The Rams took the unusual step today of having a field goal kicker, a kickoff kicker and a punter all active against the Chargers. Rams coach Sean McVay said after the game that proved to be a mixed bag.
Brandon McManus made all four of his kicks, three extra points and a 30-yard field goal. Joshua Karty, who was active just to kick kickoffs, was called for a kickoff short of the landing zone on two of his five kickoffs, which McVay was not happy about, although McVay said that when Karty actually got it into the landing zone, they were good kicks that were hard for the Chargers to return.
“The kickoff coverage doing a really nice job,” McVay said. “We can’t have the two penalties that put the ball on the 40-yard line, but I did think Josh hit some of those early ones really well. What led to us having two kickers up was really just that. That was a unit that we’ve felt like we’ve had successful outcomes with Josh kicking some of those squib or those dirty balls. He’ll keep getting better at it. Sometimes your roster might not allow you to be able to do that, but that was the thinking.”
McVay said having two kickers active is unusual but valuable if the kickoff kicker can prevent long returns.
“The thought process behind it was we had not been having any success covering kicks,” McVay said. “We’ve got to be better in that area, but you did see when we were able to cover it, because he hits a really good ball that’s hard to field. . . . They’re not going to be able to field it clean and we’re getting a start before they’re getting their return set up, that was the thinking behind it. But obviously we did not want to have two plays that put it on the 40, where you’re kicking it short of the landing zone.”
Special teams have frequently been a problem for the Rams during McVay’s tenure as head coach, but he’s eager to fix that problem, and that might mean having more players active on game days just to play special teams.
Rams Clips
The Rams’ offense looked ugly for much of the first half of Sunday’s cross-town matchup with the Chargers.
But the Rams took the lead with a successful two-minute drive and ended up scoring 21 unanswered points to win 24-9.
The Rams did not have a first down until Matthew Stafford connected with Tutu Atwell for a 40-yard gain down the left side with 1:26 remaining in the half. That led to Kyren Williams’ 1-yard touchdown with 19 seconds remaining in the second quarter.
Then the Rams doubled up with Blake Corum’s 23-yard touchdown run at the start of the second half, putting the team up 17-9.
Following Justin Herbert’s second interception of the day, Puka Nacua took a screen pass 18 yards for a touchdown to give the Rams a 15-point advantage.
Nacua ended the day with 11 receptions for 80 yards on 12 targets.
Matthew Stafford finished 17-of-25 for 157 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
While the Rams had just 10 yards rushing at the end of the first half, they ended up with 129 with a strong performance in the second half.
Corum led with 73 yards on 11 carries with a TD while Williams had 56 yards on 16 carries.
It was another ugly day for Herbert and the Chargers’ offense, which did not reach the end zone on the day. Herbert finished 24-of-32 for 257 yards with two picks. Quentin Lake had the first pick during the first quarter, leading to a Brandon McManus 30-yard field goal.
Trent McDuffie had the second pick.
Ladd McConkey led with four catches for 86 yards.
The Rams do have a pair of injury concerns at cornerback. First Jaylen Watson had to exit and did not return with a shoulder issue. Then McDuffie suffered a back injury and had to be sidelined.
The Rams have now won back-to-back games for the first time this season. At 4-4, the Rams will be on the road to face the Commanders in Week 9.
At 0-7, the reeling Chargers will be at home to face the Texans next weekend.
The Chargers’ offense remains poor with coordinator Mike McDaniel and quarterback Justin Herbert.
Herbert threw his league-leading 10th interception in the third quarter of Sunday’s game, and the Rams turned that into a touchdown to take a 24-9 lead with 3:41 left in the period.
Herbert was looking for tight end Charlie Kolar but found cornerback Trent McDuffie instead for the QB’s second interception of the game.
McDuffie returned it to the Chargers’ 22-yard line.
A play later, quarterback Matthew Stafford hit Puka Nacua with a screen pass on the left side, which the receiver took in for an 18-yard touchdown.
Nacua now leads with 10 catches for 82 yards on 11 targets.
Rams cornerback Jaylen Watson (shoulder) is questionable to return after going down in the third quarter.
The Rams have also scored 21 straight points, scoring touchdowns on three of the team’s last four possessions.
The Rams had just five rushing attempts in their first two quarters.
But they found something with Blake Corum to begin the second half, with Corum taking in a 23-yard touchdown to go up 17-9 over the Chargers with 10:42 left in the third quarter.
Corum had five rushing attempts on the Rams’ first possession of the second half, including four straight to begin the drive.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford also hit Puka Nacua for consecutive 12-yard gains to put the Rams at the Chargers’ 23-yard line.
That’s when Corum took the ball up the middle and bounced it to the left side for the score.
Corum now has a touchdown in each of the last four games.
He has eight carries for 63 yards with a TD so far on Sunday.
While the Rams’ offense was largely listless for the first 30 minutes of Sunday’s game against the Chargers, the team woke up late in the second quarter.
