INGLEWOOD (News4usonline) – The best way to describe the win the Los Angeles Rams were able to register against the Denver Broncos was that it was complete. The Rams had it all clicking in their 51-14 win. Defense. Offense. Special teams.
Cam Akers rushed for a season-high 118 yards and three touchdowns. Quarterback Baker Mayfield made good on his first 11 passes on his way to completing 24 of 28 passes for 230 yards and two touchdowns.

Defensively, the Rams made life miserable for Russell Wilson and whoever else Denver had that played quarterback, coming up with six sacks and four interceptions, one of which was returned by Cobie Durant 85 yards for a pick-six touchdown.
It was that kind of afternoon for the Rams as they enjoyed a surprisingly easy day at the office on Christmas.
“Okay, just unbelievable by our players today,” Rams head coach Sean McVay said after the game. “I’m so happy for those guys on Christmas. Just the way that they’ve continued to battle, to see it really all come together today was outstanding.”
The Rams’ defense set the tone for the rest of the coming up with two interceptions on Denver’s first two possessions of the game. Durant snatched an errant Wilson pass on Denver’s first drive. Linebacker Bobby Wagner, a longtime teammate of Wilson’s while the two played for the Seattle Seahawks, came up with the second pick for the Rams.

“I think guys just making plays and that’s one of those things, football’s a crazy game,” remarked McVay. “But when we’ve been good, it’s been because we’ve been able to play complementary football, capitalize on those types of things, the short fields. It’s an excellent defense. They do a great job.”
The back-to-back interceptions by Durant and by Wagner pretty much sapped the life out of the Denver offense and gave the Rams a whole lot of home-field momentum to work with. Both picks resulted in touchdowns (a 9-yard pass from Mayfield to tight end Tyler Higbee and a 2-yard run by Akers) and kickstarted the Rams’ rout.
The Rams scored 17 points in the first quarter and then added another 14 in the second period. By the time the Rams reached their locker room at the game’s midway point, their blowout win was well on its way. Rams safety Nick Scott talked about how the defense executed its game plan against Denver.
“We had the right intentions as always,” Scott said. “Guys came out there and put it together, man. You just loved to see it. Everybody was playing hard, playing fast. Our young guys were stepping up and playing fast. Shout out to Cobie [Durant]. He had himself a game. That’s what we love to see. That’s what we expected from this defense.”
Durant got the best of two worlds on this Christmas Day win for the Rams. Besides picking off Wilson in the first quarter, Durant was also in the right place at the right time when he took a Brett Rypien pass 85 yards to the house for a score late in the game. Durant stepped in front of a Denver receiver before picking off Rypien’s throw and racing down the sidelines with his second interception of the game.
“Well, you know, I had to get my get back because he scored on me,” Durant said.
Wilson actually connected with tight end Greg Dulcich, who stepped in front of Durant to complete an 11-yard catch for Denver’s lone touchdown of the game. The intended target on Durant’s big interception was wide receiver Freddie Swain. It doesn’t at this point who was the intended target. Durant made his dash for the football and won out in his bid to jump the route.
Durant’s bold play was indicative of the way the Rams played defense all afternoon. Wagner, who finished the game with eight tackles and a sack besides his interception, was impressed with the team’s overall effort against the Broncos.

“I think that it’s dope to see the team still fighting,” Wagner said. “That’s the biggest thing. You know, me personally, it’s always good to make plays, you know to have impact plays that affect the game.”
Mayfield, who completed his first 11 passes of the game, also addressed the team’s competitiveness during a postgame press conference.
“For us to play a complete game like that speaks volumes,” Mayfield said. “Everybody keeps talking about the fact that we’re eliminated from the playoffs, but this is a locker room that wants to compete and wants to win any chance you have and any opportunity that we can get. It’s been fun. It is a special locker room and I’m happy to be a part of it.”

Dennis has covered and written about politics, crime, race, sports, and entertainment. Dennis currently covers the NFL, MLB, NBA, NCAA, and Olympic sports. Dennis is the editor of News4usonline.com and serves as the publisher of the Compton Bulletin newspaper. He earned a journalism degree from Howard University. Email Dennis at dfreeman@news4usonline.com
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