Rams 20, Commanders 13: Garrett's three-sack return pushes LA over .500
Myles Garrett wrecked the game in his first outing in seven weeks and Puka Nacua's leaping fourth-quarter touchdown broke a 13-13 tie in Landover.
The Rams are over .500 for the first time this season, and they got there the hard way: a 20-13 road win over the Commanders at Northwest Stadium in which the defense forced a punt or turnover on five straight Washington drives and Myles Garrett announced his return in full.
Garrett changes the math
Playing his first game since a knee injury sidelined him for seven games, Garrett had three sacks and a forced fumble, per ESPN's recap — including a strip-sack of Jayden Daniels that set up a Rams field goal just before halftime. Washington still led 10-6 at the break after a goal-line stand, but the second half belonged to Los Angeles' front.
Nacua breaks the tie
With the game level at 13-13 early in the fourth quarter, Matthew Stafford went where he had gone all day: Puka Nacua, who made a leaping 7-yard touchdown catch for the winning score. Nacua finished with 14 catches for 150 yards on 19 targets, though his fumble handed Washington a possession. Stafford's line was workmanlike — 26-of-43 for 219 yards with an interception to Nick Cross — while Daniels threw for 274 yards and a touchdown to Van Jefferson. Washington's only points of the final 44 minutes came on a field goal after that Cross interception.
What it means
At 5-4, the Rams have won three straight and sit level with Seattle in the NFC West, chasing San Francisco; they visit Arizona next. For Washington, now 2-6-1 per the AP, the calendar offers no mercy: a Thursday-night trip to the NFC East-leading Giants in a game the AP calls close to must-win, after Dan Quinn criticized his team's inability to play complete football. The Commanders also lost guard Lucas Patrick to a concussion and cornerback Amik Robertson to a fourth-quarter injury.