Final score, recap and analysis of Week 16’s win

In a game where the passing game was as cold as the field conditions at MetLife Stadium, the Los Angeles Rams still found a way to win and beat the New York Jets. Thanks to a defense that bent but didn’t break and a rushing attack that carried the offense, the Rams defeated New York 19-9.

Similar to last week’s 12-6 win over the San Francisco 49ers, the Rams didn’t play their best, but they got the job done when it was needed most. The defense forced a key takedown in the fourth quarter and Kyren Williams kept the offense on track with 122 yards rushing.

Although the Jets’ record is now just 4-11, their offense is full of playmakers, which was very evident on the field Sunday as the Rams struggled at times to contain New York’s pass catchers.

That’s how it went Sunday afternoon in frigid East Rutherford.

Final score: Rams 19, Jets 9

Game notes

  • In his season debut, Tyler Higbee got a tight start, although he was not targeted on the opening drive (Colby Parkinson was).
  • The Rams’ first possession was promising. They ran 11 plays but only gained 42 yards and had to punt from the Jets’ 37-yard line. Kyren Williams had 30 yards on six carries on that drive.
  • After pinning the Jets at their own 1-yard line, the Rams surrendered a 14-play, 99-yard touchdown drive to New York that was capped off by an 11-yard score from Aaron Rodgers to Davante Adams.
  • Matthew Stafford threw a bad interception on the Rams’ second drive, badly overthrowing Demarcus Robinson. Either it was a miscommunication or an inaccurate ball, which could have been due to the wind.
  • On the ensuing drive, the Rams stuffed the Jets on fourth-and-1 and took over at the New York 33-yard line. Three plays later, Kyren Williams was in the end zone with a touchdown.
  • The Rams gave up a 15-play field goal to the Jets just before halftime, giving New York a 9–6 lead at halftime. The drive went 67 yards, but ended with the Jets adding only three points.
  • On the opening drive of the third quarter, the Jets had the ball for 14 plays, gaining 58 yards with 9 minutes and 45 seconds off the clock, but Ahkello Witherspoon broke up a fourth-down pass in the end zone to prevent New York from scoring any points.
  • The Rams played about 18 minutes of playing time without touching the ball due to the Jets’ two long drives before and after halftime.
  • When Los Angeles finally got the ball back, the offense had a 13-play, 66-yard drive that ended with a field goal from 38 yards out to tie the game at 9. A Beaux Limmer false start on third-and-8. from inside the red zone killed the drive and led to a field goal.
  • The defense came up big on the next drive, with Kam Curl rushing home for the strip sack. Jared Verse recovered the ball and started the offense on the Jets side of the field.
  • A few plays later, Stafford hit Higbee for a touchdown on his first catch of the game. It was a special moment for Higbee, who played his first game since January.
  • For the third time in the game, the Rams stopped the Jets on fourth down on New York’s next possession. It was an incomplete pass to Tyler Conklin over the middle on fourth-and-4, with Darious Williams breaking up the ball.
  • Karty extended the Rams’ lead with a 45-yard field goal with 5 minutes left in the fourth quarter, an all-important kick to make it a two-score game.
  • On the Jets’ next drive, they missed a 49-yard field goal with about 2 minutes left, ending any chance of a comeback. They actually got a stop on the Rams’ next drive, but muffed the kick, allowing Los Angeles to kneel the ball out and kill the clock.

It was over when…

… Anders Carlson’s 49-yard field goal missed wide right with 1:57 left in the fourth quarter. The Rams were up 19-9 at the time and the Jets had all three timeouts, so a field goal would have made it a one-score game with plenty of time left.

But the miss allowed the Rams to take over with a 10-point lead.

3 stars from the game

(Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images)

No. 3 stars: Puka Nacua – 8 catches, 56 yards

No. 2 stars: Kam Curl – 5 tackles, 1 sack, 1 FF

No. 1 star: Kyren Williams – 23 carries, 122 yards, 1 TD. 1 catch, 7 yards

Game of the game

It wasn’t the longest play of the game, but it was certainly the coolest. In Higbee’s first game since January, Higbee hauled in an 11-yard touchdown catch from Stafford, diving into the end zone for the go-ahead goal in the fourth quarter.

What’s next?

Joe Camporeale-Imagn images

The Rams will take this win and face the Cardinals in Week 17, a home game at SoFi Stadium and the penultimate game of the regular season for Los Angeles. The Rams have already lost once to the Cardinals this season, but they are now much healthier and are recording their fourth win in a row.