Puka Nacua is having another dominant performance.
After the Rams took a three-point lead over the Lions, Nacua had another big catch to put the Rams in position to up their advantage to 10 points with a Blake Corum 11-yard touchdown.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Los Angeles is ahead 34-24.
The Rams went up with a 26-yard touchdown by Colby Parkinson and got a three-and-out on Detroit’s ensuing possession. Kobie Turner sacked Jared Goff for a 12-yard loss on second-and-10. Detroit’s third-down play was a screen pass that wasn’t going to go the distance and fell incomplete.
Starting from the 50-yard line, L.A. came out hot, with Matthew Stafford finding Nacua over the middle for a 39-yard completion to put the offense at the 11. Corum took it in from there for the score.
Nacua now has eight receptions for 169 yards so far on Sunday, a week after finishing with 167 yards on seven catches.
Lions Clips
Matthew Stafford is dealing and the Rams have taken the lead over the Lions.
Stafford completed a 26-yard pass to tight end Colby Parkinson that was upheld on review for a go-ahead touchdown.
Los Angeles leads Detroit 27-24 late in the third quarter.
Stafford’s first touchdown of the day capped a nine-play, 88-yard drive that took 4:13 off the clock.
Stafford got chunk completions of 15 and 21 yards over the middle to Davante Adams, putting the Rams in Lions territory.
Then from first-and-10 on the Detroit 26, Stafford hit Parkinson deep down the right sideline for what was ruled a touchdown. FOX rules analyst Dean Blandino criticized the ruling, noting in his view that Parkinson should have been ruled down at the 1-yard line.
It’s been an offensive shootout so far in Los Angeles on Sunday, but the Lions got the best of the Rams in the first 30 minutes to take a 24-17 lead into halftime.
The two teams combined for 518 total yards. According to the FOX broadcast, that’s the most combined yards in a first half for two teams this year.
Lions quarterback Jared Goff and receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown have been on the same page throughout, with Goff completing nine passes to St. Brown for 127 yards with a pair of touchdowns.
Jameson Williams also has four catches on four targets for 92 yards with a 31-yard TD. Williams’ score came with just 30 seconds left in the half, capping a 9-play, 80-yard drive that took just 2:39 off the clock.
Goff finished the first half 14-of-20 for 221 yards with three TDs.
Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson got things going for his team with an interception off a screen, returning it 58 yards to end Los Angeles’ first drive.
St. Brown got his first touchdown from there, catching a 17-yard pass to give the Lions an early 7-0 lead.
Matthew Stafford was able to shake off his early pick to lead the Rams to three scoring drives. Kyren Williams had a 4-yard touchdown and 1-yard touchdown. Stafford also engineered a successful two-minute drive with 30 seconds left, putting L.A. in field-goal range with a 37-yard dart to Puka Nacua down the right side.
Stafford finished the first half 13-of-23 for 193 yards with an interception. Nacua leads with five catches for 99 yards.
The Rams will receive the second-half kickoff.
Back and forth the Lions and Rams go, with Amon-Ra St. Brown making a pair of plays to put Detroit back on top.
St. Brown’s 8-yard touchdown catch has given Detroit a 17-14 lead over L.A. with 6:12 left in the second quarter.
Coming off a Rams TD, St. Brown started the Lions’ drive with a 52-yard catch-and-run all the way down to Los Angeles’ 13-yard line.
After a pair of short runs, head coach Dan Campbell got the Rams’ defense with a screen pass to St. Brown on the right side. With blockers in front of him, the wideout was able to make it to the end zone for an 8-yard score to put the Lions up by three.
St. Brown already has six catches for 96 yards with two touchdowns.
Kyren Williams has gotten back in the end zone and the Rams have a second-quarter lead over the Lions.
Williams’ 1-yard score gave the Rams a 14-10 advantage with 8:31 left in the second period.
The run capped a six-play, 69-yard drive for Los Angeles.
The Rams had to run five plays from inside the 5-yard line. But with a defensive holding penalty on third-and-goal from the 1 and offsetting penalties on the next snap, the Rams finally put it in on first-and-goal from inside the 1.
