Schedule The Rams'
2021 schedule was announced on May 12.
Note: Intra-division opponents are in
bold text.
Game summaries Week 1: vs. Chicago Bears Playing their first regular season game in front of fans at
SoFi Stadium, the Rams overwhelmed the visiting Bears on
Sunday Night Football. Quarterback
Matthew Stafford was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week in his debut as Rams quarterback following an offseason trade with the
Detroit Lions, completing 20 of 26 passes for 321 yards and three touchdowns. Following an interception by Rams cornerback
David Long Jr. on the game's opening drive, Stafford's first scoring toss came on L.A.'s third offensive play, as he found wide receiver
Van Jefferson on a deep pass down the middle. Jefferson tumbled as he caught the pass, then got up and ran into the end zone to complete the scoring play. Kicker
Matt Gay added two field goals (53, 22) to give Los Angeles a 13–7 halftime lead. The Rams pulled away with a dominant second half. Stafford's second touchdown pass went deep to a wide open
Cooper Kupp who found himself behind the Bears secondary for a 56-yard scoring play. Running back
Darrell Henderson led the Rams on the ground with 70 rushing yards on 16 carries, including a 1-yard touchdown run to cap an 8-play, 75-yard drive late in the third period. Kupp finished with seven receptions for 108 yards, while fellow wide receiver
Robert Woods caught a 2-yard pass from Stafford to seal the Rams' victory. On defense, safety
Jordan Fuller led Los Angeles with 11 tackles, while linebacker
Kenny Young added 10 tackles and a fumble recovery, and fellow linebacker
Justin Hollins had two sacks and a forced fumble. The game featured the introduction of a new white alternate throwback jersey for the Rams that resembled the team's uniform design from 1973 to 1999.
Week 2: at Indianapolis Colts After building a double-digit lead on the road, the Rams had to rally back to defeat the Colts.
Cooper Kupp scored on a 16-yard pass from
Matthew Stafford and
Matt Gay converted a 34-yard field goal to put Los Angeles ahead 10–6 at halftime, and running back
Darrell Henderson's 2-yard TD run early in the third quarter gave the Rams a 17–6 advantage. But Indianapolis vaulted back in the lead 21–17 at the beginning of the fourth quarter when a bad punt snap resulted in a fumble recovery by
Ashton Dulin in the end zone for a touchdown. Kupp, who caught nine passes for 163 yards, scored his second touchdown of the game on a 10-yard strike from Stafford and after the Colts tied the score on a
Rodrigo Blankenship field goal, Gay's 38-yard field goal with 2:23 left put the Rams up 27–24. Cornerback
Jalen Ramsey sealed the L.A. victory with an interception on the Colts' following drive. Defensive tackle
Sebastian Joseph-Day led Los Angeles with nine tackles including a sack.
Week 3: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers For the second time in three weeks,
Matthew Stafford was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week after throwing for 343 yards and four touchdowns as the Rams started 3–0 for the fourth straight season with a victory over the defending
Super Bowl champions. Following a scoreless first quarter, Los Angeles finished a 14-play, 95-yard drive when Stafford hit tight end
Tyler Higbee with a 6-yard touchdown pass. Stafford struck again just before halftime with a 2-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver
Cooper Kupp. Stafford, who completed 27 of 38 passes, threw two more touchdowns, one to
DeSean Jackson for 75 yards and another to Kupp for 10 yards and a 31–14 lead. Kicker
Matt Gay had two field goals in the second half. Linebacker
Kenny Young had a team-high 10 tackles and a sack to lead the Rams defense.
Week 4: vs. Arizona Cardinals Despite holding a 10–7 lead in the first quarter, the Rams were outscored 30–3 until the game's final minutes and fell to the Cardinals for the first time since
2016 in a battle of unbeaten teams for the NFC West lead.
Matt Gay's 42-yard field goal ended L.A.'s opening drive, and wide receiver
Van Jefferson caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from
Matthew Stafford for the early advantage. But Cardinals quarterback
Kyler Murray threw a TD pass to wide receiver
Maxx Williams and running back
James Conner ran for a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs in the second and third periods. Arizona got a pair of field goals from kicker
Matt Prater to extend their lead to 37–13. The Rams got the final score on a 14-yard pass from Stafford to wide receiver
Robert Woods. Safety
Taylor Rapp had 12 tackles while
Jalen Ramsey added five tackles and two pass deflections for the Rams defense.
