SportsWrap, 11/1/2026

The Rams are making the most of their opportunities so far. That's Nicole on screen. Let's do it. The Rams take down the Chargers, running away with it in the second half. We've got all the reaction plus all the highlights from around the NFL. This is Fox 11 Sports Wrap, and we start right now. Fox 11 Sports Wrap. Yes, another Sunday in the NFL. Hi, everybody. Welcome to Sports Wrap, and happy November to you. We've got the battle for Los Angeles right over there at SoFi Stadium. We're going to talk about it. I'm Kyle Kraska. He's Ron Pitts. We watch this football game together. I mean, first reaction you have to have is, wow, Chargers 0-7, what do you do now? Yeah, you know, they're just trying to survive right now. They've got questions, problems all over the place, and the Rams didn't make the mistake of playing down to the level of competition. They made an adjustment at the half, and it made all the difference in the world. All right, Rams finally win two in a row this season. Let's go live to SoFi Stadium head coach Sean McVay at the podium. But there's no style points. What I did like is we just stayed the course offensively. Like I mentioned, on some of the punts, I thought we covered really well. Started off the kickoff coverage doing a really nice job. We can't have the two penalties that puts the ball on the 40-yard line. But I did think Josh hit some of those early ones really well. You know, What led to us having two kickers up was really just that. That was a unit that we felt like we've had successful outcomes with somebody, with Josh exactly, kicking some of those squib or those dirty balls, however you want to look at it. And he'll keep getting better at it sometimes. Sometimes your roster might not allow you to be able to do that, but that was the thinking if you guys are wondering, and we'll take the win and then we'll be able to learn from it and keep going. Was there an emphasis to run the ball coming out of halftime, or was it just better execution? Yeah, it was just better execution. I mean, we didn't even have a chance to get any plays off, because you're first down, decent gain, second down, average, and then you're third down and you're off the grass. To even establish any sort of momentum or rhythm was non-existent for us. You credit them. I thought there were some plays that we could have executed at a higher level, but there were so minimal opportunities. But like I said, the defense deserves a ton of credit. They just kept getting stop after stop. They didn't say anything except for just going out there and making their plays, even on the sudden change when we turned the football over early on in the game. But I did think that you saw the resilience. You saw why Matthew Stafford is such a stud, Because he's at his best when he needed to be. You know, as weird as things went in that first half, he strings together an unbelievable two minute drive to allow us to even have a lead, which is unreal based on how poorly we played to go into that half, you know, at a 10-9 lead. And then I thought we had momentum of the game in the second half and the guys played well. And there was a little bit different approach, but all we were interested in doing was coming away with the win. And I thought we were able to do that and we'll learn from it. We'll clean it up and we'll keep it moving. I thought it was really just in the two-minute drive. And you could see guys never really got frustrated. They just knew we're not giving ourselves a chance to even get to any feel for what they're trying to do defensively. I mean, you have so few plays, and you go three plays and out. It's really hard even to be able to try to help your guys with how you want to try to sequence a game. But what I love about this group, you better be mentally tough and you better be resilient. And it's not really how you start, it's how you finish. And we ended up doing a good job because of the way that we played as a team, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. Go ahead, Sam. All right, that's it, Coach. Sean McVay said there it's not how you start, it's how you finish. They started horribly. In fact, for the first time in the Sean McVay era, 10 years, they went their first five possessions of a football game without having a first down. That's right. That's right. It was into the third quarter. They didn't convert a third down midway through the third quarter. And he talked about that second half momentum, and it was more execution. Well, I think it was also some game planning as well. It was clear that, okay, Blake Corum, go. We're going to run this ball. They pounded the right side. And that made a difference later on. Did he ever. 11 carries today, 73 yards for Blake Corum, and one touchdown. Let's get right to the highlights. In case you missed it earlier today at SoFi Stadium, Sean McVay looking to get his Rams to .500, while Jim Harbaugh just would be happy with a win. Doesn't begin well for the Bolts? Justin Herbert picked off by Quentin Lake and returns it 45 yards to the Bolts' 19. The leading 19th pick for Herbert. Or that would be ninth. Not 19. That would be like a record. Rams would get a field goal to take an early... Real lead. Chargers kick three field goals of their own. They held the Rams without a first down until the final two minutes of the half. Then the Rams finally get into the end zone. Kyren Williams untouched from the one. The Rams take a 10-9 lead into the halftime locker room. First possession of the second half. The Rams increase the tempo. Blake Corum finishing off an impressive drive with a 23-yard TD run. Run, 74 yards and eight plays to open up the second half. That's right. 