LA Rams defense flips switch from inept to dominant against Giants

The LA Rams offense struggled early. The defense struggled. And the special teams are flashing some good plays but had both early plays wiped off the board due to penalties. Such is the way the story goes when the Rams play the early game on the East Coast on NFL Sunday.

The kickoff was scheduled for 10:00 am PT for the Rams. That’s morning time folks, so it can be excused a bit if the Rams needed some time to wake up, the coffee to kick in, and the adrenaline to start flowing through their veins.

The New York Giants had the ball eight times in the first half. The results were a field goal, three punts, and turnover on downs, two interceptions, and one fumble. That is not a bad result for a defense. But it was not the way it was expected to play out against the Giants offense that had lost their starting running back and their top three receivers.

The Giants had success on third downs early in the game.  Their first drive was extended after a third down and 14 and a third down and one. That allowed the Giants to drive within range to score a field goal. On their second possession, the Giants extended a drive on a third down and eight yards to go.

But as the game went on, the Rams defense stiffened. That sent energy to the offense. That in turn helped to set up the special teams.

After the second quarter began, the LA Rams offense began to churn out some yards and points. The Rams got a short touchdown run by Darrell Henderson. Matthew Stafford threw three touchdown passes: One to Cooper Kupp, one to Robert Woods, and one to running back Darrell Henderson.

The Rams have the big lead, one of the five keys to winning this one we pointed out. In fact, with the exception of controlling the clock, the Rams are following nearly everything that we hoped that they might do in this one.  The Rams have taken a 28-3 lead at halftime. But the team is getting better play on the road in this one.

This game may not excite many fans, but I love it. The defense became purse-snatchers against another offense that had excelled at ball control. The Seattle Seahawks in Week 5 had just one giveaway and gifted two turnovers to the Rams. The New York Giants had just five give-aways before this one, and have two more in this one.

Now, let’s see how the team handles playing from a big lead in the second half.