From Gary Klein: Less than an hour before the Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicked off on Sunday, fans in SoFi Stadium erupted in cheers.
Watching the giant video board, the crowd celebrated as the Philadelphia Eagles blew a huge lead and lost to the Dallas Cowboys.
That meltdown by the defending Super Bowl champions positioned the surging Rams to move to the top of the NFC.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford continued his MVP-caliber play by passing for three touchdowns, and the defense also produced big moments as the Rams seized the opportunity with a 34-7 victory that extended their winning streak to six games and improved their record to a conference-best 9-2.
That makes the Rams the current No. 1 seed for the NFC playoffs.
Not that coach Sean McVay was celebrating.
“Do you remember who was in first place with six weeks left last year?” McVay said. “Me either.”
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LAKERS
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Luka Doncic’s three-pointer barely grazed the net. Austin Reaves’ shot clanked off the rim. Another one didn’t hit anything.
The Lakers’ shooting slump stretched on, but so did their winning streak as the team that averages the fewest three-pointers in the league won its fourth consecutive game while holding off the Utah Jazz 108-106 at the Delta Center on Sunday.
The Lakers (12-4) shot just 26.3% from three-point range and let an 11-point lead with 3:33 to go in the fourth quarter shrink to one when Lauri Markkanen hit a three-pointer with 41.3 seconds remaining.
Doncic had 33 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists and hit one of two free throws to set up the Lakers’ final defensive possession that ended with a contested three-point heave from guard Keyonte George. Doncic made just three of 12 three-point attempts while Reaves pieced together a 22-point, 10-rebound night despite shooting just one of eight on threes.
“We didn’t play our best game and we still find a way to win. That’s what great teams do,” Doncic said.
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CLIPPERS
Donovan Mitchell scored 37 points and took over when the game got close, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 120-105 victory over the Clippers on Sunday night.
Kawhi Leonard scored 20 points in his return to the Clippers’ lineup after missing 10 games because of a sprained right ankle. L.A. went 2-8 while Leonard was out.
Mitchell helped the Cavaliers pull away with a flurry of plays late in the third quarter. He finished with five three-pointers, eight rebounds and six assists.
From Bill Plaschke: Another big game, another big stink.
Another loaded season, another lost season.
Four years after Lincoln Riley arrived at USC amid gaudy promises to return the football program to national prominence, well, two words.
Still waiting.
Needing a win at Oregon’s Autzen Stadium on Saturday to have a chance at their first College Football Playoff berth, the Trojans once again fell short, fell deep and basically fell on their faces.
Still waiting.
In front of its jubilant fans roaring like USC fans once roared, Oregon used an 85-yard punt return, a terrible Trojans penalty and awful USC play calls to roll to a 42-27 victory.
Still waiting.
UCLA BASKETBALL
From Andrés Soto: During practice Friday, UCLA women’s basketball coach Cori Close made it clear she wanted to see more from forward Angela Dugalic.
“You’re not using what you’ve earned,” Close recalled telling her while speaking with reporters Friday.
Dugalic is going to face some of the best players in the country this week. Close thinks she can match up with them, but she needs Dugalic to play like it. With all the work Dugalic has done on her low-post game over the offseason, she can’t settle for floating around the perimeter.
Close got that version of Dugalic in Sunday’s 88-37 rout of Southern at Pauley Pavilion. The third-ranked Bruins were in full control from whistle to whistle, even pitching a second-quarter shutout, and Dugalic led the way with 20 points, five rebounds and an assist. She shot eight for 15 from the floor with a trio of three-pointers.
THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
1904 — Fullback Sam McAllester is thrown for a touchdown to give Tennessee a 7-0 victory over Alabama. McAllester, wearing a wide leather belt with handles sewn on the side, is repeatedly thrown by two teammates over the line of scrimmage, including the only touchdown of the game.
1927 — The “Golden Egg Trophy,” is presented for the first time at the Egg Bowl played on Thanksgiving Day. Mississippi beats Mississippi State (then Mississippi A&M) 20-12.
1949 — The Syracuse Nationals edge the Anderson Packers 125-123 in five overtimes in the National Basketball league.
1949 — Led by quarterback Joe Paterno, Brown overcomes a 26-7 third-quarter deficit by scoring 34 points in the final 17 minutes to beat Colgate 41-26.
1957 — Cleveland Brown rookie Jim Brown rushes for 232 yards and scores four touchdowns in a 45-31 victory over the Rams.
1960 — Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors sets an NBA record with 55 rebounds in a 132-129 loss to the Boston Celtics.
1977 — Miami’s Bob Griese throws for six touchdowns in a 55-14 Thanksgiving Day victory over the Detroit Lions.
1985 — Ron Brown of the Rams returns two kickoffs for touchdowns in a 34-17 victory over the Green Bay Packers.
1996 — Karrie Webb, capping a sensational rookie year, wins the season-ending LPGA Tour Championship to become the first player in tour history to earn more than $1 million in a season.
2000 — LaDainian Tomlinson caps the fourth-best rushing season with 174 yards and a touchdown in TCU’s 62-7 victory over SMU. Tomlinson, who also won his second straight NCAA rushing title, finishes the season with 2,158 yards.
2002 — Annika Sorenstam completes the best LPGA Tour season in 38 years with a 4-under 68 to win the season-ending ADT Championship, her 11th victory of the year.
2007 — Kevin Smith rushes for 219 yards and a touchdown to surpass 2,000 yards for the season in Central Florida’s 36-20 win over UTEP. Smith is the nation’s leading rushing with 2,164 yards, the fourth highest in Division I-A (Bowl Subdivision) history.
2010 — Boston’s Mark Recchi scores two third-period goals to become the 13th NHL player to reach 1,500 career points and helps the Bruins defeat Florida 3-1.
2011 — In the first NFL game featuring brothers as opposing head coaches, John Harbaugh’s Baltimore Ravens top Jim Harbaugh’s San Francisco 49ers 16-6.
2013 — Sebastian Vettel wins Formula One’s season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix, matching Michael Schumacher’s record of 13 victories in a year and equaling the nine consecutive wins of Alberto Ascari.
2015 — The defending champion Golden State Warriors set the record for best start in NBA history at 16-0. Stephen Curry has 24 points and nine assists in a 111-77 rout of the Lakers.
2018 — Dwayne Haskins throws five touchdown passes, freshman Chris Olave scores twice and blocks a punt that is returned for a TD and No. 10 Ohio State continues its mastery over No. 4 Michigan with a 62-39 victory.
2018 — Kellen Mond’s 2-point conversion to Kendrick Rogers in the seventh overtime gives Texas A&M 74-72 victory over No. 8 LSU, tying the NCAA record for most overtimes in an FBS game.
2018 — Florida uses a punishing ground attack to end a five-game losing streak to Florida State, defeating the Seminoles 41-14. The Gators send the Seminoles (5-7) their first losing season since 1976, Bobby Bowden’s first season as head coach.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.