Published January 7, 2024 by José María Miranda
Rams beat San Francisco and climb positions | Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports
Carson Wentz threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score to lead LLos Angeles Rams to a 21-20 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday in a game full of substitutes.
Wentz scored on a 12-yard run with 4:56 left and then He converted a 2-point conversion pass to Tutu Atwell to give the Rams (10-7) a 21-20 lead.
Los Angeles held on from there and secured the sixth seed in the NFC and a trip to Detroit in the wild card round next weekend.
EThe game had little meaning as the 49ers (12-5) had clinched first place in the NFC. and a first-round bye and the Rams clinched a playoff berth last week.
That led both teams to sit several starters, including both quarterbacks, with Brock Purdy having the day off for San Francisco and Matthew Stafford for Los Angeles.
That provided an opportunity for former top-three picks Wentz and Sam Darnold to had their first starts of the season.
Darnold was 16 of 26 for 189 yards with a touchdown run and a touchdown pass to Ronnie Bell.
The biggest drama might have been the search for the Rams’ catcher, Puka Nacua, rookie records in receptions and receiving yards. Nacua caught a 19-yard touchdown pass from Wentz in the first quarter to tie Bill Groman’s record of 1,473 yards which had been maintained since 1960.
Then He broke the mark with a 7-yard reception on the first series of the third quarter. Nacua stayed in the game one more play and caught a 6-yard pass for his 105 receptions, one more than the record set by Miami’s Jaylen Waddle in 2021.
Nacua day ended and He went out to the bench to receive a hug from his mother.
The Rams scored on a touchdown pass from Wentz to Tyler Johnson. Brett Maher missed the extra point as Los Angeles’ kicking woes continued.
Lhe Rams have missed a combined 16 extra points and field goals, the most in the league, this season. They waived Lucas Havrisik after he missed two extra points last week and brought back Maher, who missed six field goals and a PAT in seven games earlier this season. That didn’t seem to help the cause.
San Francisco had its own kicking problems, as rookie Jake Moody missed a 38-yard field goal in his first miss of any kind since Week 7. Moody then missed his first extra point after 60 consecutive makes late in the first half.
*With information from AP
It may interest you:
2024-01-08 00:45:16
#Carson #Wentz #commands #Rams #victory #49ers #climb #sixth #place #NFC #avoid #Cowboys
