The Sports Report: Rams continue playoff hunt with win over Commanders

Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the news.

From Sam Farmer: All around the Rams locker room Sunday evening, players were stretched out on contoured beds, their legs encased in compression sleeves. At least a dozen massages were underway in an adjoining training room.

With the New Orleans Saints coming to town Thursday night, there’s no time to spare.

Amazingly, these Rams are not only relevant, they took control of their situation with a 28-20 victory over Washington. A playoff berth is theirs to hang on to or lose.

How weird. This was supposed to be a rebuilding season for the Rams, among the NFL’s youngest teams. Remember all those rumblings of how they should tank for the No. 1 pick so they could draft USC’s Caleb Williams? How Sean McVay was probably going to leave for a TV gig? How Matthew Stafford was done?

As it stands, it would be a disappointment if they didn’t make the playoffs. Few people saw that coming. And they’re playing well enough to be particular about the way they win. They could have beaten the Commanders by more. The game should have been on ice sooner. Imagine, quibbling over style points in what was forecast as a season to forget.

“We knew we could do it, man,” Rams guard Kevin Dotson said. “Sometimes you’ve got to go through adversity to get to where you want to go. I feel like we’ve been through that adversity, and now we’re kind of seeing what we can really be.”

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Rams move into an NFC playoff spot after victory over Commanders

Rams’ 28-20 home victory over the Washington Commanders by the numbers

Rams box score

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NFL standings

CHARGERS

From Jeff Miller: They didn’t rebuild as much as they re-upped, the Chargers convinced their roster was close enough coming out of the 2022 season to make only a few significant changes.

Jamaree Salyer replaced guard Matt Feiler. Linebacker Eric Kendricks and safety Alohi Gilman assumed the starting jobs that had belonged to Drue Tranquill and Nasir Adderley.

Veteran defenders Kyle Van Noy and Bryce Callahan were allowed to depart as a pair of new coordinators — Kellen Moore on offense and Derrick Ansley on defense — took over.

Soon enough, everyone would know just how badly the Chargers had miscalculated their potential, the fallout starting Friday morning with the firings of general manager Tom Telesco and coach Brandon Staley.

The tweaked roster produced twisted results, the Chargers’ warped path to 5-9 including a Thursday night defeat during which, at one stage, they trailed Las Vegas 63-7.

The Chargers will move into their new training facility in El Segundo in 2024 with a new general manager and head coach and a group of players that could look vastly different.

Following an offseason of only limited adjustments, this organization will enter January looking at possibly sweeping changers in the coming weeks and months.

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USC FOOTBALL

From Ryan Kartje: When he signed with USC last December out of Los Alamitos, Malachi Nelson was viewed as the natural heir apparent to Caleb Williams, a five-star quarterback that oozed upside, who seemed, at first, like the perfect fit for Lincoln Riley’s succession plans at the position.

But less than a year later, Nelson is already planning his exit from USC. The freshman quarterback intends to enter the NCAA transfer portal, according to a person with knowledge of the decision unauthorized to speak publicly, leaving USC’s future at the position glaringly uncertain.

For now, it will be Miller Moss who quarterbacks USC in the Holiday Bowl later this month. The Trojans have just one other scholarship quarterback on the roster in Jake Jensen, a redshirt sophomore who has never taken a snap.

Riley made clear earlier this month that he intended to look around for quarterbacks in the transfer portal.

“My goal right now,” he said, “is to always have multiple guys in the room that you feel like are starter-level guys that you feel like can really compete.”

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UCLA and USC football transfer portal tracker: Who’s in and who’s out?

USC BASKETBALL

A dominant performance by Auburn served as a reminder that neither USC nor Bronny James are a finished product.

Aden Holloway scored 15 points with six assists and Jaylin Williams had 14 points to help Auburn beat USC 91-75 on Sunday as the Trojans’ James continued to work his way back to form after suffering cardiac arrest in July.

The Tigers (8-2) controlled the game most of the way in the first road appearance for James in a packed Auburn Arena with dozens of NBA scouts watching. The Trojans (5-5) dropped their third straight game.

