Stafford's TD pass to Higbee after Rodgers' turnover leads Rams past Jets 19-9

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Tyler Higbee waited nearly a year for this moment.

And once the Los Angeles Rams tight end had the ball in his hands, he wasn’t letting anyone stop him from getting into the end zone.

With the game tied against the New York Jets early in the fourth quarter Sunday, Higbee caught a short pass from Matthew Stafford, rumbled down the sideline and dived over the goal line for a go-ahead 11-yard score in the Rams’ 19-9 victory.

“I didn’t know I was going to have to jump,” said Higbee, who made his season debut after tearing the ACL and MCL in his right knee in the playoffs last January. “I met a lot of guys at the pylon and I lowered my shoulder trying to get in there. Then I saw a little opening and thought I’d take it.

“In the air, it felt a little bit like ‘Space Jam’ Michael Jordan with his arm out there. This has got to get in.”

Stafford's TD pass to Higbee after Rodgers' turnover leads Rams past Jets 19-9 | iNFOnews.ca — Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) passes as New York Jets safety Chuck Clark, bottom left, applies pressure during the first half of an NFL football game in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

It was — and it turned out to be the winning score as the Rams (9-6) got their fourth straight victory and maintained their spot atop the NFC West standings after a slow start against the Jets (4-11) on a day when it was a frosty 23 degrees (minus-5 Celsius) at kickoff.

“A strange game,” Rams coach Sean McVay acknowledged after several long possessions by both teams throughout the day.

But Los Angeles’ defense, which struggled most of the game against Rodgers and New York’s offense, came up with a momentum-turning play.

After Joshua Karty tied it at 9 with a 38-yard field goal, Kam Curl sacked Rodgers on a blitz and forced a fumble that Jared Verse recovered at the Jets 21.

“As I was falling, it landed right on top of me,” Verse said. “One of those things: right place at the right time.”

Three plays later, Stafford found Higbee for the go-ahead TD.

“Just happy for him to get out there and play,” Stafford said. “And to be able to cap it off with a touchdown with a great effort at the end, it was awesome.”

Higbee, who also had shoulder surgery in the offseason, was mobbed by his Rams teammates.

“I almost passed out,” he said with a smile. “It was very humbling.”

Rodgers limped a bit off the field after the strip-sack and briefly went to the injury tent, but returned on the Jets’ next series.

“That was bad — a bad play,” said Rodgers, who said his knee was OK, but added he should’ve dumped off the ball to avoid the sack.

Karty’s 45-yard field goal put the Rams up by two scores at 19-9 with 5:17 left.

The Jets couldn’t muster a comeback attempt. Anders Carlson’s 48-yard attempt with 1:57 remaining was wide right. New York had another chance to get the ball, but Jordan Whittington recovered Xavier Gipson’s muffed punt return to seal the victory for the Rams.

Stafford was 6 of 10 for 46 yards and an interception in the first half, and finished 14 of 19 for 110 yards. Kyren Williams ran for 122 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries.

Rodgers was 28 of 42 for 256 yards and a touchdown to Davante Adams in the loss that overshadowed a promising start for New York.

“The rhythm disappeared, I think,” Rodgers said of the Jets’ offense mostly stalling after its hot start and finishing 2 of 5 on fourth down.

After Jacob Hummel downed Ethan Evans’ punt on the Rams’ opening possession at the Jets 1, Rodgers and New York’s offense got rolling quickly with a 99-yard touchdown drive.

Helped by five first downs, including an 8-yard completion to Adams on fourth-and-2 from the 20, the Jets got down to the Rams 11. Rodgers pulled off a pretty play-action fake, rolled to his right and found Adams for a touchdown that gave New York a 6-0 lead with 23 seconds left in the opening quarter.

Carlson was wide left on the extra point, his second miss this season.

It was Rodgers’ 499th regular-season TD pass and the 82nd time he and Adams have combined for a score, including the playoffs, tying Miami’s Dan Marino and Mark Clayton for the third-most in NFL history.

Tony Adams intercepted Stafford on the Rams’ next drive, ending the Rams quarterback’s career-best streak of five games without a turnover. But the Jets turned the ball over on downs when interim coach Jeff Ulbrich opted to go for it on fourth-and-1 but Breece Hall was stopped for no gain, giving Los Angeles the ball at New York’s 33.

The Rams took advantage of the short field when Williams went up the middle for a 2-yard TD run, but Karty hit the right upright and the teams were tied at 6 late in the second quarter.

Injuries

Jets DL Quinnen Williams tested out his injured hamstring a few hours before the game, but was scratched. … CB Sauce Gardner sat out the second half with a hamstring injury. … Tony Adams injured an ankle in the third quarter. … Rookie LT Olu Fashanu hurt his left foot midway through the fourth quarter and was on crutches after the game. Ulbrich said the team would know more after Fashanu has tests.

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