Week 5: at Seattle Seahawks Trailing 7–3 at halftime, the Rams stormed back with a dominant second half performance to defeat the host Seahawks in a
Thursday Night Football matchup. Following a scoreless first quarter, Seattle scored first on a touchdown pass from
Russell Wilson to
DK Metcalf. Kicker
Matt Gay's 31-yard field goal just over a minute before the intermission got the Rams on the scoreboard. Wide receiver
Robert Woods, who had six receptions in the first half, added six more to total season highs in receptions (12) and yardage (150), while quarterback
Matthew Stafford connected with
DeSean Jackson for a 68-yard catch-and-run that led to a 5-yard TD run by
Darrell Henderson to take the lead 10–7. After forcing a three-and-out on the Seahawks, Stafford connected with Woods on back-to-back 20-yard pass plays, and a 29-yard run by Henderson set up Stafford's 13-yard scoring pass to tight end
Tyler Higbee. Defensively, the Rams were led by eight tackles from
Sebastian Joseph-Day and the defense combined for two sacks of Wilson, who suffered a broken finger late in the third quarter and was knocked out of the game. After backup
Geno Smith led the Seahawks on a 98-yard drive capped by a touchdown pass to Metcalf, the Rams reasserted themselves as Stafford connected with Woods (24 yards) and
Cooper Kupp (33 yards) to put L.A. inside the Seattle 20. Another pass from Stafford to Kupp (this time for 13 yards) gave the Rams first-and-goal at the Seahawks 2. From there, running back
Sony Michel cashed in with a touchdown run. Cornerback
Nick Scott intercepted a Smith pass just before the two-minute warning and Gay added a second field goal (47 yards) to close out the scoring.
Week 6: at New York Giants The Rams exploded for 28 points in the second quarter as
Matthew Stafford threw three of his four touchdown passes to rout the host Giants. After giving up a field goal in the first quarter, Stafford hooked up with
Robert Woods from 15 yards out to finish a six-play, 66-yard drive. On the following possession, Giants quarterback
Daniel Jones was sacked by linebacker
Ogbonnia Okoronkwo who stripped the ball and recovered it at the New York 12. Four plays later, Stafford and wide receiver
Cooper Kupp connected from three yards out. Running back
Darrell Henderson, who led the Rams with 78 rushing yards, scored touchdowns on a 2-yard run and on a 25-yard catch from Stafford 33 seconds before halftime. Kupp, who led the Rams with nine receptions for 130 yards, caught a second touchdown from Stafford (251 passing yards) from 13 yards early in the fourth quarter. On defense, safety
Taylor Rapp had two interceptions (both of which set up Rams touchdowns), two pass deflections and recorded four tackles to earn NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors. Fellow safety
Jordan Fuller led the team with 11 tackles.
Week 7: vs. Detroit Lions Returning home to
SoFi Stadium, the Rams fought off a determined Detroit team to improve to 6–1. Facing his former team for the first time, quarterback
Matthew Stafford completed 28 of 41 passes for 334 yards and three touchdowns to rally Los Angeles over the winless Lions, who took a 10–0 lead in the first quarter. Detroit held a 13–3 advantage midway through the second period when Stafford led back-to-back 11-play scoring droves, ending both with touchdown passes to wide receivers
Van Jefferson (11 yards) and
Cooper Kupp (2 yards). After the Lions had regained the lead with pair of field goals, Stafford completed the comeback with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Kupp early in the fourth quarter. Also taking his former team, quarterback
Jared Goff completed 22 of 36 passes for 268 yards and led a 15-play, 67-yard drive down to the Rams 12 with under five minutes remaining. But Rams cornerback
Jalen Ramsey spoiled the upset bid by intercepting Goff's pass in the end zone and returning it 25 yards. Ramsey's interception led to a 47-yard field goal by kicker
Matt Gay to seal the game, and safety
Nick Scott then intercepted a second pass from Goff that allowed the Rams to run out the clock.
Week 8: at Houston Texans Rolling to their seventh win in eight weeks, the Rams scored 38 unanswered points through three quarters in defeating the host Texans for the fourth time in five all-time meetings. Running back
Darrell Henderson got the Rams on the scoreboard first with a 3-yard touchdown reception from
Matthew Stafford on the opening drive, while also scoring on a 1-yard run as part of a season-best 90 yards rushing. Stafford, who completed 21 of 32 passes for 305 yards, threw touchdown passes to wide receivers
Cooper Kupp (11 yards) and
Robert Woods (2 yards). Kupp again led the team with seven receptions for 115 yards, while Woods added a 16-yard touchdown run. Linebacker
Ernest Jones led the Rams with nine tackles and defensive tackle
Aaron Donald had four tackles, including 1.5 sacks in L.A.'s victory.
