INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Matthew Stafford threw for 245 yards and a touchdown while becoming the 10th quarterback in NFL history with 60,000 yards in the air, and Braden Fiske recovered a fumble forced by Nate Landman with 1:43 to play in the Los Angeles Rams' 14-9 victory over the Houston Texans on Sunday.
Puka Nacua had 10 catches for 130 yards for the Rams, who went ahead on Davis Allen’s TD catch on the opening drive of the third quarter. Neither team scored again in a choppy season opener.
Landman,
the Rams' new starting linebacker, punched the ball away from Dare Ogunbowale after C.J. Stroud drove the Texans inside the Los Angeles 20. Stafford then hit Nacua for a 24-yard gain on third-and-long to seal the Rams' seventh victory in nine openers under coach Sean McVay.
Stroud passed for 188 yards with several sharp throws in his first pro game in his native Southern California despite playing behind a struggling offensive line.
But the Texans couldn't score in the second half after Ka'imi Fairbairn made three field goals in the first half, and they were whistled for 11 penalties for 80 yards.
Davante Adams had four catches for 51 yards in the star receiver's debut with the Rams, while Kyren Williams rushed for 66 yards and a touchdown.
Los Angeles was in position to seal a win before Azeez Al-Shaair forced a fumble by tight end Colby Parkinson on a catch at the Houston 12 with 4:09 to play.
Stroud engineered a final drive that benefitted from a roughing-the-passer call against Kobie Turner on a third-and-long incompletion, but new Rams linebacker Landman alertly punched the ball out of Ogunbowale's hands inside the Los Angeles 20.
Houston drove for three field goals in the first half, with Stroud moving the ball despite his patchwork offensive line's obvious limitations.
The Rams' offense started disjointedly in Stafford's first live snaps after missing nearly a month of training camp with a back injury, but Los Angeles finally scored on Williams' fourth-down TD run 53 seconds before halftime.
Stafford engineered another TD drive to start the second half, with Adams and Xavier Smith making big catches before Allen scored his second career TD on a superb pass.
Stafford topped 60,000 career yards on a short pass to Nacua in the fourth quarter, becoming the 10th quarterback overall and the second-fastest to reach the mark.
Texans RG Ed Ingram was a late scratch with an abdominal injury, and C Jake Adams injured his ankle in the second half.
Rams: Nacua was evaluated for a concussion after he took a penalized hit from Henry To’oTo’o on the final snap of the first quarter. He returned in the second quarter. ... LG Steve Avila went out in the first half, but returned in the second half when RG Kevin Dotson left with an ankle injury.
Texans: Host Buccaneers on Monday, Sept. 15.
Rams: At Titans next Sunday.
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