From Gary Klein: The Rams won’t be in London until the end of the week.
But they got something of a preview and head start on Sunday.
On a cloudy, gray and very London-like fall afternoon at M&T Bank Stadium, they slogged through the kind of sloppy game that is more typical of NFL matchups abroad.
And the Rams emerged with an important 17-3 victory over the struggling Baltimore Ravens, and a huge sigh of relief after star receiver Puka Nacua returned from what initially appeared to be a serious ankle injury.
Matthew Stafford passed for a touchdown, Kyren Williams ran for another and linebacker Nate Landman, edge rusher Jared Verse and safety Quentin Lake led a defense that shut down the Lamar Jackson-less Ravens as the Rams bounced back from their overtime defeat by the San Francisco 49ers and improved their record to 4-2.
“It was a weird one,” receiver Davante Adams said. “But we can move on and turn the page with a W at least.”
Or, as Stafford put it: “We did just enough to win the game — which is the name of the game, so we’ll take it.”
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Rams summary
NFL standings
CHARGERS
From Sam Farmer: The play will live on a loop in Jim Harbaugh’s mind.
Thirty-four seconds left. The Chargers trailing by a point and needing 20 yards to get into range for a field goal. Justin Herbert drops back under heavy pressure from his right side, and suddenly has Miami Dolphins linebacker Jaelan Phillips hanging on his torso like a 260-pound Hula-Hoop.
The quarterback — in what his coach would call a “Hercules” move — twisted free of a sure sack and completed a short pass to Ladd McConkey, who shook a defender with an ankle-snapping juke and picked up 42 yards before running out of bounds at the 17.
It wasn’t just the signature moment of a 29-27 victory over the Dolphins — cemented by Cameron Dicker’s fifth field goal of the day — but a Houdini-like escape from a third loss in a row.
“He’s a mighty man,” Harbaugh said of his quarterback. “I mean, there’s only a few in the game who can make that play.”
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Chargers summary
NFL standings
DODGERS
From Jack Harris: Thirty-one days ago, Roki Sasaki arrived at Dodger Stadium, met with president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and general manager Brandon Gomes, and was presented a plan that required faith and trust.
It had been eight months since Sasaki signed with the Dodgers amid massive expectations, coming over from Japan as a 23-year-old phenom billed as possessing some of the best raw arm talent in the world.
It had been four months since his debut season took a dismal turn, landing on the injured list with a shoulder impingement following an opening month marred by poor performance and diminished stuff.
Less than two weeks earlier, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts had all but written Sasaki off as a potential factor in the team’s postseason plans, after the pitcher had continued to struggle in a minor-league rehab stint.
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Why Dodgers are pushing Shohei Ohtani’s next pitching start to later in the NLCS
MLB POSTSEASON SCHEDULE, RESULTS
All times Pacific
NLCS
Dodgers vs. Milwaukee
Monday: at Milwaukee, 5 p.m., TBS, truTV, HBO Max, AM 570, KTMZ 1220, ESPN radio
Tuesday: at Milwaukee, 5 p.m., TBS, truTV, HBO Max, AM 570, KTMZ 1220, ESPN radio
Thursday: at Dodgers, 3 p.m., TBS, truTV, HBO Max, AM 570, KTMZ 1220, ESPN radio
Friday: at Dodgers, 5:30 p.m., TBS, truTV, HBO Max, AM 570, KTMZ 1220, ESPN radio
*-Saturday: at Dodgers, 5 p.m., TBS, truTV, HBO Max, AM 570, KTMZ 1220, ESPN radio
*-Monday, Oct. 20: at Milwaukee, 2 p.m., TBS, truTV, HBO Max, AM 570, KTMZ 1220, ESPN radio
*-Tuesday, Oct. 21: at Milwaukee, 5 p.m., TBS, truTV, HBO Max, AM 570, KTMZ 1220, ESPN radio
ALCS
Seattle vs. Toronto
Seattle 3, at Toronto 1 (box score)
Monday at Toronto, 2 p.m., Fox, FS1
Wednesday at Seattle, 5 p.m., FS1
Thursday at Seattle, 5:30 p.m., FS1
*-Friday at Seattle, 3 p.m., FS1
*-Sunday at Toronto, 5 p.m., FS1
*-Monday, Oct. 20 at Toronto, 5 p.m., Fox/FS1
*-if necessary
LAKERS
From Broderick Turner: The question caused Lakers coach JJ Redick to say he was “not being combative” with his answer.
