Stafford tops 60,000 yards passing, defense stands strong as Rams hold off Texans 14-9

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INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Davante Adams took a nasty upper-body hit from Houston linebacker Henry To'oTo'o while making his first reception for the Los Angeles Rams. Later in the first quarter, To'oTo'o knocked Puka Nacua's helmet sideways with a penalized head hit, putting a bloody cut on Nacua's forehead and forcing him off for a concussion evaluation.

The Rams quite literally got hit in the face by the Texans' tough defense early Sunday. They fought back on both sides of the ball — and new linebacker Nate Landman landed the decisive punch in a season-opening victory.

Matthew Stafford passed for 245 yards and a touchdown while becoming the 10th quarterback in NFL history with 60,000 yards in the air, and Braden Fiske recovered a fumble forced by Landman's punch with 1:43 to play in the Rams' 14-9 win.

“I thought we did as many things as we (could possibly) do to not be able to put that game away, but what I do love about this group is they’re resilient,” said coach Sean McVay, who improved to 7-2 in openers. “They keep responding. I thought we really found a way.”

Nacua had 10 catches for 130 yards for the Rams, who went ahead on Davis Allen’s TD catch on the opening drive of the third quarter.

Neither team scored again in a choppy season opener, and Los Angeles was in position to seal a win before Azeez Al-Shaair forced a fumble by tight end Colby Parkinson on a catch at the Houston 12 with 4:09 to play.

C.J. Stroud drove the Texans inside the Los Angeles 20, but Landman capped his 10-tackle Rams debut by smacking the ball out of Dare Ogunbowale's arm. Stafford then hit Nacua for a 24-yard gain on third-and-long to seal it.

“I think we had 21 to 28 points out there if we don't have a couple of things where we hurt ourselves,” Stafford said. “Unbelievable effort by our defense. Timely. Landman making that punchout was so cool.”

Stroud passed for 188 yards with several sharp throws in his first pro game in his native Southern California despite playing behind a struggling offensive line. But the Texans couldn't score in the second half after Ka'imi Fairbairn made three field goals in the first half, and they were whistled for 11 penalties for 80 yards.

“That’s a really good defense, a really good team, but I definitely think we could have won," Stroud said. “We didn’t deserve to win that game because we didn’t do the right things. When you come out in the NFL lollygagging and going through the motions, that kind of happens. I think we’ll be all right, but I think it’s a good wakeup call for us.”

After Parkinson's fumble, Stroud engineered a final drive that benefitted from a roughing-the-passer call against Kobie Turner on a third-and-long incompletion — but Landman and Fiske combined to take it away.

“We were making progress, we were making plays, and the one thing that we talked about ... was protecting the football,” Houston coach DeMeco Ryans said. “They took the ball away two times, and took it at the most critical time there as we were driving down to score. Credit to the Rams. They showed up.”

Adams had four catches for 51 yards, while Kyren Williams rushed for 66 yards and a touchdown. Nacua produced another monster performance to begin his third NFL season despite his early punishment from To'oTo'o.

“Tried to come back in here and make sure I could count to 10 on my hands,” said Nacua, who returned after passing concussion tests and getting stitches in his forehead.

The Rams' offense started disjointedly in Stafford's first live snaps after missing nearly a month of training camp with a back injury, but Los Angeles finally scored on Williams' fourth-down TD run 53 seconds before halftime.

Stafford engineered another TD drive to start the second half, with Adams and Xavier Smith making big catches before Allen scored his second career TD on a superb throw.

The 37-year-old Stafford topped 60,000 career yards on a short pass to Nacua in the fourth quarter. He tied Matt Ryan as the second-fastest quarterback to reach the mark, doing it in 223 games. Only Drew Brees (215) was faster.

“It's cool, it's an amazing thing, and (I'm) sure as hell glad we did it in a win," Stafford said.

Texans RG Ed Ingram was a late scratch with an abdominal injury, and C Jake Andrews injured his ankle in the second half.

Rams: Nacua returned in the second quarter. ... LG Steve Avila went out in the first half, but returned in the second half when RG Kevin Dotson left with an ankle injury.

Texans: Host Buccaneers on Monday, Sept. 15.

Rams: At Titans next Sunday.

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