By Jourdan Rodrigue, Zack Rosenblatt and Zach Powell

The Los Angeles Rams did just enough to stay atop the NFC West on Sunday, scoring 13 unanswered points in the second half and beating the New York Jets 19-9 after a sluggish first half.

Trailing by three points at halftime, the Rams tied the game in the fourth quarter thanks to a 38-yard field goal from Joshua Karty. They later took their first lead when Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford hit tight end Tyler Higbee for an 11-yard score. Yard touchdown. Karty later hit another field goal, giving the Rams a double-digit lead.

The Jets started strong as Aaron Rodgers, who finished 28 of 42 for 256 yards, connected with wide receiver Davante Adams to give the Jets their first and only touchdown of the game in the first quarter. Rams running back Kyren Williams, who finished the game with 122 rushing yards, scored Los Angeles’ only touchdown of the first half.

The Rams (9-6) will close out their year with key divisional home games against the Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks in Weeks 17 and 18. The 4-11 Jets will travel to Buffalo next week to take on the AFC East-leading Bills.

Go deeper

Jets owner vetoed Jerry Jeudy trade because of his Madden rating

Rams had success running

The Rams ran the ball well – with eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, when the Rams gained possession on downs following a Jets turnover, Kyren Williams had 108 yards and averaged six yards per carry. Otherwise, it was a game where the clock was running fast but there wasn’t much action in the fourth quarter.

Safety Kam Curl’s strip sack of Rodgers was recovered by Jared Verse. Stafford and head coach Sean McVay had set up a play for Higbee on the following possession, and exactly 11 months after Kerby Joseph’s low hit in the Wild Card loss in 2011, Higbee stormed into the end zone with an 11-yard catch-and-run Detroit ripped Higbees Torn cruciate ligament and cruciate ligament. The go-ahead shot gave the Rams a 16-9 lead with 10:17 to play. — Jourdan Rodrigue, Rams beat writer

The Los Angeles defense showed its strength in crucial moments

The veteran cornerback tandem of Darious Williams and Ahkello Witherspoon once again played when it mattered most. After an outstanding performance 10 days ago in San Francisco, both Witherspoon and Williams each had significant pass breakups against the Jets on Sunday. Both came on fourth down: Witherspoon intercepted a pass from Rodgers to Adams in the third quarter, preventing a touchdown. Williams broke up a Rodgers pass to Tyler Conklin in the fourth quarter, who gave the Rams offense the ball back at the Jets’ 46-yard line.

They scored a field goal on one possession and took a 19-9 lead with 5:17 to play.

Slow starts continue to hinder the potential of the Rams offense as all key players return to fitness and health. On Sunday they went without a touchdown in the first quarter of their twelfth game this season. — Rodriguez

Rodgers cooled down significantly

In the first half, Rodgers reflected on his recent streak and felt like the Jets’ offense was still firing on all cylinders. Rodgers was 15 of 20 for 149 yards and a touchdown in the first half, and two of those incompletions were poor drops by Allen Lazard. But Rodgers cooled off in the second half by force-feeding his friend Adams a little too much, the Jets’ offense faltered, and they ended up losing another game they probably should have won.

There were some strange decisions – most notably the decision to attempt fourth down from their own 33-yard line in the second quarter. It didn’t work and the Rams quickly turned around and scored. The Rams’ other touchdown drive began when Rodgers held on to the ball too long, was sacked and lost the ball, which the Rams recovered. Overall, Rodgers didn’t have a great game, even if it started that way. — Zack Rosenblatt, Jets beat writer

The Jets suffer another injury to the offensive line

The bigger news, even bigger than the loss, was the loss of promising rookie left tackle Olu Fashanu. The first-round pick injured his foot in the fourth quarter and was quickly ruled out, which is never a good sign. He had trouble putting weight on his left foot on the way off the field, and if it’s a serious injury, that’s an unfortunate development for a player who showed signs that the Jets have finally found their long-term left tackle.

The offensive line has been in top form since Fashanu replaced veteran Tyron Smith a few weeks ago, and an injury this late in the season — if serious — could impact the Jets in 2025. – Rose petal

Required reading

(Photo: Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)