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USC box score

NBA

NBA scores

NBA standings

DUCKS

Adam Henrique scored three goals for his first career hat trick and the Ducks beat the New Jersey Devils 5-1 Sunday night to snap a five-game losing streak.

Alex Killorn had a goal and two assists, Troy Terry had a goal and an assist, and defensemen Pavel Mintyukov and Cam Fowler each had two assists for the Ducks, who were 1-13-0 since their last regulation win on Nov. 14.

John Gibson had 18 saves through two periods and Lukas Dostal stopped all 10 shots he faced in the third. The Ducks announced Gibson was pulled because he was feeling “under the weather.”

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Ducks box score

NHL scores

NHL standings

UCLA FOOTBALL

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: He started the year as UCLA’s top quarterback. Ethan Garbers finished it the same way.

Despite injuries and inconsistent play on offense throughout the season, the redshirt junior led the Bruins to their first bowl win since 2015 with a triumphant second half Saturday, entering in relief of injured Collin Schlee to help UCLA to a 35-22 victory over Boise State in the LA Bowl at SoFi Stadium.

Garbers, who suffered an arm injury during UCLA’s regular-season finale against California, finished with 152 yards and two touchdowns on nine-for-12 passing with 38 rushing yards and earned offensive most valuable player honors.

In front of bowl game host Rob Gronkowski, UCLA coach Chip Kelly appropriately crowned his quarterback on stage during the trophy presentation by placing a thick diamond chain with a gaudy LA Bowl pendant over Garbers’ head. After a season of quarterback controversies, Garbers silenced any final doubters.

“Ethan’s won the team over a long time ago,” Kelly said. “He’s been our starting quarterback, the only issue we’ve had is Ethan’s got banged up.”

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Plaschke: Kelly’s heroes — UCLA plays hard for embattled coach in comeback win over Boise State

UCLA box score

BOWL SCHEDULE

All times Pacific

Saturday’s results

Myrtle Beach Bowl
Ohio 41, Georgia Southern 21

New Orleans Bowl
Jacksonville State 34, Louisiana 31 (OT)

