The Sports Report: Rams have a very nice Christmas Day

Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. The Rams actually looked like Super Bowl winners on Sunday, blowing out the Denver Broncos. Of course, with the way the Broncos have played this season, especially lately, you could get a group of friends together and look like Super Bowl winners against them.

Also, we look at how the Chargers can clinch a playoff spot tomorrow, the Lakers losing, the start of the Santa Anita meet and we ask you whether or not the Dodgers should keep Trevor Bauer.

From Gary Klein: Rams running back Cam Akers rushed for more than 100 yards and three touchdowns.

Quarterback Baker Mayfield played efficiently and with occasional flash. Veteran tight end Tyler Higbee stepped up, and the defense forced multiple turnovers that made it easy on the offense.

Nothing, of course, has been easy for the defending Super Bowl-champion Rams during their lost season.

But for one game anyway, they executed and played the long-sought-after-but-almost-never-achieved complementary football that coach Sean McVay has hopelessly pined for.

The Rams’ 51-14 victory on Sunday over the hapless Denver Broncos at SoFi Stadium was a welcome respite for McVay and the Rams organization.

It was the most points scored by the Rams since a 54-51 win to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2018.

From start to finish Sunday, the Rams (5-10) had reason to feel good about themselves en route to amassing a season high in points. Sunday’s effort eclipsed a 31-27 victory over the Atlanta Falcons in the second game of the season.

The Rams scored on all eight of their possessions.

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CHARGERS

From Jeff Miller: The Chargers have gained ground in their pursuit of the franchise’s first playoff berth since the 2018 season.

The Chargers can clinch a playoff spot with a victory Monday at Indianapolis. The possibility presented itself after New England and Las Vegas both lost Saturday. The Patriots fell at home to Cincinnati 22-18 and the Raiders went down at Pittsburgh 13-10.

The 8-6 Chargers are sixth in the AFC and have a chance to move up to the No. 5 spot. They trail Baltimore (10-5) by a game and a half. Miami also is 8-6, but the Chargers hold the tiebreaker edge.

The Chargers have their playoff hopes in their hands regardless of what the rest of the conference does.

“We don’t have to look over our shoulders or be fans of other teams,” safety Derwin James Jr. said. “When you can control your own destiny, it’s what’s good.”

LAKERS

From Dan Woike: Luka Doncic wore cowboy boots and a black hat. Russell Westbrook had on a gray pleated skirt and white wingtipped sneakers. And LeBron James donned a camel peacoat and small circular sunglasses.

Christmas Day in the NBA, as much as any during the 82-game season, is a chance to show out with everyone watching.

And, if you’re just tuning in, now you know exactly what the Lakers are this season.

The Dallas Mavericks scored a laughable 51 points in the third quarter, carving the Lakers’ defense with crisp passes and wide-open three-pointers in a 124-115 win that was more lopsided than the final score.

The Lakers (13-20) have lost four straight and are in danger of their third five-game losing streak of the season. The team, when faced with these tough moments early in the season, has mostly responded to scratch its way back to respectability.

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HORSE RACING

From John Cherwa: The plot was hatched in June when Aidan Butler, the soon-to-be chief executive of the Stronach Group, owner of Santa Anita racetrack, sidled up to Europe’s most recognizable and accomplished jockey and suggested that spending a winter in Southern California might be a good idea.

“I guess it resonated,” Butler said. “Now, it’s all part of a bigger tale.”

It took a couple of months to bring everything together, but Lanfranco Dettori, better known as Frankie, will be riding five horses on Monday’s opening day of Santa Anita’s signature six-month meeting. Dettori plans to be a regular fixture in Arcadia, at least until the Santa Anita Derby on April 8, or perhaps longer if he has the right 3-year-old horse to ride.

“The first Saturday in May is a long way away,” Dettori said of the Kentucky Derby. “No point to speculate too much. Right now, it’s all about Boxing Day, [Dec. 26], and having a good start.”

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DODGERS

The arbitrator shortening Trevor Bauer’s suspension and making him eligible to play this season has polarized Dodger fans. Some want him released immediately, some want the Dodgers to play him. What do you think?

Click here to vote in our poll and let us know. Results will be revealed in Friday’s newsletter.

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1908 — Jack Johnson becomes the first Black man to win the world heavyweight boxing title, with a 14th-round knockout of Tommy Burns in Sydney, Australia.

1917 — Toronto’s Harry Cameron becomes the first defenseman to score four goals in a game as the Maple Leafs beat the Montreal Canadiens 7-5.

1943 — Sid Luckman throws five touchdown passes to lead the Chicago Bears to a 41-21 victory over the Washington Redskins for the NFL championship.

1946 — The United States wins the Davis Cup with a 5-0 sweep of Australia, the worst defeat for a defending champion.

1954 — Otto Graham scores three touchdowns and passes for three more to lead the Cleveland Browns to a 56-10 rout of the Detroit Lions for the NFL title.

1955 — The Cleveland Browns intercept six passes, one of which is returned 65 yards for a touchdown by Don Paul, in a 38-14 victory over the Rams for the NFL championship.

1960 — The Philadelphia Eagles come from behind twice on a 35-yard pass to Tommy McDonald from Norm Van Brocklin and a 5-yard run by Ted Dean to beat the Green Bay Packers 17-13 for the NFL title.

1964 — Wray Carlton and Jack Kemp each score touchdowns and Pete Gogolak kicks two field goals to give the Buffalo Bills a 20-7 victory over the San Diego Chargers in the AFL championship.

1965 — The Buffalo Bills win their second straight AFL championship with a 27-0 victory over the San Diego Chargers. The Chargers are able to get inside Buffalo’s 25-yard line only once.

1986 — Center Doug Jarvis of the Hartford Whalers plays his 915th consecutive game, setting an NHL record.

1992 - The San Jose Sharks end a 13-game losing streak with a 7-2 win over the Kings, albeit allowing 59 shots, the most in team history; Jeff Hacket makes 57 saves

1999 — Mike Vanderjagt’s 21-yard field goal with four seconds left gives the Indianapolis Colts a 29-28 win over the Cleveland Browns. Indianapolis, which went 3-13 in 1998, makes NFL history by winning 10 more games than they did the previous season.

2001 — Colorado’s Patrick Roy becomes the first NHL goalie to win 500 games as he records his seventh shutout of the season, a 2-0 win over Dallas.

2004 — Peyton Manning breaks Dan Marino’s single-season touchdown pass record when he throws his 48th and 49th of the season, rallying Indianapolis from a 31-16 fourth-quarter deficit to win 34-31 in overtime over San Diego.

2007 — Chris Summers kicks a 40-yard field goal as time expired in the Motor City Bowl, lifting Purdue to a 51-48 win over Central Michigan. The 99 points ties the second-highest total in a bowl game that ended in regulation, trailing only the 2003 Insight Bowl, where California beat Virginia Tech 52-49.

2011 — Drew Brees sets the NFL record for yards passing in a season, breaking a mark that Dan Marino had held since 1984, and the New Orleans Saints clinch the NFC South title with a 45-16 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night. Brees throws for 307 yards and four touchdown passes, the last a 9-yard strike to Darren Sproles that set the record with 2:51 to go. It was Brees’ final pass of the game and it gave him 5,087 yards passing, to break the record by three yards.

Compiled by the Associated Press

And finally

Highlights from Jack Johnson’s boxing career. Watch and listen here.