The Los Angeles Rams got perhaps their biggest win of the season on Sunday when they defeated the Buffalo Bills in a 44-42 in an electric shootout that could have been one of the best games of the NFL season thus far. Everyone on the Rams offense was playing their part, but it was the Matthew Stafford-Puka Nacua connection that sparked L.A.’s victory.
Stafford went 23-for-30 on the day, passing for 320 yards and two touchdowns with a 132.6 passer rating. Nacua dazzled with 12 catches for 162 yards and one receiving touchdown, as well as one rushing touchdown. And that statline also included one of the plays of the season with a nasty sideline catch from Nacua.
Nacua talked after the game about specifically the sideline catch, saying that Stafford put the ball exactly where he needed it, something that the veteran quarterback has a tendency to do in all situations, according to Wyatt Miller of TheRams.com:
“When I see the track and it spins so right, I’m like, ‘I know exactly where this ball is going to be,'” Nacua said of the catch. “… (Stafford) came to the sideline and was like, ‘Man, I got guys all in my face.’ I’m like, ‘Well, you put in the right spot’… I don’t care if you’re throwing it blind or he’s got all eyes on me. He’s never missing.”
When taking a holistic view of the game, Nacua believed the Rams were at their best, and that they are a dangerous team when that is the case:
“This is what it feels like when the Rams are moving on and connecting on all cylinders,” Nacua said.
The Rams absolutely needed the victory, as well, to keep pace with the red-hot Seattle Seahawks as they go for the NFC West division title. The Rams are now 7-6 and one game back of the Seahawks, but with three division games remaining in their final four.
It is essentially must-win territory from here on out for L.A., and if they are connecting on all cylinders like Nacua says, they may have a real chance to steal a postseason berth.
Rams’ Braden Fiske named Defensive Rookie of the Month
Rams defensive tackle Braden Fiske was named the NFL Rookie of the Month for his performance in November, the league announced.
During four games in November, Fiske led the team with five sacks to go along with four tackles for loss, a forced fumble, five quarterback hits and 11 total tackles.
According to Pro Football Focus, Fiske had the fourth-most pressures among rookies during November with 13, which was also the most for an interior defensive lineman.
Overall in the 2024 season, Fiske has collected 35 tackles, six sacks, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, eight tackles for loss and six quarterback hits.