The Rams lead the contest between the two Los Angeles teams 10-9 at halftime.
The Rams did not have a first down until Matthew Stafford connected with Tutu Atwell for a 40-yard gain down the left side with 1:26 remaining in the half — putting the Rams at the Chargers’ 17-yard line. From there, Stafford hit Puka Nacua for a 13-yard gain to the 1-yard line.
Kyren Williams bounced his way into the end zone with a 1-yard run, with Brandon McManus connecting on the extra point to give the Rams a one-point advantage.
Stafford finished the first half 10-of-14 for 95 yards with an interception. Nacua leads with seven catches for 40 yards.
With so few plays, the Rams had just five rushing attempts in the half. Blake Corum had three for 8 yards while Williams had just two for 2 yards with the TD.
On the other side, Justin Herbert threw an interception on the Chargers’ third drive. But after that, he led the team to three consecutive field goals, with Cameron Dicker hitting from 34, 46, and 41 yards.
The Chargers nearly scored on their last drive of the half on a Hail Mary, but by the time Ladd McConkey could get possession of the football, he was outside the end zone and the second quarter was over.
Herbert was 14-of-20 for 181 yards with an interception in the first half. McConkey leads with four catches for 86 yards.
The Rams have just 90 yards of offense to the Chargers’ 219. But they will have a chance to double up, as the Rams will receive the second-half kickoff.
Weeks before the Eagles traded receiver A.J. Brown to the Patriots, the Rams were exploring making a deal for Brown — while also potentially trading receiver Davante Adams to a new team.
The Rams opted not to pursue a trade for Brown, given concerns about a lingering knee issue.
The situation didn’t prompt the Patriots to shy away, and it’s a knee issue that popped up this week for Brown, who is out for the Week 8 game at Miami.
While neither the knee that caused the concern nor the knee that became a problem this week have been specified, the reporting indicates that “Brown had a knee issue flare up this week.” The use of “flare up” suggests it was an existing situation that in some way deteriorated.
A Week 1 ankle injury put Brown on injured reserve. For the year, he has nine catches for 101 yards in three games, with no touchdowns.
As the 0-6 Chargers emerge from their bye with a “visit” to the Rams, quarterback Justin Herbert will be trying to reverse a horrible trend.
Herbert has gone eight straight games, including the postseason, without multiple total touchdowns. Via NBC Sports research, only one quarterback in Chargers history has gone at least nine straight starts without multiple touchdowns.
The record is held by former first-rounder Ryan Leaf, who went 12 straight starts without multiple touchdowns from 1998 through 2000.
Herbert also leads the league with 10 turnovers. The Chargers nevertheless are sticking with offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, at least for now.
An embarrassment against the team with which they share a stadium could change things, quickly.
Chargers defensive back Derwin James hasn’t played since Sept. 27. He won’t play again until at least Nov. 29.
The Chargers announced they placed James on injured reserve on Saturday.
James has missed four games with a hamstring injury, and coach Jim Harbaugh revealed earlier this week that the five-time Pro Bowler had a setback in his rehab.
He has 21 tackles and a pass defensed in three games.
In a corresponding move, the Chargers signed cornerback Isas Waxter to the active roster from the practice squad. They also elevated cornerback Kaiir Elam from the practice squad for Sunday’s game.
Waxter has two tackles this season, playing 17 defensive snaps and 19 on special teams in two games.
Elam has not played this season but has 43 appearances in his five seasons.
The Rams didn’t rule anyone out on their final injury report of the week, but they’re not sure they’ll have cornerback Trent McDuffie against the Chargers on Sunday.
McDuffie has been listed as questionable because of a groin injury. McDuffie was a limited participant in practice all three days this week.
Center Coleman Shelton (hip) returned for a limited practice on Friday after missing the first two days of the week. He’s also listed as questionable.
Tight end Colby Parkinson (rib) did not practice at all this week, but he has a chance to play after joining McDuffie, Shelton, and wide receiver Jordan Whittington (back) with a questionable tag.
Long snapper Joe Cardona (ankle) is listed as doubtful. The Rams have Jake McQuaide on the practice squad to fill in for him this weekend.
The Chargers will have two of their key receivers for Sunday’s game against the Rams.
First, Ladd McConkey (concussion) is off the injury report and set to play after going through three full practices this week.
McConkey was injured against the Chiefs in Week 6 but has recovered after Los Angeles’ Week 7 bye.
McConkey is second on the team with 13 receptions and 200 receiving yards so far in 2026.
Receiver Tre’ Harris (hamstring) is also off the injury report and set to play. While he was limited on Wednesday and Thursday, he was a full participant on Friday.
Safety Derwin James (hamstring), defensive back Deane Leonard (concussion), guard Kayode Awosika (fibula), and receiver Brenen Thompson (quad/hamstring) are all out.
Cornerback Donte Jackson (hamstring) and cornerback Rodney Shelley (hamstring) are both questionable.