Week 9: vs. Tennessee Titans Quarterback
Matthew Stafford was intercepted twice as the Titans routed the Rams in front of a national TV audience on
Sunday Night Football. Los Angeles took a first quarter lead on a 34-yard field goal by
Matt Gay. Visiting Tennessee went ahead for good early in the second quarter on tight end
Geoff Swaim's 2-yard touchdown reception from quarterback
Ryan Tannehill. On the very next play from scrimmage, Stafford attempted to evade a pass rush in his own end zone, and his errant toss was intercepted by Titans free safety
Kevin Byard, who returned it 24 yards for a touchdown. Tannehill later added a 1-yard touchdown run just before the two-minute warning to put Tennessee ahead 21–3 at halftime. Gay converted two field goals in each of the final two periods, but new Titans running back
Adrian Peterson scored on a 1-yard run late in the fourth quarter to put the Titans up 28–9. Stafford ended his day with a 3-yard touchdown pass to running back
Sony Michel as the Rams fell to 7–2. Cornerback
Jalen Ramsey had an interception to go along with three tackles for the Rams defense.
Week 10: at San Francisco 49ers A week after a dismal loss to Tennessee on
Sunday Night Football, the Rams found themselves dominated by the host 49ers on
Monday Night Football for their worst loss of the season. San Francisco, which had lost five of their last six games, was sparked by the play of free safety
Jimmie Ward, who intercepted a deep pass by Rams quarterback
Matthew Stafford at the San Francisco 7. The 49ers then marched 93 yards in 18 plays, capping the drive with an 8-yard touchdown pass from quarterback
Jimmy Garoppolo to tight end
George Kittle. On the Rams' next possession, a Stafford pass intended for
Tyler Higbee bounced off the Rams tight end and into the arms of Ward, who returned his second interception 27 yards for a touchdown. The Rams answered on their next possession as Stafford and Higbee connected for a 10-yard TD pass to finished a 7-play, 75-yard drive. But the 49ers again moved methodically against the Rams defense, going 91 yards in 11 plays before wide receiver
Deebo Samuel ran in from 8 yards out to give San Francisco a 21–7 lead. The 49ers added a field goal by kicker
Robbie Gould while Garoppolo and Samuel connected on a 40-yard scoring play to give San Francisco a 31–7 lead. Kicker
Matt Gay's 50-yard field goal in the fourth quarter finished the scoring for the Rams, who fell to the rival 49ers for the fifth straight time. Wide receiver
Cooper Kupp had 11 receptions for 122 yards, while fellow wideout
Odell Beckham Jr. had two receptions for 18 yards in his debut with the club after signing midseason as a free agent three days earlier.
Week 12: at Green Bay Packers The Rams stayed close until late in the third quarter before host Green Bay pulled away to drop Los Angeles to its third straight loss. The Packers took a 10–0 lead off a touchdown run by quarterback
Aaron Rodgers and a
Mason Crosby field goal, but L.A. struck back with quarterback
Matthew Stafford connecting with wide receiver
Van Jefferson for a 79-yard touchdown pass early in the second period. Crosby hit another field goal which was then matched by Rams kicker
Matt Gay and Stafford threw a 6-yard TD pass to running back
Darrell Henderson with 1:28 remaining in the first half to close within 20–17. But Green Bay put the game out of reach as Rodgers threw a touchdown pass to running back
A.J. Dillon, Crosby added a third field goal, and cornerback
Rasul Douglas picked off a Stafford pass and returned in 33 yards for a touchdown, and the Packers led 36–17. Stafford, who threw for 302 yards on 21-for-38 passing, tossed a 54-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver
Odell Beckham Jr. and Gay added a 39-yard field goal in the final seconds to close out the Rams' scoring. Linebacker
Troy Reeder had 13 total tackles to lead the Rams defense.
