Despite absence of star receiver Cooper Kupp, the Rams Matthew Stafford passed for more than 300 yards in a 30-13 win over the Seahawks in Seattle.
The Rams placed star receiver Cooper Kupp on injured reserve because of a hamstring injury, meaning he will miss at least the first four games to start the season.The Rams have shied from calling their roster construction a rebuild.
Or a remodel. They essentially demolished the 2022 roster, trading star cornerback Jalen Ramsey, releasing linebacker Bobby Wagner and Leonard Floyd and declining to re-sign other key players that helped them win Super Bowl LVI at the end of the 2021 season. Sunday’s performance was far different than last season’s opener, when the Buffalo Bills routed the Rams and sent them spiraling to a 5-12 record. That qualified as the worst season-after performance by a Super Bowl champion in history.The opener was just the first of a gauntlet that includes a game next Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers, a team coming off a rout of the Pittsburgh Steelers with a fanbase that will once again invade SoFi Stadium. The following Monday, the Rams travel to play the Cincinnati Bengals and quarterback Joe Burrow, the highest-paid player in NFL history.Stafford, playing for the first time since suffering a season-ending spinal injury last November against the New Orleans Saints, completed 24 of 38 passes for 334 yards. The 15th-year pro did not commit a turnover, and showed he still can scramble by rushing for 10 yards. The offensive line of left tackle Alaric Jackson, rookie left guard Steve Avila, center Coleman Shelton, right guard Joe Noteboom and right tackle Rob Havenstein did not give up a sack.Williams, a second-year pro, backed up starter Cam Akers and rushed for 52 yards in 15 carries, including touchdown runs of one and seven yards. Akers rushed for 29 yards and a touchdown in 20 carries.Atwell, a third-year pro on a mission to prove the Rams did not make a mistake by taking him in the second round of the 2021 draft, caught six passes for 119 yards. Nacua, a fifth-round draft pick from Brigham Young, started in place of Kupp and caught 10 passes for 119 yards. The Rams defense also stepped up, especially a secondary that was ranked before the season by Pro Football Focus as the worst in the NFL. Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith completed 16 of 26 passes for 112 yards and a touchdown. He was sacked twice. The Rams trailed, 13-7, at halftime but they came back and shut out the Seahawks the rest of the way. On the first possession of the second half, Stafford completed key passes to Nacua, shook off a drop by a wide-open Van Jefferson and found Atwell for a 44-yard gain that set up Williams’ seven-yard touchdown run for a 14-13 lead.Stafford’s passes to Atwell and Nacua helped set up a 30-yard strike to tight end Tyler Higbee. The drive stalled and the Rams settled for Brett Maher’s 38-yard field goal. Late in the third quarter, Stafford scrambled for nine yards and then sneaked for a first down to keep alive a drive that caught fire in the fourth quarter. Stafford completed passes of 15, 21 and 14 yards to Atwell to set up Cam Akers’ touchdown run on fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line.
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