Rams Rally Past Winless Chargers 24-9 After Going Five Drives Without a First Down

Kyren Williams, Blake Corum and Puka Nacua scored touchdowns as the Rams won two straight for the first time since January, while Justin Herbert's two interceptions left the Chargers 0-7.

By Herald Staff · Nov. 2, 2026, 8:30 AM ET

Thousands of fans in Rams blue and gold fill the tiers of SoFi Stadium under its translucent roof and glowing blue ribbon boards, some standing and cheering in the foreground, with the green field visible at lower right. — Rams fans fill SoFi Stadium during a December 2023 home game. The Rams beat the Chargers there 24-9 on Sunday for their first winning streak since January. Photo: PontiacAurora / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 (license).

For most of the first half Sunday, the Rams couldn't buy a first down. By the end of the third quarter, they had scored three touchdowns, and the Chargers were still looking for their first win. The Rams beat their SoFi Stadium roommates 24-9 in Inglewood, improving to 4-4 and winning back-to-back games for the first time since January, the Associated Press reported. The Chargers fell to 0-7, their worst start since 2000.

The Rams have now won two of the three Los Angeles meetings since both teams moved to the city, according to the AP.

A First Half the Rams Would Rather Forget

The Rams gained just 24 yards on their first 15 plays and went without a first down on their first five drives, the first time that has happened in Sean McVay's career as head coach, the AP reported. Chargers cornerback Tarheeb Still undercut a Matthew Stafford pass on third-and-6 for his first interception since his 2024 rookie season, the Chargers reported.

The Rams' only early points came from their defense. Safety Quentin Lake picked off a short Justin Herbert pass and returned it 45 yards to set up a 30-yard Brandon McManus field goal. Chargers kicker Cameron Dicker answered with field goals of 34, 46 and 41 yards, and the Chargers led 9-3 with 1:55 left before halftime, according to the NFL's official game summary.

That is when the game turned. Stafford pushed the Rams downfield in a two-minute drill helped by a 40-yard catch-and-run, and Kyren Williams scored on a 1-yard run with 19 seconds left to give the Rams a 10-9 lead at the break.

"What I did love is the guys stayed steady," McVay said afterward, according to the team. "You can hang your head, feel bad about the way that you started off the game, or you can say 'eyes up and let's go ahead and freaking respond.'"

Corum, Nacua Put It Away

The Rams took the second-half kickoff and scored again, with Blake Corum running 23 yards for a touchdown to make it 17-9. Corum finished with 73 rushing yards. Later in the third quarter, cornerback Trent McDuffie intercepted Herbert, and two plays later Puka Nacua took a screen pass 18 yards for the final score, the AP reported.

Nacua finished with 11 catches for 80 yards as the Rams played without injured receiver Davante Adams. Stafford threw for 157 yards and a touchdown. "This is something that we've got to build upon, but it's not something we can exhale from," Nacua said, according to the AP.

The Rams' defense did not allow a touchdown for the second straight home game. "The defense deserves a ton of credit," McVay said. "They just kept getting stop after stop."

It even provided the day's lighter moment. Late in the game, 35-year-old Aaron Donald chased a loose Herbert fumble toward open turf before the ball skittered out of bounds. Donald stayed down in mock exhaustion while teammates gave him pretend first aid. "Oh man, I'm going to give him such a hard time about that," McVay said, according to the AP.

Same Problems for the Chargers

The Chargers came out of their bye week with offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel still calling plays, and the offense showed some signs of life, including back-to-back flea-flickers that set up a field goal. The Chargers gained 295 yards and held the ball for 32 minutes, 24 seconds, but failed to reach the end zone for the second straight game, the AP reported.

Herbert threw for 257 yards and two interceptions. He has now thrown an interception in all seven games this season, the AP reported. The Chargers didn't score after halftime, after putting together three straight field-goal drives to close the first half.

"I think the turnovers are what's stopping us, and that's something we have to clean up," Herbert said. Coach Jim Harbaugh insisted the team has not given up. "There's no quit," he said. "There's no surrender. It's going to be an opportunity next week."

What's Next

The Rams visit the Washington Commanders on Sunday, Nov. 8, at 10 a.m. PT on Fox, according to the NFL schedule. The Chargers stay at SoFi Stadium to host the Houston Texans at 1:05 p.m. PT, still chasing their first win of the season.

Original reporting by The Los Angeles Herald, drawing on the Associated Press, the NFL, the Los Angeles Rams and the Los Angeles Chargers, as linked above.