Los Angeles had three straight chunk plays to get deep into Detroit territory. Williams started the possession with a 19-yard run, then Matthew Stafford followed that with a 36-yard deep connection with Puka Nacua. Colby Parkinson had an 11-yard catch after that to put the ball inside the 5-yard line.
As noted by the FOX broadcast, Lions right tackle Penei Sewell had a leg looked at on the sideline, but has remained in the game.
After their first possession was cut off by a giveaway, the Rams have come back to tie the Lions at 7-7.
Kyren Williams put the ball in the box on a 4-yard touchdown.
Los Angeles converted a pair of fourth downs to keep the chains moving. The first was fourth-and-4 from the Detroit 45, with quarterback Matthew Stafford hitting Puka Nacua for a 6-yard gain. Then Stafford hit Nacua again on fourth-and-8 for a 10-yard gain.
L.A. eventually scored despite Nacua dropping a pass for a significant gain and Stafford missing tight end Terrance Ferguson on the left side for a play that could have been a walk-in touchdown.
It’s early, but it looks like it could be a shootout at SoFi Stadium on Sunday.
The Lions’ stars have stepped up early today in Los Angeles.
Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson intercepted Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford and returned it 58 yards on the Rams’ first offensive possession, setting up the Lions in the red zone.
On the very next play, Lions quarterback Jared Goff hit wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown in the end zone to give the Lions a 7-0 lead.
The Lions’ first offensive drive was promising, but Lions head coach Dan Campbell surprisingly didn’t trust his offense on a fourth-and-4, instead sending out kicker Jake Bates, who missed a field goal. Campbell has earned a reputation as the NFL’s most gutsy coach on fourth downs, and his decision to kick when the analytics said to go for it was not a good omen for Detroit. But Hutchinson and St. Brown made big plays to change the game in a hurry.
The Rams will officially have receiver Davante Adams as they take on the Lions in Week 15.
As expected, Adams is active for the contest.
Adams has been dealing with a hamstring injury. While he did not practice on Wednesday and Thursday, he was limited on Friday with head coach Sean McVay noting that the veteran wideout was expected to play.
In his first year with L.A., Adams leads the league with 14 touchdown receptions. He’s caught 56 passes for 718 yards in 13 games.
On the other side, Detroit left tackle Taylor Decker is active after he did not practice all week.
Detroit’s inactives are safety Kerby Joseph, safety Thomas Harper, guard Kayode Awosika, receiver Dominic Lovett, cornerback Nick Whiteside, defensive lineman Mekhi Wingo, and defensive lineman Tyler Lacy.
Los Angeles’ inactives are quarterback Stetson Bennett, cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon, running back Jarquez Hunter, offensive lineman Beaux Limmer, and safety Tanner Ingle. Witherspoon, who has been a significant contributor to Los Angeles’ defense when available, is a healthy scratch.
The NFL levied 18 fines for violations of the on-field rules in Week 14. The biggest went to Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone.
Anzalone drew a $17,968 sanction for “striking/kicking/tripping/kneeing.” It happened in the second quarter, after Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson fumbled after a four-yard gain on third and 21.
The video shows Anzalone swooping in after the recovery with a flying leap into Cowboys offensive lineman Tyler Booker. Booker immediately reacted, throwing out his hand and looking for a penalty to be called on Anzalone.
That didn’t happen. But the NFL saw it, and reacted accordingly.
The Lions have ruled out a pair of players who were listed as questionable to face the Rams on Friday’s injury report.
Safety Thomas Harper will not play on Sunday. Harper is recovering from a concussion and his absence further thins out a safety group that will be without Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph this weekend. Avonte Maddox, Daniel Thomas, and Jalen Mills are on the active roster while Erick Hallett and Damontae Kazee could be elevated from the practice squad.
The Lions also announced that guard Christian Mahogany will not be activated from injured reserve. He has a fibula injury.
The Lions still have guard Kayode Awosika (foot), left tackle Taylor Decker (shoulder), wide receiver Kalif Raymond (ankle), running back Sione Vaki (thumb), and tight end Shane Zylstra (knee) listed as questionable for Sunday.
