INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Bobby Wagner and Russell Wilson got back together on Sunday, nearing the end of their first season apart after a decade together. Wagner and his Los Angeles Rams were the only ones enjoying the holiday reunion.
Wagner first intercepted a pass from his old Seahawks teammate, setting up the Rams’ second touchdown drive in their 31-point first half. Wagner also sacked the Broncos quarterback just before halftime, ending a long-standing bet between these close friends.
“I told him if we ever played against each other I’d get him,” said Wagner with a grin. “It was cool to do that. It was cool to take it off for Christmas too. I appreciate the presents.”
Wagner’s revelry was just part of an all-out beating from the Super Bowl champions who have not yet given up on their losing season.
Baker Mayfield threw two touchdown passes to Tyler Higbee, Cam Akers rushed for 118 yards and a career-high three TDs, and the Rams defeated the Denver Broncos 51-14 for their second win since mid-October.
Mayfield went 24 of 28 for 230 yards in another standout performance for his second win in three starts with the Rams (5-10), who produced the best game of their dismal season over Christmas.
“That’s what you’re working towards,” said Rams coach Sean McVay. “To see it come to life on a night like this, you are really happy for them. They deserve that.”
Rookie Cobie Durant interrupted the festivities when he returned his second interception 85 yards for a touchdownBeating Brett Rypien with 4:08 left to top the Rams’ first 50-point performance under McVay since their famous 54-51 victory over Kansas City in 2018.
For at least another week, Los Angeles avoided becoming the first defending champion to lose 11 games. Even with the NFL’s 32nd bout on the way, Los Angeles is now the second team to score 50 points this season, having beaten Dallas earlier this month.
“It’s very special to play such a complete game,” said Mayfield. “Everything was there for us today.”
In his Los Angeles debut, Larrell Murchison made 2 1/2 of the six sacks of the Rams’ Wilson, passing for 214 yards with three interceptions for Denver (4-11). The beleaguered Wilson was not sharp in his return from a one-game absence with a concussion, throwing interceptions to end Denver’s first two drives.
“We haven’t really had an experience like that (where) we’ve been trying to catch up like that until now,” Wilson said. “It just snowballed. … The bottom line is that I let us down. It can’t happen and it’s disappointing.”
The Rams improbably gained 261 of their 388 yards before halftime, eventually scoring on their first eight drives against Denver’s above-average defense, already tying their entire game season high in points with their 31–6 halftime lead.
Denver trailed 41-6 before Wilson struck Greg Dulcich for the Broncos’ lone touchdown with 8:30 to go in the latest loss of frustration in a season full of them under rookie coach Nathaniel Hackett.
“I think they’re mad about all the loss,” Hackett said. “We all are. All of us. It’s unacceptable. We’re not about that. That’s not what we were going to do. Thinking we could win this game, but in the end we weren’t ready.”
Akers continued his season-ending rise by producing the Rams’ first 100-yard rushing game of the season, while Higbee led the passing offense with 94 yards on nine catches for an offense that missed the top three wideouts due to an injury.
Higbee became the Rams’ career franchise leader in scoring catches by a tight end with his TD catch in the first quarter for his 19th career score. Akers then scored two snaps after Wagner made a long return of his interception through the middle.
The Rams’ first quarter of 17 points marked their best opening period scoring since Week 6 of McVay’s first season in 2017. They then scored touchdowns on four straight drives for the first time in McVay’s tenure.
Los Angeles led 31-3 at halftime, and Ramsey grabbed Wilson’s long swipe to the end zone on Denver’s opening drive of the second half. The Rams’ pressure on Wilson was improbably led by Murchison, who signed with Los Angeles 13 days ago after Tennessee cut him.
POST GAME SCRAP
Any Christmas cheer evaporated during post-game handshakes when the angry Broncos edge rusher Randy Gregory threw a helmet slap at Rams offensive lineman Oday Aboushi, who responded with a hit of his own. Tempers finally cooled on a rough day for Gregory, who was handed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on LA’s third touchdown and later extended another Rams TD drive with a passer roughing penalty.
“I’ve talked to Randy, talked to all those guys, and we can’t show our frustration,” Hackett said. “We have to express our frustrations on the pitch in the right way.”
INJURIES
Murchison left in the fourth quarter with a neck injury. … Dulcich was ruled out late in the fourth quarter with a hamstring injury.
NEXT ONE
Broncos: Sunday at Chiefs.
Rams: “At” Chargers on Sunday.
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