INGLEWOOD — All training camp, attention was paid to the impact that linebacker Nate Landman was having on the Rams’ defense. The energy he brought. His leadership. The way he filled gaps in the run game.
His trademark move, the punch out, made its public debut at SoFi Stadium in Week 1.
With the Houston Texans driving and the Rams clinging to a five-point lead under the two-minute warning, Landman punched the ball out from Houston running back Dare Ogunbowale’s hands. Defensive lineman Braden Fiske jumped on the ball, and the Rams escaped with a season-opening, 14-9 win over the Texans.
Going into the weekend, a good amount of attention was going to be paid to what happened the first time Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford and his ailing back took a hit. That concern was alleviated on the first snap, when Stafford was taken to the ground, then quickly pulled up by right tackle Rob Havenstein and went about his day.
Besides that, there was no real need to hold your breath watching Stafford on Sunday. But the physicality with which the Texans’ defense played led to several other Rams getting caught in the crossfire. Left guard Steve Avila got his ankle rolled up on in the first half, and tight end Colby Parkinson briefly left with a shoulder injury.
The biggest scare came when receiver Puka Nacua took a blow to the head that cut open his forehead. As blood streaked down his face, he was escorted to the locker room to be evaluated for a concussion.
The valiant Nacua returned for the Rams’ final drive of the first half, and not a moment too soon. After managing just three first downs in the first three possessions of the game, the Rams finally got going with passes to Nacua for 19 and 24 yards. Any concerns about lingering effects of his earlier hit were allayed when Nacua lowered his shoulder into the tacklers on both plays.
After a quick trip to the sideline to reapply his bandage, Nacua was back on the field to block for Kyren Williams’ fourth-down touchdown run and the first Rams points of the year.
After being shut out for the first 29 minutes of the game, the Rams scored back-to-back touchdowns to close out the first and open the second half. After Stafford found tight end Davis Allen for a 13-yard TD out of 12-personnel, a sack by Tyler Davis and interception by Cobie Durant got the Rams offense back on the field.
As that offense was finding its footing, the Rams’ defense kept the Texans in check with three first-half field goals.
Early, Houston and new coordinator Nick Caley – formerly the Rams’ TE coach – did a good job of dialing up quick-winning routes to get the ball out of quarterback C.J. Stroud’s hand and not allow the Rams’ pass rush to win.
The Rams began to win the war of attrition as the game wore on. The pass rush began to win, the Texans’ runs began to be bottled up and Houston stopped moving down the field.
Until, that is, a Colby Parkinson fumble in the red zone gave the Texans the ball back at their own 19 with 4:09 to play. The defense went from watching from the sidelines as Stafford surpassed 60,000 career passing yards and the offense put the finishing touches on the win to being back on the field fighting for their lives.
The defense nearly got off the field, too, with safety Kamren Kinchens breaking up a third-down pass. But defensive tackle Kobie Turner was called for a late hit on Stroud, and the Texans moved into Rams territory for the second time in the second half.
But then Landman, named a team captain after signing with the Rams this offseason, provided the heroics necessary to pull out the win.