Matthew Stafford threw for 295 yards and four touchdowns, including a 69-yard score to Cooper Kupp on the second play of the second half to help the Los Angeles Rams pull away and beat the New England Patriots 28-22 on Sunday.
New England trailed 14-10 after Rams kicker Joshua Karty’s 26-yard field-goal attempt at the end of the first half clanged off the right upright. Los Angeles received the kick to start the second half, and on second down Stafford found Kupp near midfield; Patriots cornerback Jonathan Jones dove for the pass and missed, leaving no one between Kupp and the end zone.
The Patriots drove into Los Angeles territory, with a first-and-goal from the Rams 5, but settled for a field goal. On the Rams’ next possession, Stafford found Colby Parkinson in the corner of the end zone to make it 28-13.
A missed extra point and a false start on fourth-and-1 doomed two Patriots' attempts to come back. New England got the ball back at its own 10 with 2:14 left and one timeout for one last try, but Kamren Kinchens intercepted Drake Maye to ice it.
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Puka Nacua caught seven passes for 123 yards and a touchdown and Kupp caught six passes for 106 yards and two scores for the Rams (5-5), who have won four of their last five games and improved to 3-1 since getting back Kupp and Nacua in Week 8.
Kyren Williams ran for 86 yards, and Michael Hoecht blocked an extra-point attempt, keeping the Patriots from making it a one-score game after they cut the deficit to 28-19 early in the fourth quarter.
Maye threw for 282 yards and two TDs — one of them to offensive lineman Vederian Lowe — for New England (3-8), which has yet to win back-to-back games this season. The Patriots rookie also gave up a strip-sack at his own 12; Stafford hit Nacua for a 12-yard touchdown on the next play to give the Rams a 14-7 lead, and they never trailed from there.
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The Patriots fell to 1-3 at home after going 1-7 at Gillette Stadium last season.
Injuries
Rams: Nacua needed attention after slamming into the ground on his second-quarter touchdown pass. He went to the blue medical tent briefly but remained on the sideline and took the field for the Rams’ next possession.
Patriots: CB Marcus Jones was slow to get up in the first quarter but returned to the game. … On a kickoff after a Patriots field goal, LB Curtis Jacobs didn’t get up. He eventually walked off but had a head injury and did not return.
Up next
Rams: Host the Eagles on Sunday.
Patriots: Visit Miami on Sunday.
