Titans' Defense Too Much for Rams in 28-16 Defeat

Los Angeles Rams #9 Matthew Stafford (QB) attempting a pass against the Tennessee Titans defense at SoFi Stadium. Photo by William Johnson/T.G.Sportstv1.

11/7/21 INGLEWOOD, CA -The Los Angeles Rams, with a record of 7-1, hosted the Tennessee Titans 6-2, and lost 28-16 on Sunday Night Football, with Matthew Stafford not having a good game at SoFi Stadium.

Tennessee's defense had pressure on Stafford all night, even though he completed 31 of his 48 passes for 294-yards, had two interceptions and one touchdown, and held Darrell Henderson to 55-yards on 11 carries.

Ryan Tannehill completed 19 of his 27 passes for 143-yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Andrian Peterson carried the ball for the Titans ten times for 21-yards and one touchdown.

The defense for the Rams got the first turnover of the game in the first quarter after Jalen Ramsey intercepted the pass of Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill at their thirty-five-yard line.

The Rams took advantage of the miscue by the Titans, as Matt Gay kicked a 34-yard field goal to give them a 3-0 lead.

The Titans had the Rams pinned inside their 4-yard line in the second quarter, forcing Matthew Stafford to throw a pass in the endzone off-balance that was intercepted by David Long Jr. (ILB).

Moments later, the Titans took the lead 7-3 after Tannehill threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to his tight-end Geoff Swaim.

Tennessee Titans #31 Kevin Byard (S) intercepted Matthew Stafford's pass and ran it back for a 24-yard touchdown. Photo by William Johnson/T.G.Sportstv1.

The Titans increased their lead to 14-3 after Stafford threw his second interception of the game after their safety Kevin Byard, who ran it back for a 24-yard touchdown.

Stafford held on to the football just a little longer in this game than in his other previous games, and with the Tennessee defense swarming all around him, waiting on his receivers to get open.

"I was probably trying to be a little bit too aggressive and hold onto it a little bit," Stafford said, blaming himself for some of the sacks. "There's a lot of things I can clean up to be better. I'll take a hard look at myself and know we'll have a big opportunity on Monday night next week (on the road against the San Francisco 49ers) to go out and play well."

The Rams trail the Titans 21-3 at halftime after Tannehill scored on a 1-yard touchdown run.

Tyler Higbee had a golden chance to score a touchdown for the Rams in the third quarter, but his left foot in the back of the endzone touched outbounds before he received the ball, and the touchdown was wipe-off for the illegal touching and a loss of down.

Los Angeles Rams #99 Aaron Donald (DT and #54 Leonard Floyd (OLB) are about to tackle Tennessee Titans #8 Adrain Peterson (RB). Photo by William Johnson/T.G.Sportstv1.

The Rams would have to settle for a 22-yard field goal by Gay that made the score 21-6. The Rams' defense kept them in the game, and the Rams' head coach Sean McVay knew they missed some great opportunities to get back in the game.

"I didn't do a nearly good enough job for our football team tonight," McVay said. "We were uncharacteristic with the penalties, the turnovers. The defense was giving us a chance."

Gay kicked a 54-yard field goal in the fourth quarter as the Rams trail the Titans 21-9. Adrian Peterson's 1-yard touchdown run put the game out of reach, making the score 28-9 with 3:00 minutes left in the game.

The Rams scored their only touchdown when Stafford threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to his running back Sony Michel, making the final score 28-16.

Robert Woods led the Rams in receiving with seven catches for 98-yards and Cooper Kupp with 1000 reception yards in nine games, the 15th player in NFL history to do so, eleven catches for 95-yards.