It was an incredibly bizarre week 7 in the National Football League that really forced us to never forget the term "any given Sunday". With a Sunday slate that had us observe the AFC super powers, the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens go down in astronomical fashion, it was only fitting that the Los Angeles Rams would make an interesting game out of what should have been a blowout against new Rams Quarterback Matthew Stafford's former team, the Detroit Lions.
It was an ugly start for the Rams defense who have remained a huge question mark through seven weeks of this season. The first score of the game would be Jared Goff lighting it up against his former team, in his old home of SoFi Stadium. Goff would launch a 63 yard strike to running back D'Andre Swift to put the Lions up by 7 early. Though I was surprised, I had to remind myself that offenses are bred to succeed on the first drive of the game, given that they're a scripted plays with very little chance of failure, just given the offense's ability to execute. The Lions executed for the first quarter of play against a what should be stout Rams defense, a unit that has truly failed to relocate it's #1 identity it had just a year ago.
The Rams come away with a 28-19 win after a Matt Gay field goal sealed the deal. Once again in the latter half of the 60 minutes, they showed us who they are and can be: a weaponized vehicle of an offense that can hit you in many different ways if you aren't playing your absolute best defensive ball. L.A. is 3-0 since the bad loss to the still undefeated Arizona Cardinals, the Rams only loss of the season. Los Angeles look to travel to Houston for another very winnable game on Halloween against the Texans, but like I mentioned at the top: it's still any given Sunday in the NFL. Hopes are high for the Rams to stay deep in the race to win the NFC West and complete this cupcake slate of games undefeated as they begin their midseason gauntlet that consists of the Tennessee Titans, division rival San Francisco 49ers and after a bye week, a trip to Lambeau Field to face the phenom Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.
Once the Rams had the lead at the half with a score of 17-16, the feeling of a distance growing between the two teams was eminent as they exited the locker room to start the third quarter. It felt all but evident what would happen next. Head Coach of the Rams, Sean McVay sustains his astounding record of 42-0 when leading at the half. A record that ties the one and only Bill Belichick's 42 consecutive wins when up at the half. If you see McVay fired up headed into the locker room, even if the Rams own a measly one point lead, now you know why.
The Rams offense would roll in the second half as it has all season. Coming out more fresh and locked in to take advantage of a flailing Detroit defense. The last points the Lions would get would be late in the third quarter with an 31 yard field goal by Austin Seibert to take the lead, 19-17. QB Matthew Stafford and receiver Cooper Kupp would go on to keep up their beautiful chemistry in this game. Stafford would go 28 for 41 and 3 touchdowns, two of which to Kupp and one to second year pass-catcher Van Jefferson. Coop was yet again unstoppable and unguardable as he would tally 10 catches for 156 yards along with his two scores.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Detroit Lions | 10 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 19 |
 | Los Angeles Rams | 3 | 14 | 0 | 11 | 28 |
It was nice to see Goffy and while it shouldn't have happened, him scoring first was exciting and poetic. I hope Detroit fans can find it in their hearts to have a bit of love for him! This game definitely felt more about Jared playing against the Rams in SoFi, than it did about Stafford playing against his old team even though he was there much longer.
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