The Los Angeles Rams returned home to SoFi Stadium and picked up another win in Week 13 against the Cleveland Browns, extending their streak to three games. The Rams are now second in the NFC West as they have an identical 6-6 record but own the tiebreaker against the Seattle Seahawks.
Los Angeles trailed first as they allowed Joe Flacco to find running back Jerome Ford on a wheel route for an easy touchdown on the Browns’ opening drive. On their first offensive possession, the Rams scored on a 44-yard field goal from Lucas Havrisik that was set up after Kyren Williams earned an unnecessary roughness penalty after he was tackled out of bounds.
After stopping a Cleveland drive, Los Angeles went right back to work in the passing game as Matthew Stafford found Tutu Atwell for his first grab of the day. Stafford then made the play of the day when he layered a pass to Puka Nacua over the middle of multiple defenders that the wide receiver took to the house for a 70-yard touchdown.
The touchdown was the longest play of the 2023 season for the Rams and a career-high for receiving yards on a catch for Nacua. Nacua also broke the franchise record for most receiving yards in a rookie year, going over the 1,000-yard mark for the season.
Cleveland managed to tie the game up at 10-10 after Dustin Hopkins made his first field goal of the afternoon, but Los Angeles answered with their open chip shot thanks to a couple of clutch grabs from Tyler Higbee and went into halftime leading 13-10.
70-YARDER FROM STAFFORD TO PUKA FOR SIX!
📺 @NFLonFOX | 🗳️ https://t.co/0NZzTbOecV pic.twitter.com/iZw7V373XM
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) December 3, 2023
Make that the longest catch AND rush of the day, courtesy of @AsapPuka.
📺 @NFLonFOX | 🗳️ https://t.co/0NZzTbOecV pic.twitter.com/8xtjClUuSd
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) December 3, 2023
First Rams TD for @DeMarcus!
📺 @NFLonFOX | 🗳️ https://t.co/0NZzTbOecV pic.twitter.com/3BouiBpl23
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) December 3, 2023
.@iamjohnthethird WILL TAKE THAT.
📺 @NFLonFOX | 🗳️ https://t.co/0NZzTbOecV pic.twitter.com/KBBpVC4yDM
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) December 4, 2023
COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP
📺 @NFLonFOX | 🗳️ https://t.co/0NZzTbOecV pic.twitter.com/N3afc9aD8G
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) December 4, 2023
As has been the case all year, the Browns didn’t go away to start the second half as they knotted things up at 13-13. However, the Rams kept them at bay after Stafford found Demarcus Robinson in the end zone for the wide receiver’s first touchdown of the season.
The fourth quarter was close at the start as Flacco hit Harrison Bryant for a walk-in touchdown. Despite that, Hopkins missed the extra point and left the score 20-19 in favor of Los Angeles.
The Rams went three-and-out on their next drive, but John Johnson III picked off Flacco the series later and gave the ball right back to his team. L.A. took advantage of the extra possession when they marched downfield and finished with Cooper Kupp’s touchdown grab.
From there, it was all Rams as they forced a turnover on downs and followed it up with a Kyren Williams touchdown. For good measure, Aaron Donald also forced a safety when he got to Flacco in the end zone, giving Los Angeles a 36-19 win.
Up next for the Rams…
The Rams hit the road for Week 14 where they’ll need to play their best in order to overcome the AFC North-leading Baltimore Ravens, who are coming off a bye.