Cricket Celebration Bowl
Florida A&M 30, Howard 26

Cure Bowl
Appalachian State 13, Miami (Ohio) 9

New Mexico Bowl
Fresno State 37, New Mexico State 10

LA Bowl
UCLA 35, Boise State 22

Independence Bowl
Texas Tech 34, Cal 14

Today
Famous Toastery Bowl
11:30 a.m., ESPN
Western Kentucky vs. Old Dominion

Tuesday
Frisco Bowl
6 p.m., ESPN
Marshall vs. UTSA

Thursday
Boca Raton Bowl
5 p.m., ESPN
South Florida vs. Syracuse

Friday
Gasparilla Bowl
3:30 p.m., ESPN
UCF vs. Duke

Saturday
Birmingham Bowl
9 a.m., ABC
Georgia Tech vs. Troy

Camellia Bowl
9 a.m., ESPN
Arkansas State vs. Northern Illinois

Armed Forces Bowl
12:30 p.m., ABC
James Madison vs. Air Force

Potato Bowl
12:30 p.m., ESPN
Utah State vs. Georgia State

68 Ventures Bowl
4 p.m., ESPN
South Alabama vs. Eastern Michigan

Las Vegas Bowl
4:30 p.m., ABC
Northwestern vs. Utah

Hawaii Bowl
7:30 p.m., ESPN
San Jose State vs. Coastal Carolina

Tuesday, Dec. 26
Quick Lane Bowl
11 a.m., ESPN
Bowling Green vs. Minnesota

First Responder Bowl
2:30 p.m., ESPN
Texas State vs. Rice

Guaranteed Rate Bowl
3 p.m., ESPN
Kansas vs. UNLV

Wednesday, Dec. 27
Military Bowl
11 a.m., ESPN
Tulane vs. Virginia Tech

Duke’s Mayo Bowl
2:30 p.m., ESPN
North Carolina vs. West Virginia

Holiday Bowl
5 p.m., Fox
No. 15 Louisville vs. USC

Texas Bowl
6 p.m., Fox
No. 20 Oklahoma State vs. Texas A&M

Thursday, Dec. 28
Fenway Bowl
8 a.m., ESPN
No. 24 SMU vs. Boston College

Pinstripe Bowl
11:15 a.m., ESPN
Miami vs. Rutgers

Pop-Tarts Bowl
2:45 p.m., ESPN
NC State vs. Kansas State

Alamo Bowl
6:15 p.m., ESPN
No. 12 Oklahoma vs. No. 14 Arizona

Friday, Dec. 29
Gator Bowl
9 a.m., ESPN
No. 22 Clemson vs. Kentucky

Sun Bowl
11 a.m., CBS
No. 19 Oregon State vs. No. 16 Notre Dame

Liberty Bowl
12:30 p.m., ESPN
Iowa State vs. Memphis

Cotton Bowl
5 p.m., ESPN
No. 7 Ohio State vs. No. 9 Missouri

Saturday, Dec. 30
Peach Bowl
9 a.m., ESPN
No. 10 Penn State vs. No. 11 Ole Miss

Music City Bowl
11 a.m., ABC
Auburn vs. Maryland

Orange Bowl
1 p.m., ESPN
No. 5 Florida State vs. No. 6 Georgia

Arizona Bowl
1:30 p.m., The CW
Toledo vs. Wyoming

Monday, Jan. 1
ReliaQuest Bowl
9 a.m., ESPN2
No. 13 LSU vs. Wisconsin

Citrus Bowl
9 a.m., ABC
No. 17 Iowa vs. No. 21 Tennessee

Fiesta Bowl
9 a.m., ESPN
No. 8 Oregon vs. No. 23 Liberty

Rose Bowl
2 p.m., ESPN
No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 4 Alabama

Sugar Bowl
5:45 p.m., ESPN
No. 2 Washington vs. No. 3 Texas

Monday, Jan. 8
1:30 p.m., ESPN
National Championship Game

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1949 — The Philadelphia Eagles win the NFL championship with a 14-0 victory over the Los Angeles Rams.

1954 — Montreal’s Maurice Richard becomes the first player in NHL history to score 400 goals during the Canadiens’ 4-2 road victory against the Chicago Black Hawks.

1961 — Olympic track star Wilma Rudolph wins The Associated Press’ female athlete of year award for the second consecutive year.

1976 — Oakland quarterback Kenny Stabler scores with 14 seconds left to give the Raiders a 24-21 comeback victory over the New England Patriots in the AFC divisional playoffs.

1983 — Edmonton’s Wayne Gretzky scores his 100th point of the season the Edmonton Oilers’ 34th game, a 7-5 victory over the Winnipeg Jets. Gretzky scores two goals and has two assists to get to 100 points faster than any player in NHL history. He finishes the season with 205 points.

1997 — Germany’s Katja Seizinger wins her sixth straight race to tie former French star Jean-Claude Killy’s World Cup record for consecutive victories.

2005 — Indianapolis, which won its first 13 games, the fourth team in NFL history to do so, loses 26-17 at home to San Diego.

2006 — Tenth-ranked Arizona State beats Texas Tech 61-45 when the second outdoor game in women’s college basketball history is called on account of rain with 4:18 to play at Chase Field, home of baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks.

2007 — Edmonton sets an NHL record by competing in its fourth straight shootout, but loses to Dallas 2-1. The Oilers, who had won the first three, lose for the second time in their 12 shootout appearances.

2008 — Steve Asmussen is the first North American trainer to win 600 Thoroughbred races in a year as Storm Trust captures the fifth race at Delta Downs.

2016 — New England defeats Denver 16-3 to clinch the AFC East and earn a first-round bye. It marks the eighth consecutive division title for the Patriots, the longest streak in NFL history, breaking a tie with the 1973-79 Los Angeles Rams (seven). New England is the only team in NFL history to win 13 division titles in a 14-year span.

2022 — FIFA World Cup Final, Lusail Stadium, Qatar: Argentina beats France, 4-2 in penalty shootout after teams locked at 3-3 after extra time; Lionel Messi scores 2 for Argentina, Kylian Mbappé a hat-trick for France.

Compiled by the Associated Press