Rams Cruise Past Texans, 38-22

The Rams cruised to victory over the Texans in Week 8, moving to a 7-1 record on the season.

Nicholas Cothrel | Oct 31, 2021

It was all Rams in Week 8 when they came into NRG Stadium to face the Texans as L.A. cruised to their seventh victory, defeating Houston 38-22 in convincing style.

While the score might not indicate just how lopsided the game looked halfway through the final quarter when the Rams lead 38-0, L.A. pulled the majority of their starters, resulting in Houston to then show some life in the final minutes.

The Rams came into this game as two-touchdown favorites and while that's nearly unprecedented in today's NFL, the Rams answered the call accordingly with an adequate gameplan of mixing passes to running attempts.

“I really liked how we came out from the jump,” Rams coach Sean McVay said. “To be able to come out on the opening drive to score, get the stop and then be able to go right back down the field.”

The Rams got going early, scoring 24 points in the first half, heavily relying on running back Darrell Henderson. As the second quarter came to a close, Henderson had registered two touchdowns – one rushing and one receiving – while tacking on over 80 yards on the ground.

It appeared the Rams entered the game wanting to make it an emphasis to run the ball as Henderson looked to be the focal point in attacking the Texans' defense.

While the Rams established the run early on, quarterback Matthew Stafford also got the passing game going, connecting with seven different pass-catchers.

Cooper Kupp, who leads the NFL in multiple receiving categories, kept his fast start to the season going, hauling in seven catches for 115 yards and one touchdown.

Following Kupp's Week 8 performance, he became the first player in the Super Bowl era to record 900-plus receiving yards and 10-plus receiving touchdowns in a player's first eight games of a season. Kupp is also on pace to break Calvin Johnson's single-season receiving yards record – a threshold set with Stafford delivering him the passes.

Stafford was pulled from the game by the fourth quarter as the game was well out of reach and John Wolford took over. Stafford concluded his outing completing 21 of 32 passes for 305 yards and three touchdowns.

“I feel lucky to be where I am, surrounded by the people I’m surrounded by,” Stafford said. “Every week, you’ve got to go out there and prove it.”

As for the Rams' defense, they had their most complete performance of the season. The Rams shut out the Texans for three and a half quarters until a Rex Burkhead touchdown gave Houston their first points of the game after L.A. removed the vast majority of starters as a result of the score.

The pass-rush of the Rams was feasting all throughout, recording five sacks and nine quarterback hits. Leonard Floyd continued his career-year trajectory, adding three tackles, three TFLs two sacks and one interception to his noteworthy performance.

Rookie linebacker Ernest Jones received his first NFL start after the Rams traded Kenny Young to the Denver Broncos on Monday, and took full advantage of his first look in an extended role. Jones put together a game to remember, tallying seven tackles, 0.5 sacks, two quarterback hits, one interception and one pass breakup.

“It was kind of everything I’ve been wanting,” Jones said of getting his first start in an NFL game. “I come into every game and I want to affect it in any way — tackles, breakups, anything.”

“Ernest Jones balled out,” defensive tackle Greg Gaines, who recorded 0.5 sack himself said on Jones.

The Rams move to 7-1, remaining among the top teams in the NFC. After three consecutive games against teams with a losing trend, the Rams will face a tougher test in Week 9 when they host the Tennessee Titans at SoFi Stadium on Sunday Night Football.

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Nick Cothrel is the Publisher of Ram Digest. Follow Nick and Ram Digest on Twitter @NickCothrel & @RamDigestSI for more Rams coverage.

Published Oct 31, 2021

NICHOLAS COTHREL

Nick Cothrel covers the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated.