christmas) HAM!
3️⃣ @thereal_cam3 | 📺 @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/S81xMkvaaS
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) December 25, 2022
3 stars of the game
No. 3 star: Baker Mayfield – 24-for-28, 230 yards, 2 TDs
No. 2 star: Tyler Higbee – 9 catches, 94 yards, 2 TDs
No. 1 star: Cam Akers – 23 carries, 118 yards, 2 TDs
Play of the game
Durant’s interception early in the game really set the tone for the Rams in this one. He picked off Wilson to set up the first touchdown of the afternoon, but that wasn’t even his best play of the day.
Late in the fourth quarter, he intercepted Brett Rypien on an out route and returned it 85 yards for a touchdown to give the Rams 51 points, nearly matching their total from the last three weeks combined.
PICK, PICK, HOORAY!
📺 @One4_era | @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/7Nf2GK3YSu
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) December 26, 2022
What's next?
The Rams will gear up for an all-LA matchup on New Year’s Day. Previously scheduled to be in the Sunday night slot at 8:20 p.m. ET, the NFL moved Rams-Chargers to 4:25 p.m. ET next week, so it won’t be a prime-time battle like it was originally supposed to be.
That’s because the Rams are out of playoff contention, sitting at 5-10 on the year with two games remaining.
The Chargers will be coming off a short week after playing the Colts on Monday night, so the Rams will have a slight rest advantage in Week 17.