Week 13: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars The Rams put an end to their three-game losing streak by dominating the visiting Jaguars at
SoFi Stadium. Running back
Sony Michel ran for 121 yards and scored on a 5-yard touchdown run as the Rams built a 10–0 lead in the first quarter. Kicker
Matt Gay added three first half field goals of 40, 44, and 37 yards for a 16–7 Rams advantage at the intermission. Quarterback
Matthew Stafford completed 26 of 38 passes for 295 yards with touchdown passes in the third quarter to wide receivers
Cooper Kupp (29 yards) and
Van Jefferson (2 yards), and then another to fellow wide receiver
Odell Beckham Jr. from one yard out in the fourth quarter. Linebacker
Ernest Jones lead the Rams with nine tackles, including a shared sack with
Leonard Floyd, while
Jalen Ramsey and
Taylor Rapp had one fumble recovery each in L.A.'s rout in what would be the team's largest margin of victory for the season.
Week 14: at Arizona Cardinals Despite going in with a depleted lineup that was missing six starters (including cornerback
Jalen Ramsey and tight end
Tyler Higbee) due to an outbreak of COVID-19, the Rams came up with big plays to thwart the host Cardinals at
State Farm Stadium with a 30–23 victory on
Monday Night Football that opened up the NFC West title race.
Odell Beckham Jr.'s sliding touchdown catch early in the third quarter was his third TD score in as many games. Kicker
Matt Gay nailed two field goals, including a season-long 55-yarder, as the score was tied 13–13 at halftime. In the third period, the Rams surged ahead as quarterback
Matthew Stafford threw touchdown passes of 52 yards to
Van Jefferson and 4 yards to
Cooper Kupp to give the Rams a 27–13 lead. Kupp totaled a season-high 13 receptions while running back
Sony Michel added 79 yards on the ground for the Rams. Defensive tackle
Aaron Donald was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week after totaling three of his team's four sacks, while linebacker
Leonard Floyd added a team-high eight tackles and an interception as the Rams won for the seventh straight time in Arizona since the
2014 season.
Week 15: vs. Seattle Seahawks In a game that was postponed for two days due to
COVID-19 concerns, the Rams surged ahead in the second half to defeat the NFC West rival Seahawks at
SoFi Stadium for their third straight victory. Kicker
Matt Gay converted a season-long 55-yard field goal to finish L.A.'s opening drive of the game, which was knotted 3–3 at halftime. Seattle took the lead early in the third quarter on a 4-yard TD run by running back
DeeJay Dallas, but the Rams responded as
Matthew Stafford connected with
Cooper Kupp for a 32-yard pass completion and running back
Sony Michel broke off a 39-yard run (the Rams' longest run from scrimmage for the season) down to the Seahawks' 6-yard-line. Two plays later, Stafford and Kupp hooked up again for the tying touchdown. Michel, who ran for 92 yards on 18 carries, caught a swing pass from Stafford for 24 yards, which would lead to a 29-yard touchdown pass from Stafford to Kupp to give the Rams a 17–10 lead. Following an exchange of punts, Seattle drove to midfield but was stopped on downs, and Michel had a 17-yard run to set up Gay's second field goal of the game, this time from 35 yards with 1:51 remaining. The Seahawks' last scoring threat was snuffed out when safety
Taylor Rapp intercepted
Russell Wilson with less than a minute remaining. Stafford completed 21 of 29 passes for 244 yards with two TD passes to Kupp, who caught nine passes for 136 yards. Linebacker
Ernest Jones led the Rams with 11 combined tackles, while
Aaron Donald,
Leonard Floyd, and
Von Miller had one sack each.
Week 16: at Minnesota Vikings The Rams took an early lead and maintained their advantage throughout in securing an NFC playoff spot with their 10th win of the season. Los Angeles drove 70 yards in 12 plays before
Sony Michel scored on a 1-yard touchdown run. Michel turned in a season-best 131 yards on 27 carries, including 43 yards on five attempts which helped to set up a 32-yard field goal by
Matt Gay to give L.A. a 10–0 lead. After the Vikings scored a field goal following a
Matthew Stafford interception, Gay added a second field goal just before halftime to put the Rams ahead 13–3. Minnesota linebacker
Anthony Barr got a second interception that led to a 2-yard touchdown run by
Alexander Mattison. Return man
Brandon Powell was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week after returning a punt 61 yards for a score to extend the Rams' lead to 20–10. Stafford then threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to
Odell Beckham Jr. early in the fourth quarter to put L.A. up by two touchdowns and Gay added a third field goal. Minnesota scored late to close to within 30–23 with just over a minute remaining, but
Van Jefferson covered the onside kick attempt to preserve the Rams' victory. Cooper Kupp again led the team in receptions with 10 catches for 109 yards while cornerback
Jalen Ramsey and safety
Taylor Rapp shared the team lead in tackles with seven each.
