Rams Beat Commanders 20–13
By Brian Hradsky
The Los Angeles Rams beat the Washington Commanders 20–13 on Sunday at Northwest Stadium behind Puka Nacua’s 150 receiving yards and Myles Garrett’s three sacks. The Rams improved to 5–4 with their third consecutive victory. Washington fell to 2–5–1 after failing to regain the lead in the fourth quarter.
Nacua caught 14 passes on 19 targets from Matthew Stafford, giving the Rams a dependable way to move the ball. His 7-yard touchdown catch early in the fourth quarter put Los Angeles ahead 20–13. The Rams won despite failing on their first nine third-down attempts, with their first conversion not arriving until late in the third quarter.
Garrett recorded a forced fumble, three quarterback hits and three tackles for loss in his return from knee surgery. His strip-sack of Jayden Daniels late in the first half helped set up a field goal. Los Angeles also lost guard Steve Avila to a hamstring injury and turned to Beaux Limmer at left guard.
Two individual performances give Los Angeles an answer
The Rams' 20–13 victory required major contributions from both sides of the ball. Puka Nacua supplied the volume and the decisive touchdown in the passing game. Myles Garrett repeatedly disrupted Washington's offense with three sacks. Those performances helped Los Angeles overcome an afternoon in which its own situational offense frequently made progress difficult.
That combination matters because neither contribution alone fully explains the result. Nacua's scoring catch gave the Rams a lead, but the defense still had to prevent Washington from answering. Garrett's pressure helped limit the Commanders, but Los Angeles still needed enough offense to move beyond a tie. The Rams won by connecting those strengths during the moments when the game remained available.
The final seven-point margin also reflects how competitive the outcome remained. Washington was within one touchdown rather than facing an impossible fourth-quarter deficit. The Commanders needed a cleaner offensive finish to make that position count. Los Angeles kept denying the response long enough for Nacua's touchdown to become the winning score.
The useful assessment therefore includes both the quality of the Rams' stars and the problems they helped overcome. A third consecutive victory is meaningful progress. It does not remove the value of reviewing an offense that struggled badly on third down. Los Angeles can take confidence from the result while still identifying a more reliable route to its next win.
Nacua gives Stafford a high-volume target
Nacua caught 14 passes on 19 targets for 150 yards. He completed approximately 73.7% of the opportunities directed his way, averaging about 10.7 yards per reception. Those figures show an afternoon built around repeated useful catches rather than one long play accounting for nearly the entire total. Matthew Stafford had a target who kept contributing as the game developed.
That kind of receiving volume can help an offense remain functional even when other parts of its operation are inconsistent. A dependable completion gives the next down a better chance to become manageable. Repeated successful connections also force a defense to keep accounting for the same receiver across different situations. Washington could not solve the passing game simply by waiting for Nacua's involvement to disappear.
The target total also shows how important the connection was to Los Angeles' plan. Nineteen attempts toward one receiver place a substantial part of the passing offense on that matchup. That can be productive when the receiver continues finding space and completing catches. It also requires the quarterback to recognize when the defense has changed enough to make another answer more useful.
Nacua rewarded the workload with both movement and the touchdown that changed the lead. His 150 yards gave the Rams a substantial source of field position. His 7-yard scoring catch converted that work into the points the game still required. Los Angeles did not leave his contribution entirely in the category of productive yardage without a decisive finish.
The touchdown drive follows a useful third-quarter connection
Stafford found Nacua for 19 yards near the end of the third quarter, moving the Rams to the Washington 17. That reception set up the opportunity Los Angeles completed early in the fourth. Five plays later, the pair connected on the 7-yard touchdown that made the score 20–13. The drive linked a meaningful gain with the shorter scoring finish needed near the goal line.
That relationship is especially important in a close game. An offense can create a useful completion and still waste the resulting position through a negative play or an incomplete series. The Rams avoided doing that on this possession. Nacua's early gain mattered because Los Angeles followed it with the touchdown that gave the team a lead to defend.
The timing also changed Washington's remaining assignment. With 12:51 left, the Commanders still had enough game time to respond. They did not need an extraordinary sequence of multiple scores to recover the difference. They did need a touchdown-producing possession against a Rams defense that had already created repeated passing disruption.
Los Angeles therefore had not completed the win when Nacua caught the touchdown. The offense had supplied the lead. The defense still needed to preserve its value through the rest of the quarter. That was the final partnership the Rams required after their passing game delivered the most important offensive finish.
Third-down failures remain the largest offensive concern
The Rams failed on their first nine third-down attempts. Their first conversion did not arrive until late in the third quarter. That is a substantial problem even within a winning performance. An offense repeatedly losing that down needs other kinds of gains, turnovers or favorable circumstances to keep producing enough scoring opportunities.
A failed third down can prevent a possession from reaching the part of the field where an offense's best scoring options become available. It also limits the number of plays the offense can use to establish rhythm. Los Angeles had to work around that repeated interruption. Nacua's receiving production became more valuable because the broader operation was not consistently extending drives through conventional conversion opportunities.
The final score does not establish that the problem was harmless. Washington remained within one touchdown in the fourth quarter partly because the Rams had not built a larger margin. A more productive opposing offense might make the same series of third-down failures much more costly. Los Angeles should review the down-and-distance situations and execution that created the pattern.
The correct improvement is not simply throwing farther or calling a different kind of third-down play. Earlier downs shape what the offense needs when third down arrives. Protection, route timing and quarterback decisions then determine whether a usable answer becomes a completion. The Rams need the entire sequence to function more reliably, so their best players do not have to keep repairing the same problem.
Garrett's return gives the defense a disruptive force
Garrett recorded three sacks, three quarterback hits and three tackles for loss in his return from knee surgery. He also forced a fumble. That level of disruption changes more than the result of the individual snaps. It affects how an offense can protect its quarterback and which passing opportunities have enough time to develop.
Jayden Daniels and Washington had to account for that pressure throughout the afternoon. A quarterback may recognize an available receiver and still be unable to use the opportunity if the pocket collapses first. The offense's task becomes connecting protection with a timely answer before the rush takes away the play. Garrett repeatedly made that task more difficult.
His strip-sack late in the first half also helped set up a Los Angeles field goal. That sequence connected the defense's contribution directly to the Rams' scoring. A takeaway can change the value of a short remaining possession by improving field position and reducing the ground the offense needs to cover. Los Angeles turned the opportunity into points rather than allowing the defensive play to stand alone.
The performance should be recognized without assuming every future game will contain three sacks from the same player. The more useful lesson is how much stronger a defense becomes when it can create disruption that changes possessions and scoring opportunities. Garrett supplied that quality Sunday. The rest of the Rams' performance needed to support it, and the team did enough to leave with the win.
Washington creates a third-quarter opening
Nick Cross intercepted a Stafford pass intended for Nacua and gave Washington possession at the Rams 27. That was a valuable chance to change the score without asking the offense to cover an entire field. The Commanders had created the kind of opportunity that can decide a close game. Their next task was turning the favorable position into the highest-value finish available.
The Rams held Washington to a 41-yard field goal, which tied the game 13–13 with 3:24 left in the third quarter. The kick mattered because it removed Los Angeles' existing advantage. It also left the Commanders without a touchdown from a possession that began in strong scoring position. The distinction became important once the Rams answered with Nacua's fourth-quarter score.
That sequence illustrates the difference between using a takeaway and maximizing it. Washington did get points and change the lead situation. It did not create the larger advantage that a touchdown could have supplied. Los Angeles' defense had limited the damage enough to leave its own offense one completed scoring drive away from moving back in front.
The Commanders need to make more of those opportunities in future close games. A defense that produces a short field has already done a difficult part of the work. The offense still has to finish the remaining assignment against a defense trying to prevent exactly that result. Washington's field goal was useful, but the Rams eventually produced the touchdown that carried greater value.
The final possession ends with another defensive finish
Washington reached the Los Angeles 31 with nine seconds remaining. That location left the Commanders with one last opportunity to attempt the touchdown they needed. The game remained alive because the final margin was still only seven points. The Rams had to complete another defensive responsibility rather than assume the earlier pressure had already settled the outcome.
Safety Jaylen McCollough forced a fumble, and outside linebacker Byron Young recovered it to end the threat. The play removed possession and the remaining chance to finish the comeback. Los Angeles did not have to depend on a final incomplete pass or a difficult conversion after a Washington touchdown. The defense ended the possession before either possibility could occur.
That closing takeaway also reinforced the pattern of the Rams' win. The offense supplied its most valuable finish through Nacua, while the defense created disruption and controlled the opponent's final response. Garrett was the most prominent pass-rushing figure, but the last play required other defenders to finish their own assignments. The result belonged to the broader defensive effort as well as its leading individual performance.
Washington's frustration is that the opportunity remained close enough to use. The Commanders had reached a position from which one successful scoring play could change the ending. Ball security and execution still had to survive the final defensive challenge. The fumble meant the potential comeback never became a completed touchdown drive.
Brian's Take: The Rams' best players make the narrow margin work
Los Angeles improved to 5–4 with its third straight victory, while Washington fell to 2–5–1. The Rams' strongest players supplied enough to overcome the uneven parts of the afternoon. Nacua's workload produced the winning touchdown, and Garrett's return added repeated pressure and a valuable takeaway. The final defensive recovery then made those contributions stand up.
The third-down problems remain too significant to ignore. A contender cannot assume it will repeatedly win while failing on its first nine opportunities on that down. The Rams need cleaner early-down progress and more reliable conversion execution. Improving those areas would make their most dangerous receiving threat and pass rusher part of a more secure team performance.
Washington should take a specific lesson from its third-quarter interception and final possession. Both situations gave the Commanders a real chance to change the result. The first produced a field goal, while the last ended with a fumble. The offense needs better finishes when the defense or the game situation creates those opportunities.
The Rams earned the 20–13 win because their decisive plays reached the scoreboard and protected it. Washington remained competitive but did not supply the touchdown response that the fourth quarter demanded. Los Angeles leaves with momentum and clear details to improve. The Commanders leave with another example of why being close enough to win still requires completing the final offensive task.
Sources
- Game report or statistics — source 1
- Game report or statistics — source 2
- Game report or statistics — source 3