11 carries for him, total 73 yards. Williams actually had more yards, but he was effective, and they both got in the end zone. That was big. Rams go up 17-9. Chargers still in it, I guess, until Herbert would throw another pick, this one going right to Trent McDuffie, and he'll return it 22 yards, setting up the Rams' offense again, and that would be pick number 10 now on the season for Herbert, which leads the NFL. A minute later, Matthew Stafford finding who else? Hut, hut to Kua with a short throw, makes a move, breaks a tackle, and crosses into the end zone. Another Rams TD. They expand their lead to 24-9, late in the third, and that would be just about that for Jim Harbaugh. And the Chargers, the Rams, and the Chargers, a 24-9 defeat. Rams go to 4-4, the Chargers 0-7. Let's get back out to SoFi Stadium. Girard, not good at it. Kyle, thank you. We're with Blake Corum. I got to ask you, one-point game at halftime. What was said at halftime? You came out and you ran the football. You were in the game, and it turned the game around. At halftime, we said it's a new game. Let's act like that first half didn't happen, right? We'll just start with a one-point lead. And, you know, we can't start that slow. But, you know, things happen, and we were able to come out the second half and, you know, fire right away. So it was really cool to see. What were you seeing in that opening drive where you were getting yards basically at will? Obviously, you scored the touchdown. Offensive line, tight end, they were coming off the ball. Receivers were blocking. They were kind of giving me three-way goes and just allowing me to use my vision, cut backside, keep it frontside. So that's a credit to them. They were really doing their thing up front. And I got to ask you about the defense. They didn't let the Chargers find the end zone, two interceptions. Another solid day, huh? Yeah, you can't beat that with a stick. You know, our defense... You know, they held us in there that first half, and they kept going the second half, too. So, you know, big credit to them, man. I'm just proud of this team. Like I said, things to clean up, which we will, but, you know, we'll take this dub. Congratulations, Blake. Thank you. Appreciate it. Thank you. Kyle, there you go. Blake Corum, Rams win it 25-4. They are now. 4-4 at the 500 mark. Let's get it back to you guys in the studio. All right, John Moncure, thanks so much. Yeah, Blake Corum, as I mentioned, 11 carries for 73 yards and the touchdown. Kyron Williams, 16 carries, carried the ball more, just 56 yards. But, man, the way Corum came out and just really established himself in that third quarter. You talked about that while we were watching the game, that they are determined to pound the football. It was clear they were going to be physical, they were going to be aggressive, and they're going to run the ball right now. Now, there was one point where they ran the ball to the right side. Twice in a row, the same exact play, and they were just blowing the Chargers off the ball. Remember, the Chargers didn't have Derwin James. Okay, they're big hitting safety. He hasn't been available for a while, but this was big. If you can run the football, as Corum did, 6.6 yards a carry, do the math on that. You're going to be in a great third down situation every time. I thought early on the Chargers made the Rams double clutch a little bit. They did some things coverage-wise, made Stafford hold the ball a lot. We saw that. And he was unsure of himself. And then they're starting to get hits on him. But that was the answer to all that. Okay, forget it. We're not going to play chess anymore. We're going to go back to checkers. They went back to checkers, ran the ball, and that was the difference in the game. Meanwhile, you got Puka Nakua. And we talked about this when Davante Adams went down, that obviously all the attention was going to be on Puka. And yet he continues to deliver. He continues to produce 11 more catches today for 80 yards and a touchdown. And he is clearly the go-to guy. When they need it, when it gets tight, they go to Puka. And he comes up with the plays. There you see, across the middle there. Getting the ball to him. Now he's fighting for the yardage. And I think Sean McVay does a great job of moving him. They say when you move guys, it's harder to double them. And if you can't double a Pro Bowl wide receiver, you're going to get hurt. And they were able to protect it. Kudos out to Coleman Shelton, the center. He was supposed to not play today. He was banged up all week. Questionable coming in. He comes out there, plays, gets it done. And I think that was key, because while they did get... To Stafford, they didn't change the game plan or make the Rams change the game plan. They were able to run the ball a little bit more, and it worked out in their favor. We've got to talk about Justin Herbert. Two more interceptions today, now 10 on the season, which leads the NFL. Yeah. It just doesn't seem to be an answer to this dilemma. They