The Los Angeles Rams only landed in London on Saturday, but that didn’t stop them dominating the sorry Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley 24 hours later.
Even without injured star receiver Puka Nucua, who was watching from the sidelines, the Rams won 35-7 on Sunday afternoon and return to the West Coast with a 5-2 record.
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Quarterback Matthew Stafford threw five touchdowns — an NFL London record — as the rain poured down at Wembley.
Offseason arrival Davante Adams was the beneficiary, finding the endzone three times as the Rams ran away with the victory – one week on from a win in Baltimore.
In total the Rams have been on the road for more than a week, having chosen to stay in Maryland after their Week 6 game, before their very late arrival in the UK.
Head coach Sean McVay, meanwhile, flew in the face of suggestions that his team were under-prepared coming across the Atlantic.
Instead of arriving in London last week, as the Jaguars did, the Rams only touched down Saturday morning, having treated the trip as a regular road game.
No team has ever done that before, and there had been suggestions they had left it too late.
The Rams practised last week in Baltimore instead, making use of Oriole Park at Camden Yards. It was to be the first time the ballpark — which opened in 1992 — has hosted a non-baseball sporting event or practice.
With their preparation done on the East Coast, McVay and his team flew across to England, and had just one walk-through before blowing away the Jags at Wembley.
Sean McVay hails ‘great’ prep for London trip
Speaking postgame, McVay praised his players for their ‘toughness, resolve’ and understanding of ‘a different time clock’ and noted that they didn’t make a bigger deal than needed of the travel.
“Let’s not waste our emotional and mental energy on things that we can’t control,” he told reporters.
“Here’s what we could control. Great week of preparation in Baltimore. The Orioles were unbelievable hosts. Really had a great week there.
“Then we got in late, we got in yesterday morning. I thought the guys did a great job.
“People slept on the plane. The trip was similar to what we do in terms of going west to east, which we’re very familiar with.
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“We got our body clocks adjusted in Baltimore. It’s a little bit different timetable, but I really was trying to make it a West Coast to East Coast trip.
“I think the way the guys played, you know, showed that it was the right decision. Hats off to those guys.
“But I think there’s a lot of people behind the scenes that deserve a ton of credit for making a nine day trip, where you pick up your whole operation and you go somewhere else, work.
“So really grateful, this will make for an enjoyable flight home. I’m proud of our team.”
Stafford and Adams, admitted it was tough to acclimatise to the time difference as they spoke to reporters post-game.
“We pieced it together and went out, played good Sunday,” Stafford said.
“I thought our guys did a great job of having enjoyment and execution in practice, and we went out there on time.
“Sometimes the travel is tough, but once we got out here, the fans are great, people are great and I’m glad we came away with the win.”
Rams dominate sorry Jags in Wembley rain
It was the Rams that dominated from the first whistle in London, with quarterback Stafford throwing two first-quarter touchdowns.
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He first connected with rookie wide receiver Konata Mumpfield, who got two feet down at the back of the end zone for his first NFL score.
Stafford then found veteran Adams on a two-yard touchdown pass to give Los Angeles a 14-0 lead.
The Rams extended their lead to 21-0 before the break, when Adams hauled in a goal-line pass in the corner of the end zone.
Such was LA’s control, that Stafford took a knee to kill the first-half clock.
Jacksonville struggled to get any sort of hold on the game in the third quarter, and Trevor Lawrence had a torrid time in the rain.
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For much of the game, one of the league’s highest-paid QBs didn’t appear on the same page as his receivers, and was taking too long to get his throws off from the pocket.
Lawrence finished 23/48 for 296 yards, one TD and a passer rating of 74.7.
Before Sunday, he had finished 11-straight games with a passer rating of 90.0 or higher.
Stafford, meanwhile, went 21/33 for 182 yards and five scores. He threw second-half touchdowns to Terrance Ferguson and Adams as the Rams torched the Jaguars.
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It wasn’t until fourth quarter that Jacksonville put some points on the board, when two-way rookie Travis Hunter scored his first career touchdown on a 34-yard pass.
His late effort gave Jags fans in London something to shout about, having watched their team fail to convert on 4/5 fourth down attempts prior to that score.
Jacksonville also struggled for discipline throughout, giving up 13 penalties for 119 yards.
They return to Florida with a 4-3 record, while the Rams will head back to LA having improved to 5-2 ahead of a well-earned bye week.
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