LOS ANGELES – The Packers used a dominant third quarter and then hung on for dear life in the fourth to beat the Rams, 24-19, on Sunday at SoFi Stadium.
Green Bay improved to 3-2 with the win while the Rams fell to 1-4.
The Packers got two takeaways – including S Xavier McKinney's fifth interception of the season – in the third quarter, which they turned into two touchdowns to turn a 13-10 halftime deficit into a 24-13 lead.
But the Rams drove 91 yards for a touchdown in just 2 ½ minutes late in the fourth quarter to get within five points, after the two-point play was stopped. LA then got the ball back with more than two minutes left and drove into Green Bay territory, but the Packers stopped a pass in fourth-and-5 to close out the win. Rookie S Evan Williams was in coverage on the fourth-down play, two snaps after DL Karl Brooks' second sack of the game put the Rams behind the sticks.
For the Packers, QB Jordan Love was 15-of-26 for 224 yards with two TDs, one INT and a 95.7 passer rating. Both his TD passes went to TE Tucker Kraft (four catches, 88 yards), and his INT was returned for a Rams TD.
RB Josh Jacobs had 19 carries for 73 yards, with RB Emanuel Wilson adding 24 on six carries and WR Jayden Reed had 19 on two attempts. Reed also had four catches for 78 yards.
For the Rams, QB Matthew Stafford was 29-of-45 for 260 yards with one TD and one INT for a 78.0 rating. WR Jordan Whittington had seven catches for 89 yards, TE Colby Parkinson had seven for 52, and WR Tutu Atwell had six for 58. RB Kyren Williams had 22 carries for 102 yards and a TD, with RB Blake Corum adding five rushes for 25 yards.
Here's a recap of all the action:
Packers lead Rams 7-0 after first quarter
The Rams won the coin toss and elected to defer. Jordan Love couldn't connect with Dontayvion Wicks on a deep crosser on first down and Green Bay punted after Love was sacked for a loss of eight on third down.
The Packers' defense earned a three-and-out on its first series after stopping Kyren Williams for a 1-yard gain on first down and Xavier McKinney breaking up a third-and-3 pass for Tutu Atwell over the middle. With Jaire Alexander inactive, Green Bay used a nickel package with Keisean Nixon at outside cornerback, Javon Bullard in the slot and Evan Williams playing deep safety with Xavier McKinney.
Green Bay started at its own 4 but picked up three straight first downs on Josh Jacobs runs, including an 11-yard gain up the middle to the Green Bay 45.
On second-and-10, Jayden Reed caught a 53-yard pass through triple coverage on a deep ball from Love to set up first-and-goal at the Green Bay 2.
On the next play, Jacobs bumped back outside for a 2-yard touchdown to put the Packers up 7-0 with 6 minutes, 45 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Rams charged back with a 24-yard pass to Tutu Atwell and 30-yard Williams run but continued their struggles in the red zone when Matthew Stafford failed to connect with Cody Parkinson in the back of the end zone on fourth-and-goal from the Green Bay 5.
The Packers went three-and-out after Reed couldn't bring in a pass across the middle from Love on third-and-2.
The first quarter ended with an 8-yard screen to Blake Corum to the Green Bay 36.
Rams lead Packers 13-10 at halftime
The second quarter began with Kyren Williams gaining three yards up the middle on fourth-and-1 from the Packers' 34. Williams converted another first down with an 8-yard sweep on third-and-3.
Williams finally punched the ball in with a 1-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7 with 9:47 left in the first half.
The Packers went three-and-out when Love couldn't connect with Dontayvion Wicks on an out on first down and Jacobs was tackled for a 4-yard loss on second down.
Los Angeles moved the ball down to the Green Bay 29 before Quay Walker and Evan Williams combined to tackle Williams for a 6-yard loss on first-and-10.
The Packers called a blitz on third-and-16 that saw Edgerrin Cooper threaten an A-gap blitz but stunt around for a 9-yard sack of Stafford to force the Rams to punt from the GB 44. It was Cooper's first career full sack.
