INGLEWOOD – With receiver Cooper Kupp a late scratch, the Rams’ offense looked lifeless in the first half of Sunday’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders. Quarterback Matthew Stafford didn’t have time to throw further than 5 yards downfield. The run game couldn’t convert third-and-2 or fourth-and-1.
The only thing keeping the Rams in the game was their defense. But that unit – or one player, at least – soon did more than that.
On third-and-8, tight end Brock Bowers was a late release from the line of scrimmage. Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew, pressured by Jared Verse, rolled left and tried to find Bowers near the sticks. But Cobie Durant stepped in front of the pass for his first interception since 2022.
The Rams turned that into a Kyren Williams touchdown run, but Durant was not done. On the next drive, he came unblocked on a nickel blitz and got his hand on the ball as Minshew wound up to pass. The ball hit the turf, and safety Cam Kurl picked it up and ran 33 yards for a touchdown.
It was the boost the Rams (2-4) needed to get a win out of their bye week, 20-15.
And perhaps it was the confidence boost that this overturned defense needed.
Let’s get this out of the way: The offense put on the field Sunday by the Raiders (2-5) is far from a juggernaut. Las Vegas traded away former All-Pro receiver Davante Williams this week. It has struggled to run the ball all year. And QB Aidan O’Connell left the game in the first quarter after banging his thumb into Curl on a blitz, leaving former starter Gardner Minshew to take over.
But the Rams defense hadn’t been much more impressive over the first five games this season, ranking 31st in the NFL in estimated points added per play. Sunday, however, looked like something to build on.
The Raiders were still able to pick up some chunks. Bowers in particular was a problem to handle, as tight ends frequently have been for the Rams this year. Alexander Mattison averaged 4 yards per carry.
But the Rams got stops when it mattered to limit any damage. Durant poked his hand in to knock away a pass to Bowers in the second quarter and force a Raiders field goal. Safety Quentin Lake used his whole body to break up a third-down pass in the third quarter and force another kick.
After a disguised coverage tricked Stafford into an interception returned deep into Rams territory, the defense again made a stop. Pressure from blitzing linebacker Christian Rozeboom forced Minshew to throw a third-down pass away as again the Raiders had to kick a field goal.
That was just one instance of the defense cleaning up the offense’s mistakes. It happened earlier, too, when Williams was stuffed on fourth-and-1 by cornerback Nate Hobbs shooting through the right-side B gap. On second down at midfield, Minshew looked like he had room to scramble and put the Raiders into Rams territory. But outside backer Michael Hoecht dove and got a hold of the QB’s feet from behind, and a play later the Rams forced a punt.
But no stand was bigger than in the fourth quarter.
After kicker Josh Karty hit a 35-yard attempt off the left upright, the Rams held an eight-point lead with 10:11 to go, and the Raiders got the ball back at their own 25.
And the Raiders began to carve out chunk of the field. Twelve-, 10- and 8-yard completions to Bowers, 9- and 14-yard runs by Zamir White, an 11-yard end around to Tre Tucker, stopped only by Lake shoving him out of bounds at the Rams 4.
Facing first-and-goal, the Rams found a way. Pressure forced Minshew to get rid of the ball on first down. Curl reached up to bat away a pass on second. And Lake tackled Bowers in the open field on third down. A false start on fourth, and the Raiders settled for a field goal, hoping their defense could get a stop against the Rams’ uninspiring offense.
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This proved to be true. Williams picked up a 14-yard to start the drive, but the Rams couldn’t move the chains again as the Raiders burned their timeouts. The Rams punted, and the Raiders got the ball back at their own 11 with 1:39 to play.
But corners Josh Wallace and Jaylen McCollough broke up passes on first and second downs, then the Rams pass rush sent Minshew scrambling. He threw downfield and corner Jaylen McCollough came down with his second interception of the game to ice the win.