haven't scored a touchdown now in nine consecutive quarters. Yeah, okay, now where does the fault come from? People have been on Herbert all year long, okay? Then you talk about the new change, offensive coordinator there, Mike McDaniel. Some of the blame will certainly go there. And, of course, Jim Harbaugh will start every press conference, hey, it's on me, put it on me, that's the way he is. That's the kind of guy he is. But we know it's a little of everyone, and he just looks indecisive. I think Drew Brees said that a couple times on the telecast, and this is what indecision will get you. That's Q Lake there, the former Bruin. He's taking that one up the sideline. But, yeah, that was just part of the rough day, really, for the quarterback there, Herbert. Two interceptions, ends up with a 72 quarterback rating. And just never looked. They're comfortable in the pocket. Don't want to give credit to the defensive coordinator, Chris Shula. He did a great job, as he usually does. So, yeah, some of that's on him. But, yeah, they're going to have to get better, and time is running out fast. You know, it's kind of nuts. If you go back 26 years to the Chargers, the San Diego Chargers, Jim Harbaugh was quarterbacking in Week 7 and threw two interceptions in that game to the Buffalo Bills, and the Chargers fell to 0-7. That was 26 years ago, and now he's done it as a head coach. My goodness, what a mess it is. All right, we'll take our first time out here on SportsWrap. When we come back, more from Week 8 in the NFL. Big AFC matchup between the Ravens and the Bills, but it proved to be a costly one today for the Ravens. We'll have that and a lot more when SportsWrap continues. Resort and Spa. Conveniently located along the I-10. Less than 90 minutes away from wherever you are. Morongo. Good times. Poll of the Day is brought to you by Spectrum. It's internet, mobile, and streaming TV all from one place. It's only everything. We welcome you back and this is an opportunity for you to participate in our show. This is our poll question of the day, asking you this, who is the offensive player of the year so far in the NFL? These are the choices we're giving you. Jameer Gibbs, Kenneth Walker, Jackson Smith and Jigba, Bijan Robinson, Puka Nakua, or Josh Allen. You can go to foxla.com slash vote. We'll have the results of the poll. A little later on in the show, but right now, we welcome you back inside the studio alongside my good pal here, Ron Pitts. I'm Kyle Kraska. Let's get right back to the highlights. Earlier today, it was Josh Allen and the Bills squaring off against the Ravens in a potential AFC title preview game, and it was unfortunate, but the Ravens lost Lamar on the very first throw of the game. He was immediately put on IR with a finger injury, a thumb injury, and he is going to be out for a while. The backup, Tyler Huntley, went out with a foot injury. So enter third string rookie Joe Fignano, making his NFL debut. And the third, Bills up 16-10. James Cook from five yards out. Bills get some cushion. They lead it 23-10. Fourth quarter now, Bills on the attack again. Allen finding D.J. Moore with the 11-yard strike. And why is that significant? Well, because it is Allen's 259th Bills touchdown passing. There he is, the great Jim Kelly. Who was in attendance to witness it all. He would add another. Tight end Dalton Kincaid. And the Bills knock off the depleted Ravens 36-10. Buffalo improving to 6-1 on the season. So now, Mr. Pitts, I ask you this. The Ravens 4-4. They're in last place in the AFC North. Lamar Jackson, we have no idea how long he'll be out for. But they say he'll require surgery on the thumb. That sounds significant. Is the Ravens season over? I want to say it's over, but my goodness, it's getting close, because it's one thing to lose Lamar, and he had fought so hard to get back in the game. That was his first game back after missing a few, and to go down on the first play with that type of energy, now here comes Huntley, and you say, okay, we got Huntley, we know what he can do, and he goes down, and then Joe Faggiano comes in, looking pretty good the first couple snaps, but things caught up to him, the game caught up to him, so they've got a problem right now, and these are the things. They derail your season just that fast. And on top of all that, Derrick Henry, he doesn't even go over 50 yards rushing. They shut him down. That was the key as well on that side of the ball. Fignano, an undrafted rookie. He was the emergency QB. Showed up at the stadium today. Had no idea he would suddenly be thrust into a starting role. Originally brought in league by Baltimore. Okay, want to get back to the highlights right now. The Browns and the Steelers, both 5-2 on the season, facing off. For the AFC North lead, Jalen Warren ran for a touchdown, tied a career high with 143 yards. And the Pittsburgh defense dominated in this one, sacking Deshaun Watson eight times. The Steelers win 27-6, marking their 23rd straight regular season win over Cleveland. Crazy. All right, here's your shocker of the day. Cardinals and Cowboys. Gardner Minshew replacing an ineffective Jacoby Brissett, trying to tie this game in the closing seconds. What a throw. What a catch by Michael Wilson. Back of the end zone. Ties the game at 30. Minshew's third touchdown of the quarter. So the point after going to seal