A one-sided affair in London.
A record-breaking showing from Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford helped lead LA to a dominant 35-7 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium, London.
The Rams won the toss and elected to defer, and the Jaguars’ first drive was cut short with a sack coming from Jared Verse on the very first play of the game.
After a swift three-and-out, Stafford and his tight ends came out of the blocks firing – with three passes to Tyler Higbee and one to Colby Parkinson.
The drive was capped off with a magnificent touch pass to the back of the endzone for seventh round rookie wide receiver out of Pittsburgh Konata Mumpfield for his first career touchdown from five yards out.
Another quick three-and-out gifted the ball straight back to the Rams. In response LA mercilessly drove 79 yards in just 3:09 with a long pass to to Parkinson ending in a two-yard fade pass to Davante Adams – who stepped up admirably into the WR1 role in place of an injured Puka Nacua.
When it rains at Wembley it pours, and an electric punt return from Parker Washington for a touchdown – just as he did in 2024 – was taken off the board due to an illegal block in the back.
To make matters worse the ensuing drive led to a 50-yard field goal attempt, that was hooked wide left by Cam Little.
The Rams kept their foot on the throttle, as Adams hauled in his second touchdown of the game to move 21-0 up before the half.
Rinse, repeat
The second half was a case of LA being more conservative and running down the clock whilst putting the onus on the Jacksonville Jaguars and Trevor Lawrence to come out to pull themselves back into the game.
Lawrence tried to mount a comeback with a big pass to Dyami Brown for 39 yards and a 14 yard scramble out of the pocked, but three drives failed to garner any points as they failed to complete three straight fourth down attempts.
After a scoreless third quarter, Stafford took a deep shot to rookie tight end Terrence Ferguson to start the fourth quarter for a 31 yard touchdown – seemingly taking the game out of sight at 28-0.
With time running out Lawrence and co. managed to find rookie star Travis Hunter for a 34-yard touchdown to save the blow out – his first score in the NFL.
Stafford found Adams again late in the forth quarter to give him a hat-trick at Wembley, and send the Jaguars packing at 35-7. This set a record for most passing touchdowns in an international game at five.
The Rams now roll into their bye week 5-2 in a hotly contested NFC West division that will require them to maintain this level of performance.
Meanwhile the Jaguars will return to Florida 4-3 and will look to regroup in a division that is quickly shaping up to be a two-horse race between themselves and shock standouts the Indianapolis Colts.
Is Adams still a WR1?
At 32-years-old and on his third team in as many years, many people looked at Davante Adams and a diminishing asset in the NFL.
At Wembley the Rams demonstrated that while he maybe does not have the pace he did in his prime, he is a more than capable technician – especially when paired with a veteran quarterback like Stafford.
While his yards in this game were nothing remarkable he was the clear focal point of the offense while Nacua was out with an ankle injury. He led the team in targets, receptions and touchdowns in this game and looked to be too much to handle for this defense.
Adams has always been a target in the endzone and today showed that is very much still the case the an imposing three touchdown performance, his first since Week 16 of the 2020 season against Tennessee.
With Adams showing this level of form in a pass-friendly system, the Rams should remain highly competitive throughout Nacua’s injury.
Rams keep up the pressure
The NFC west is one of the most competitive divisions in football this year with the Rams, 49ers and Seahawks all boasting winning records.
While it is possible all of these teams could reach the playoffs with wildcard places, home field advantage cannot be underestimated in the playoffs.
To get there the Rams are going to have to keep finding ways to win at a high rate to break away from the pack.
The Rams will play both the 49ers and the Seahawks in their next three games, as well as the current NFC number one seeds the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the week following.
How that run of games go could very much shape the rest of their season.
Jaguars fail to bounce back
Having lost to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 6, a return to London provided the Jacksonville Jaguars with an opportunity to return to winning ways in familiar surroundings.
But if anything, Sunday’s performance at Wembley Stadium exposed more flaws in the Jaguars’ game, and the 4-1 record held just a fortnight ago seems a distant memory.
Trevor Lawrence and the rest of the offense took an age to get going, while the defense was unable to stop the Rams from carving them up.
The first two drives of the day summed up what was to come. A quick three-and-out for Jacksonville followed by a 13-play 60-yard touchdown drive for LA.
Liam Coen will have plenty to ponder going into their bye week, and they will need to step up on both sides of the ball if they are to keep up with the resurgent Indianapolis Colts.
