At SoFi Stadium on Thursday, Rams running back Kyren Williams held one celebrity in high regard above all others, and it’s not the person you may expect.
Although it wasn’t a brand-new Dodger, the two-way standout’s presence on the field prior to the game and in the team’s locker room following it astounded a number of ostensibly indifferent professional sportsmen, as they were taken aback by his height and presence.
Williams went straight to the stands with the ball in hand after he rushed 10 yards off left guard in the third quarter to score the touchdown that helped the Rams defeat New Orleans 30-22 and guarantee their berth in the NFC wild-card playoffs. In a season full of remarkable achievements, he tossed it to his mother Taryn, accomplishing yet another significant objective.
He had accomplished a major feat earlier in the game when he became the first Ram to carry for 1,000 yards since Todd Gurley in 2018. However, he found it nearly unbearable to toss the ball to his mother, the lightest person in his life.
That was the main point. After a season-high 104 yards of rushing, he exclaimed, “That was literally everything.” He was passing the ball to his mother. This was his sixth 100-yard rushing game of the year.
“I can’t explain it to you because she knows, and I say ‘we’ because we went through it together,” he said. “Since I was young, I’ve always been overlooked. Always been doubted. And I’m finally on the stage where I’ve waited my whole life to be on. It’s being able to share that moment with her, and for her to have her screen time.”
His run was flawless. His timing in being able to throw was also impeccable.
“That was my first time scoring on that side of the end zone,” he said, smiling. “I’ve been waiting, like, since the first game of the season to go throw a ball at her. She was front row, front center, and I had to do it, and it was fun.”
In this part of southern California, fame is valuable. Williams and rookie wide receiver Puka Nacua, who were selected in the fifth round of the draft from Notre Dame in 2022 and Brigham Young this year, respectively, were not well-known when they were brought in.
Although they started out as understudies, they have now blossomed into stars in the traditional Hollywood style, adding talent, vitality, and depth to a Rams squad that was predicted to make incremental development this season but has instead made huge strides forward.
After winning their home finale of the regular season, they are 8-7 and have a good chance of making the playoffs.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford targeted Nacua eleven times on Thursday; he grabbed nine catches for 164 yards and one touchdown. In addition, he gained 16 yards on two rushes. However, the most exciting thing for him may have been witnessing Ohtani sporting Nacua’s number—17—on a Rams jersey.
“I noticed him on camera when I looked up to the big screen, and it made me very happy,” Nacua remarked after watching the Lakers game on Monday from a fantastic location right behind the celebrity row.
“Seeing him rock the 17, I thought it was cool.”
We are all only inhabitants in Nacua’s universe. It is fair that he has being considered for offensive rookie of the year. With two games remaining in the season, Nacua has amassed 1,327 receiving yards, which puts him within striking distance of the rookie receiving record of 1,473 established in 1960 by Houston Oilers’ Bill Groman in 14 games.
“It’s cool. It’s not my main goal,” Nacua said of the record. “It’s been fun to be a part of every football game that we’ve been playing since we were able to come back from the bye.
“What coach has been preaching is these games that we’re playing in December, the playoffs have already begun for us. To be in that playoff mindset has been fun. It’s definitely something that I’m not used to, that we’re playing late into December, so I’m finding ways to adjust to that, but it’s been super fun.”
Despite missing four games earlier in the season due to an ankle ailment, Williams did not appear to be duplicating the two fumbles he made in the Rams’ 28-20 victory over the Washington Commanders on Sunday. He was effective, self-assured, and sure-handed in providing the Rams with a crucial run-pass balance.
“We’re different when he plays. You just look at it,” Rams coach Sean McVay said. “The energy, the production, just the overall work ethic, there’s so many guys on this team that you just say man, they are exactly what we’re looking for in Rams. I love him and I’m so proud of the way that he responded.
“And he did that last week in the game. We saw him respond in the game. You look at the amount of work that we’re giving him, for him to be able to get his body turned over on a Thursday night, to have the production that he had, to play with the toughness, it’s been outstanding, and there’s a lot of guys that are in that mold. Kyren, I’m so happy for him. It’s just awesome to see him get his flowers that he deserves.”
Ohtani and pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto are two megastars that the Dodgers have gained, while Nacua and Williams are two stars that were born as Rams this season. Their light had just started to shine.