Asked if the Lakers are missing opportunities to practice more and build on-court chemistry because of their busy six-game preseason slate, Redick was quick to wonder why reporters were so concerned about the situation.
“You guys are really harping on this,” Redick responded.
So, Redick was asked, is it a thing or is it not a thing?
“I’m not being combative right now,” Redick said. “I just want to acknowledge that you guys, like the last four days, like it’s becoming a little bit obsessive with all these questions about opportunities lost. So, I will answer it again. These are the cards that we were dealt. I sure would like everybody to be healthy.”
Making the most out of the situation, the Lakers held off the Golden State Warriors 126-116 Sunday night at Crypto.com Arena despite not playing with LeBron James (sciatica), Luka Doncic and Marcus Smart (Achilles tendinopathy).
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LAFC
Owen Wolff scored in a goal in the 83rd minute, Brad Stuver had two saves, and Austin FC beat LAFC 1-0 on Sunday night to snap LAFC’s six-game win streak.
LAFC (17-8-8) has 59 points, one behind second-place San Diego and one ahead of Minnesota in the Western Conference. Vancouver has 63 points.
Austin (13-12-8) has 47 points and will be the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference for the MLS Cup playoffs, which begin Oct. 22.
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LAFC summary
MLS standings
ANGEL CITY
Kennedy Fuller and Maiara Niehues scored and Angel City staved off elimination from postseason contention with a 2-0 victory over the Houston Dash on Sunday at BMO Stadium.
Angel City (7-11-6), which would have been eliminated with a loss or a draw, ended a five-game winless streak with the victory.
Dash goalkeeper Abby Smith pushed away a cross from Hina Sugita, but Fuller scored her fourth goal of the season off a rebound in the 53rd minute to break a scoreless stalemate.
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Angel City summary
NWSL standings
THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
1893 — The U.S. yacht Vigilant wins the America’s Cup with a three-race sweep over the British challenger Valkyrie II.
1947 — The NHL holds its first All-Star game with the All-Stars beating the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3. Toronto’s Harry Watson scores the game’s first goal and assists on the other two goals. Trailing 3-2 after two periods, Montreal’s Maurice Richard and Chicago’s Doug Bentley each score to give the All-Stars the win.
1961 — Jacky Lee of the Houston Oilers passes for 457 yards and two touchdowns in a 31-31 tie with the Boston Patriots. Charley Hennigan of the Oilers catches 13 passes for 272 yards.
1963 — Mickey Wright wins her fourth LPGA championship in six years by beating Mary Lena Faulk, Mary Mills and Louise Suggs by two strokes.
1982 — IOC Executive Committee approves the reinstatement of Jim Thorpe’s gold medals from the 1912 Olympics.
1985 — Phil Simms of the New York Giants passes for 513 yards with an NFL-record 62 pass attempts in a 35-30 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Simms completes 40 passes with 29 for first downs, also an NFL record.
1998 — For the first time in NBA history, the league cancels regular season games after labor talks break off.
2001 — DeShaun Foster of UCLA runs for a school-record 301 yards and four touchdowns as the Bruins beat Washington 35-13.
2001 — Georgia Southern fullback Adrian Peterson is held to 71 yards rushing, snapping his NCAA-record streak of 36 straight regular-season games with at least 100 yards.
2011 — American Jordyn Wieber wins another gold medal, beating Russia’s Viktoria Komova for the all-around title at the world gymnastics championships in Tokyo. Wieber, who led the Americans to the team title two days earlier, finishes with 59.382 points, just 0.033 ahead of the Russian.
2013 — Kenya’s Dennis Kimetto, six weeks removed from a bout of malaria, breaks the course mark in capturing the Chicago Marathon. Kimetto finishes in 2 hours, 3 minutes, 45 seconds, leading a 1-2-3 finish for Kenyan men. He beats the mark of 2:04:38 set by Ethiopia’s Tsegaye Kebede last year.
2017 — Gustav Nyquist scores twice and Detroit has four goals in the third period to beat Vegas 6-3, handing the NHL’s newest franchise its first loss. Vegas is the first NHL expansion team to win its first three games.
2019 — Simone Biles becomes the most decorated gymnast in history when she wins record 25th medal at the World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany.
Compiled by the Associated Press
THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1903 — The Boston Pilgrims win the first World Series, 5 games to 3, with a 3-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
1960 — Bill Mazeroski opens the bottom of the ninth with a home run off Ralph Terry of the New York Yankees to give the Pittsburgh Pirates a 10-9 victory and the World Series championship.
Until next time…