https://www.ocregister.com/2023/01/01/chargers-dispatch-rams-easily-extend-winning-streak-to-4-in-a-row/

Chargers dispatch Rams easily, extend winning streak to 4 in a row

Austin Ekeler runs for 122 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Chargers
to a 31-10 victory

By Elliott Teaford | eteaford@scng.com | Orange County Register
PUBLISHED: January 1, 2023 at 4:13 p.m. | UPDATED: January 2, 2023 at
12:05 a.m.

INGLEWOOD — The Chargers and Rams were locked in a test of wills and
skills in the first half of Sunday’s game at SoFi Stadium, when Justin
Herbert took a snap from Corey Linsley and handed the ball to Austin
Ekeler. The blocking up front and out wide was flawless, opening a seam
in the defense.

Ekeler raced through the opening on a second-and-5 play, sprinting along
the right sideline and into the end zone for a 72-yard touchdown midway
through the second quarter of what would become a lopsided 31-10 victory
for the playoff-bound Chargers, their fourth consecutive win.

Whatever concerns the Chargers or their fans among the 70,240 in
attendance might have had in the opening minutes soon disappeared. The
Chargers handled their business with remarkable ease against the Rams,
who will miss the playoffs one season after their Super Bowl win.

“December football is when you want to peak,” Linsley would later say,
apparently forgetting for a moment that the calendar had turned to
January overnight. “You want to do your best all the time, but the goal
is to find a rhythm and get the ball rolling, so to speak, in December,
and it’ll snowball then in the playoffs.”

“We feel like we’re hitting our stride,” he added.

The Chargers’ victory improved their record to 10-6 and ensured they
would finish with no worse than the sixth-seeded spot in the AFC
playoffs. The Chargers now sit in the fifth seed after the Baltimore
Ravens lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night, and they can
retain that seed with a victory in their regular-season finale against
the Broncos in Denver or a loss by the Ravens in their finale against
the Cincinnati Bengals.

Ekeler rushed for 122 yards and scores of 10 and 72 yards on 10 carries,
his NFL-leading 17th and 18th touchdowns of the season. Herbert
completed 21 of 28 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns before
yielding to backup Chase Daniel with the game in hand in the fourth quarter.

The Chargers’ defense continued to stifle opponents. Running back Cam
Akers rushed for 123 yards on 19 carries, including a 42-yard gain that
set up Matt Gay’s 23-yard field goal that gave the Rams an all-too-brief
3-0 lead with 1:09 left in the first quarter. The Rams (5-11) were shut
out in the second half.

In addition, the Chargers have outscored the opposition 91-44 during
their winning streak. After giving up more points than they had scored
through the season’s first 15 games, the Chargers finally flipped the
script with their rout of the Rams, scoring an overall total of 363
points and giving up 353.

“They’re peaking at the right time and they’ll be fun to watch in the
playoffs,” Rams coach Sean McVay said after praising Chargers coach
Brandon Staley for his many adjustments to his personnel after an
offseason in which they added players such as linebackers Khalil Mack
and Kyle Van Noy.

“I think we’re playing better, I think we’re improving,” Staley said.
“We’re still finding our best as a football team. We’re going to take
next week and try to take another step as a team and compete and have it
all come together. But it’s fun to see the guys play together, for one
another, in that complementary style that you need.”

In fact, it was difficult to determine whether the Chargers’ offense or
defense was more in sync after Gay’s field goal, the first first-quarter
points they had given up in five games. They took command 17-10, thanks
to Ekeler’s touchdown runs in the second quarter, plus Cameron Dicker’s
40-yard field goal.

The Rams advanced into Chargers’ territory only once in the second half,
reaching the 35-yard line before Van Noy stripped the ball from
quarterback Baker Mayfield and then pounced on the fumble at the 39. The
Rams’ final four drives ended with three punts and the end of the game.

Van Noy has at least one sack in four consecutive games. The Chargers
sacked Mayfield three times one game after sacking Nick Foles seven
times and intercepting him three times during a 20-3 victory over the
Indianapolis Colts that clinched their first playoff berth since 2018.

Mayfield completed 11 of 19 passes for 132 yards.

“I really love the way we played in the second half (defensively),”
Staley said. “I thought that in the second half, that was the type of
team that we’ve been playing with for the last three games. I was very
pleased with our second half performance. I thought we rushed the passer
really well today.

“I thought we covered them extremely well, put a roof on the coverage. I
felt like we were connected. We competed. There were some runs that
weren’t up to our standard in the first half. At halftime, I thought
that we made some good adjustments to play better in the second half.”