No Jetlag for the Rams: Dominance in London Over the Jaguars

The Los Angeles Rams and the Jacksonville Jaguars gathered early in the morning to play their Week Seven matchup in Wembley Stadium in London, England. The Rams came to town yesterday, and were expected to be a bit jetlagged and perhaps a bit sloppy. In contrast, the Jaguars, who play regularly, make the trip over to England, and were expected to be more accustomed to the travel and play more comfortably from the get-go. The game turned out to be the complete opposite. The Jaguars came out of the game with a measly three-and-out, which was created by Jared Verse when he got to Trevor Lawrence for a sack on the first play of the game. This was followed by a methodical drive, mostly led by Matthew Stafford. Without Puka Nacua, there were questions over how the Rams' offense would function without him. On the first drive, Stafford spread the ball around to three of his tight ends for short-yardage plays and a final five-yard touchdown pass to Konata Mumpfield, his first as a rookie.

The Jaguars were unable to respond, and instead had an offensive holding penalty hinder them to another three-and-out. Stafford responded with another methodical drive, this time aided by two long plays to start the drive. These were a defensive pass interference call drawn by Tutu Atwell for 26 yards and a deep pass to Colby Parkinson for 23 yards. The Rams finished the drive in six plays with a two-yard touchdown to Davante Adams.

Now down 14-0 to start the second quarter, both teams traded punts. This led to the Jaguars having two chances to score, but they blundered away both opportunities. The first was on the punt return that Parker Washington returned 62 yards for a touchdown before it got called back for an illegal block above the waist. Jaguars’ head coach Liam Cohen briefly questioned the validity of the call during halftime, but regardless, the Jaguars were forced to earn the touchdown the hard way. They were unable to do so, but a 22-yard pass to Tim Patrick set up the Jaguars in field goal range. This was the Jaguars' second chance to score, and Cam Little was unable to capitalize, kicking the ball wide left, no good.

Stafford once again marched down the field, and Davante Adams caught a one-yard pass for a touchdown after five plays. As the Jaguars finally got another drive going their way, desperation to cut into the 21-0 deficit was apparent in the team’s demeanor. Trevor Lawrence and Brian Thomas Jr. were able to get deep into Rams territory, but that same desperation cost them. Jacksonville felt forced to go for it on fourth down and turned the ball over.

The third quarter started with the Jaguars already down a daunting 21 points. The third quarter became a defensive battle. The Rams effectively had four three-and-outs in the fourth quarter, and the Jaguars had two. This was led by key defensive players such as Quentin Lake, Nathan Landman, and Byron Young on the Rams, and Andrew Wingard, Ventrell Miller, and Travis Hunter for the Jaguars. The Jaguars' other two drives actually got some yardage, highlighted by a handful of Travis Hunter catches and runs for around 11 yards each and a pass to Dyami Brown deep on the left side for 39 yards. However, both drives petered out for turnovers on downs, and the third quarter ended without a score from either team.

In the fourth, Los Angeles was able to deliver a backbreaking blow, coming down the field to bring the score to 28-0. This was led by Kyren Williams on the ground and numerous short-yardage passes that culminated in the fourth quarter, with Rams tight end to catch a pass, and rookie Terrance Ferguson’s first touchdown. With the game effectively over barring a miracle, the Jaguars kept hope, and Lawrence marched the Jaguars down the field. He threw three deep passes for 21 yards and 25 yards to Hunter and Washington, respectively, and the third to Hunter again for a 34-yard touchdown.

Now trying to seal the game for good, Blake Corum and Kyren Williams gashed into the Jaguars' defense play after play. They were aided by a defensive pass interference, another penalty on the Jaguars, and their 13th of the game. Even if one or two of these were questionable, the Jaguars as a whole were sloppy all game, and this pass interference was the biggest example of the Jaguars being their own biggest enemy. Stafford finished the drive with his fifth passing touchdown and a third to Davante Adams for one yard. This effectively sealed the game with a score of 35-7, and just under five minutes to go. Jacksonville almost scored another touchdown in garbage time but got yet another turnover on downs, and the Rams ran out the clock to win the game. This game was defined by sloppy play from the Jaguars and absolute dominance from the Rams on both sides of the field.