Week 17: at Baltimore Ravens Odell Beckham Jr. scored on a 7-yard touchdown pass from
Matthew Stafford with 57 seconds remaining to give the Rams franchise its first-ever win over the Ravens in Baltimore as well as their first win in Baltimore since
1969. Los Angeles kept the Ravens offense out of the end zone, with Baltimore's lone touchdown coming off a Stafford pass that was intercepted by Ravens strong safety
Chuck Clark and returned 17 yards for the game's initial score late in the first quarter. Clark intercepted Stafford a second time on the next drive to end a Rams scoring threat, and the Ravens drove 91 yards in 15 plays but were held to a
Justin Tucker field goal. Down 10–0, the Rams got a big break with less than two minutes remaining in the half when L.A. strong safety
Jordan Fuller intercepted a pass from Ravens quarterback
Tyler Huntley, which ultimately set up an 18-yard touchdown pass from Stafford to wide receiver
Cooper Kupp. Baltimore extended its lead to 16–7 with two more field goals from Tucker before Rams running back
Sony Michel (19 rushes, 74 yards) scored on a 1-yard run early in the fourth quarter to bring Los Angeles to within two. The Ravens drove inside the Rams 10 on their next drive, but
Aaron Donald and
Leonard Floyd combined for a sack of Huntley that forced Baltimore to settle for a fourth field goal by Tucker with 4:30 remaining. Starting from his own 25, Stafford led the Rams' comeback by completing five straight passes, including a critical fourth down-and-5 catch by Beckham to keep the drive alive with just over a minute remaining. Stafford and Beckham then connected for the game-winning score on the next play to give the Rams the lead for the first and only time of the game. Baltimore's last attempt to rally was snuffed out when linebacker
Von Miller sacked Huntley at the Ravens 30. Aaron Donald then forced a fumble on a lateral play that was recovered by
Darious Williams as time ran out as the Rams claimed their fifth consecutive victory. Stafford completed 26 of 35 passes for 309 yards and two TDs with two INTs, while Kupp had six receptions for 95 yards and a score.
Week 18: vs. San Francisco 49ers Despite building a 17–0 lead in the second quarter, the Rams squandered their chance to lock up the NFC's No. 2 seed as well as the NFC West title in falling to rival
San Francisco for the sixth straight time. The loss, which snapped a five-game win streak for the Rams, was also the first under head coach
Sean McVay in which his team had led at halftime (a streak that had stretched to 45 games). Los Angeles built its first half advantage thanks to kicker
Matt Gay's 43-yard field goal in the first quarter and two touchdown receptions by tight end
Tyler Higbee from quarterback
Matthew Stafford. But the 49ers got on the scoreboard as the second quarter ended on a 42-yard field goal by kicker
Robbie Gould, then seized the game's momentum by scoring twice in the third quarter as versatile wide receiver
Deebo Samuel scored on a 16-yard run and then tossed a 24-yard touchdown pass to
Jauan Jennings to tie the game at 17–17. The Rams turned the tide in the fourth quarter when cornerback
Jalen Ramsey made an acrobatic interception of
Jimmy Garoppolo in the end zone, which sparked a 92-yard touchdown drive. Stafford, who finished with 238 yards passing to set a new Rams single-season passing yards record (4,886 yards), found
Cooper Kupp for a 4-yard touchdown pass with 2:29 remaining to take a 24–17 lead. Kupp, who finished with a game-high seven catches for 118 yards and a score, ended the season leading the NFL in receptions (145), receiving yardage (1,947), and touchdown catches (16) to become only the fourth player in pro football history to lead the league in all three categories in the same season, and his single-season numbers for receptions and receiving yards were the second-highest totals in NFL history. But after the teams traded punts, the Rams were unable to stop the 49ers as Garoppolo threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Jennings with 26 seconds left that (following a Gould PAT) tied the game. In overtime, the 49ers drove 12 plays in 69 yards to set up a 24-yard field goal by Gould for a 27–24 lead. With under two minutes left, the Rams drove to near midfield but Stafford's final pass intended for
Odell Beckham Jr. was intercepted by 49ers cornerback
Ambry Thomas to end the game. Despite the loss,
Seattle's 38–30 win at
Arizona that had ended minutes earlier clinched for the Rams their third NFC West Division title in five seasons.
Standings Division Conference ==Postseason==