Rams-Chargers final score: Justin Herbert, Austin Ekeler too much for LA’s defense

In the penultimate game of a disappointing 2022 season for the Los Angeles Rams, hoping to build on their positive momentum against the L.A. Chargers in a battle between roommates, they came up short and fell to a 5-11 record with one week left.

Final score: Chargers 31, Rams 10

What went wrong this time?

The Rams would start the game on offense, grabbing a few first downs before a sack would stall the drive out and force an early punt. However, the Rams defense would then force a punt of their own, getting the ball right back for Baker Mayfield and company.

Following a big run by Cam Akers, the Rams would move deep into Chargers territory before having to settle for a Matt Gay field goal, giving the Rams a 3-0 lead late in the first quarter.

The Chargers would respond with a nice drive of their own, except they would cash in for the first touchdown of the contest as an Austin Ekeler TD would give the Chargers a 7-3 lead with 13:40 remaining in the first half.

After another promising drive, Baker Mayfield would get called for an intentional grounding penalty, knocking the Rams out of field goal range and forcing the second punt of the day for Riley Dixon.

Then, Austin Ekeler would strike again, galloping to his second touchdown of the game on a 72-yard scamper, giving the Chargers a 14-3 lead with 8:25 left in the half.

The Rams offense would respond with a touchdown of their own, as Malcolm Brown broke loose for a 23-yard touchdown to make the score 14-10 Chargers lead with 4:09 left in the half.

The Chargers would proceed to march down field before the Rams defense would hold the Chargers to a field goal, making the score 17-10 Chargers lead heading into the halftime break.

Following the intermission, the Chargers would start with the ball, turning their first possession of the second half into their third touchdown of the day. Justin Herbert connected with former Ram Gerald Everett to give the Chargers a 24-10 lead with 8:46 left in the third quarter.

The Rams would have a nice drive in response, however, the drive would get cut short on a Baker Mayfield fumble that would get recovered by the Chargers. But, the Rams defense would then force a Chargers punt, making the turnover not as costly as it could have been.

Although the Rams defense stepped up, the offense could not get them any help on the following possession, as they were forced to punt once again and giving the Chargers the ball back up 24-10 at the end of the third quarter.

The Chargers would capitalize on the chance to take a big lead, driving down the field for another touchdown to make their lead 31-10 with 12:12 left in the contest.

The Rams offensive struggles would continue, as they were forced to punt yet again in the second half.

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert would come out of the game, as backup Chase Daniel would finish out what had become a blowout situation. Daniel’s first drive would result in a Chargers punt, giving the Rams the ball back down 21 points with 6:33 remaining in the game.

Once again, the Rams offense could not get any momentum, as they had to put Riley Dixon on the field for another punt.

The Chargers would then run a significant amount of time off the clock before punting the ball back to the Rams with just 1:00 left in the game.

The clock would then run out, leading to the Rams falling to a 5-11 record heading into the final week of the NFL season.