On third-and-12 from the Packers' 8, Rams outside linebacker Byron Young hit Love in the end zone to force an errant throw that safety Jaylen McCollough returned for a 4-yard TD. LA missed the extra point, leaving the score 13-7 with 2:02 left in the half.
Jacobs gain five yards at the two-minute warning and Green Bay picked up the initial first down when Love caught the Rams with 12 men on the field while trying to substitute. Love completed his next three passes to Bo Melton for 12, Malik Heath for seven and an 18-yard pass to Reed on a slant to the LA 22.
Love tried to throw a swing pass to Reed but it went behind the receiver and bounced out of bounds for a loss of 19 yards. Green Bay got 10 yards back on a slant to Dontayvion Wicks to set up Brayden Narveson's 46-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.
Packers lead Rams 24-13 after three
The Rams started the second half with the ball, but Green Bay's defense earned a big takeaway when defensive end Kingsley Enagbare punched the ball out from Williams that McKinney returned to the Packers' 30.
It's the second time Enagbare has forced a fumble in his last three games. Two plays later, Tucker Kraft came free on a crossing route and ran down the Packers' sideline for a 66-yard touchdown, putting Green Bay back up, 17-13, with 11:15 left in the third quarter.
It's the longest catch by a Packers tight end since Tom Crabtree in 2012 (72 yards).
LA moved the ball to the Green Bay 48 before Xavier McKinney intercepted Stafford on third-and-10. X did it. He's first Packers player to have an INT during his first five games.
Since 1970 merger, McKinney is the only NFL player to do it in his first five games with a team. He ties Irv Comp's franchise record for five straight INTs in team history (1943). McKinney is the first Packers player to have an INT and fumble recovery in same game since Bashaud Breeland (Week 14, 2018).
The takeaway spurred a seven-play, 54-yard scoring drive that culminated in a 7-yard touchdown pass to Kraft to push Green Bay's lead to 24-13 with 3:55 left in the third quarter. It's Kraft's first two-TD game.
Reed had an 11-yard run to open the series. With it, the second-year receiver became just the sixth player in NFL history with 400-plus receiving yards and 100-plus rushing yards in the team's first five games of a season. First to do it since 49ers RB Roger Craig in 1985.
Packers take down Rams, 24-19, to move to 3-2
Karl Brooks sacked Stafford for a loss of eight on third-and-6 to start the fourth quarter, forcing the Rams to punt.
Starting from their own 7, the Packers converted their first two first downs off a 10-yard pass to Wicks and a 9-yard throw to Kraft. Love gave Green Bay its first third-down conversion with a 12-yard scramble on third-and-12 to the Green Bay 42.
Braden Fiske jumped offsides on third-and-5 to give the Packers a first down at the Rams' 36. Green Bay punted from midfield with a little more than six minutes remaining.
Stafford led a 11-play, 91-yard scoring drive that ended with a 1-yard TD pass to DeMarcus Robinson with 3:30 left. The Packers maintained a 24-19 lead after stopping the two-point conversion on Carrington Valentine's tackle of Tutu Atwell on an end-around.
Green Bay started the series with a 13-yard run by Josh Jacobs but were forced to punt with 3:10 left after Love's deep ball for Wicks fell incomplete. The Rams took over at their 29 and converted on third-and-1 with a 7-yard Williams run.
Kenny Clark pressured Stafford into an incompletion on second-and-10 from the Rams' 45. On the next play, Parkinson was tackled inches short of the first down as the game reached the two-minute warning.
Williams converted the fourth-and-1 run to the Green Bay 43. There was a 10-second runoff to 1:24 after it was ruled Whittington caught a 5-yard pass to the Packers' 38. Brooks and Preston Smith registered a second sack of Stafford on the next play, causing LA to use its third and final timeout facing third-and-12 with 1:11 left.
After a 7-yard pass to Parkinson set up fourth-and-5, Cooper hit Stafford while he unsuccessfully fired a pass to Parkinson on a slant for the turnover on downs. Love kneeled out the win.
