With a 36–19 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, Dec. 3, Matthew Stafford threw three touchdown passes, Puka Nacua became the first Rams rookie wide receiver to reach 1,000 yards in a season, and Los Angeles extended its winning streak to three games.
For the first time since winning the Super Bowl following the 2021 season, the Rams have triumphed three games in a row. They lost three games in a row prior to their bye week, but now at 6-6, they are back in the playoff hunt.
In the Rams’ last three games, Stafford has eight touchdown passes and two interceptions after making a full recovery from a thumb injury that kept him out of action for one and a half games.
Demarcus Robinson, Cooper Kupp, and Nacua were all targets for scores when Stafford, who was 22 of 37 for 279 yards, made his passes. Nacua finished with four receptions for 105 yards, including a 70-yard touchdown in the first quarter, before leaving the game momentarily due to a rib injury.
In addition, he had two 34-yard rushes.
With 21 carries for 88 yards, Kyren Williams put the game out of reach late in the fourth quarter with a 1-yard touchdown.
The 38-year-old Flacco was added to the practice squad on November 20 and was made an active roster member this week following Dorian Thompson-Robinson’s concussion sustained during the team’s loss to Denver on Sunday.
With less than seven minutes left, the Browns were down 20–19 and in possession of the ball when Flacco attempted a disastrous bomb that was picked off by John Johnson III.
The two-season Browns player turned safety for the Rams returned it 42 yards to the Cleveland 24-yard line.
After five plays, Kupp made it 27–19 with his first touchdown since October 15 on a 3-yard pass.
Kickoff was received by Cleveland, who proceeded 75 yards in nine plays, with a 24-yard touchdown from Flacco to Jerome Ford, who was wide open.
During the drive, Flacco was 4 of 5 for 65 yards.
The following two drives resulted in scores for the Rams.
For the eighth time this season, Los Angeles scored on its first possession thanks to a 44-yard field goal from Lucas Havrisik.
The Rams went ahead after Cleveland went three and out.
With 3:59 left in the first quarter, Nacua outran Kahlef Hailassie and Sione Takitaki to the end zone as Stafford evaded pressure and delivered a perfect pass. It was Nacua’s fourth touchdown of the year.
The last 2:06 of the second quarter saw field goals exchanged between the teams. On the final play of the first half, Havrisik split the uprights from 28 yards to make it 13–10. Dustin Hopkins of Cleveland tied it with a good 40-yard field goal.
After a 15-play drive in the third quarter, Hopkins’ 24-yard field goal gave the Rams their first lead back until Demarcus Robinson’s first touchdown as a member of the team.
With 39 seconds left, Robinson dodged coverage and caught a 7-yard pass from Stafford.
With 8:56 left in the fourth quarter, Harrison Bryant used a dump-off pass from Flacco to score from 8 yards out to pull Cleveland within 20-19, but Hopkins—who spent a portion of two seasons kicking at SoFi Stadium with the Los Angeles Chargers—missed the extra point.
Injuries
Browns: Wide receiver Amari Cooper did not return after sustaining a concussion in the second quarter. In addition to Thompson-Robinson, the other injured players were wide receiver Marquise Goodwin (concussion) and cornerback Denzel Ward (shoulder).
Rams: Tight end Third-quarter evaluations for concussions were conducted on Tyler Higbee. DB Quentin Lake did not practice (hamstring).
Next Up
Browns: On Sunday, they will host the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Rams: On Sunday, they play the Baltimore Ravens.