BALTIMORE — Matthew Stafford took a knee by his head. Sean McVay stood over him, hands on his knees. Rams receiver Puka Nacua’s eyes were sealed shut as trainers examined his left leg.
The NFL’s leading receiver got up and gingerly, with assistance from the medical staff, walked straight to the visitors’ locker room at M&T Bank Stadium. As the Rams offense sat on the sidelines following a Josh Karty field goal, McVay came over to them, imploring them to continue the fight, to keep the energy up.
And in the second half, the Rams found enough in their reserves to take a 17-3 win over the Ravens on Sunday.
The defense provided the first jolt the Rams (4-2) needed with a goal-line stop to end the first half, outside linebacker Jared Verse tackling Derrick Henry for a loss on fourth down. The energy that gave the Rams’ sideline was evident, with McVay pumping both his fists as the defense trotted triumphantly off the field.
With Nacua back on the sidelines and his helmet on, the Rams offense was finally able to finish a drive to open the third quarter. Stafford hit Davante Adams over the middle of the field for 21 yards, then found Kyren Williams falling backwards on a fade route for 30.
A play later, Williams cut untouched into the end zone for a three-yard touchdown.
On the ensuing drive, Ravens receiver Zay Flowers tried to picked up some extra yards cutting back across the field, only for Verse to punch the ball out. Safety Quentin Lake picked it up and returned it 20 yards to the Baltimore 21.
Nacua returned to the field that drive with the Rams on the goal line. His presence contorted the Ravens’ coverage to the point that tight end Tyler Higbee was wide open in the flat for a touchdown.
That five-minute stretch to start the second half was about all that went right for the Rams offense on Sunday. They failed to convert their other three trips to the red zone, including allowing a fourth-down sack in the fourth quarter. Stafford overthrew Adams on back-to-back plays in the end zone. The team only managed 241 yards of offense, their lowest total of the season.
This was compounded by more special teams mistakes — a Karty field goal off the sidelines, a forced fumble overturned by an ineligible man downfield on the punt unit.
But the Rams defense refused to let the Ravens (1-5) into this game. Linebacker Nate Landman cleaned up with 17 tackles. Lake had his first career interception, and defensive tackle Tyler Davis his first career fumble recovery. Byron Young had two sacks. Verse and Larrell Murchison added one apiece. And they held the Ravens to a 1-for-4 mark on fourth down, and 0-for-3 in the red zone.