the deal, right? Nope. Not quite. Chad Ryland shanks it left. And after all that work, this thing's headed into overtime and the Cowboys thinking they have escaped. In the extra frame, after trading punts, Ryland has a chance to redeem himself. This time from 42 yards out to win it. And that one is perfect. An improbable comeback. A 33-30 overtime win. It's the Cardinals' ninth win in 10 meetings with the boys dating back to 2008. That's kind of crazy, right? Actually, think about that. My goodness. Yeah, they've got something on Dallas. They do. All right. Despite having one of the least prolific offenses in the National Football League, the Vikings entering Week 8 as the last unbeaten team in the league, thanks to that tenacious defense. They took that on the road to face their divisional rival, the 4-2 Detroit Lions. Minnesota won both games against the Lions last year, and the Vikings break through in the second down, 3-zip. Kyler Murray puts one up, and look at the concentration from Justin Jefferson. Stays with it for the touchdown, and Minnesota leads it 7-3. Lions star running back Jameer Gibbs continuing his electric season, down 7-3 in the third, weaves through the defense, shoves off a couple of defenders, and that is a 30-yard touchdown. Detroit takes a 12-7 lead after a failed two-point conversion attempt. The Vikings respond in the fourth. Murray hooking up with tight end T.J. Hawkinson for the score. They get the conversion and take a three-point lead. But the Lions march right downfield under five minutes to go. Jared Goff connecting with Jameson Williams in the back of the end zone. That proves to be the game winner. Lions win it 19-15. There are now no unbeatens left in the National Football League. I mean, Jared Goff, got to say, hats off to him. He finally threw an interception today. He'd gone this entire way without throwing big. We hate to hate like that, you know, right. But when you've got a guy in the backfield like Jameer Gibbs and the things he did, 23 carries, 153 yards. Yeah, well, the difference was Detroit ran the ball and Minnesota didn't. And that was kind of the crux there. I wanted to see how far they could go with Kyler Murray in that offense. But they weren't thinking about this guy. Gibbs took it to him. To be able to click it off at 6.7 yards a carry, that's unstoppable. That's really Dan Campbell and that aggression and that defense. And he did it, Kyle, against a pretty darn good defense. That's Brian Flores. They're on top of the NFL as far as passing and number two and total offense and all that kind of stuff. They put it on people. They're very solid. So that's impressive to be able to do that. And then they made sure that Justin Jefferson did. Didn't get involved. He had five catches, 33 yards, one touchdown, but a long pass of nine yards. That Viking defense is amazing. They, coming into this game, allowed only 12 points per game. Detroit, you love what they do offensively. They ring up the yards and ring up the points. But, man, defensively, they kind of stink defensively, and they've got to pick it up. They give up way too many points. Absolutely. They're ranked number 32. That's dead last. In defense, giving up 391 yards a game. You're not going to go very far in that regard. And the points, they're down at the bottom in terms of points as well. All right. I was being too kind when I said they kind of stink. They really stink. Hey, let's go back to SoFi Stadium. Matthew Stafford is at the podium live. We did an unbelievable job. You know, we weren't helping them out with time of possession, points, anything. So they did a heck of a job. We wanted to repay the favor in the second half. Felt like we did a decent job of that. This is a team football, you know, Football is a team game, takes everybody, takes 60 minutes too. I'm only in the game at halftime. In the game after three quarters, you know, it takes 60 minutes. So, like I said earlier, just proud of our team, calm in the middle of, you know, not playing our best football on the offensive side of the ball and then found a way at the end of the half to kind of spark us and go from there. It doesn't necessarily carry over week to week, but do you feel like the momentum of having won a couple games in a row can carry over you guys going forward? Yeah, I mean, obviously it's nice to learn from your mistakes when you win football games and not lose them, so they all count. We obviously didn't do a good enough job some of the earlier games in the year finishing them off and probably the way we finished this one off. Games are going to go the way they're going to go. You obviously want to go out there and light the scoreboard up in the first half and play with a huge lead in the second half and just let the defense go attack and throw 50-yard touchdowns every time you touch it. It's not the way it goes sometimes. You've got to find a way to battle, and our team is becoming battle-tested and finding ways to win those games that maybe we didn't earlier on in the year. When you're going through that first half, and then three and out, and then three and out, and then three and out... What's the mindset? Is it like the game's eventually going to break? Yeah, I mean, we're trying to fix anything if there's an issue that's coming up, but each individual plays kind of its own, and for whatever reason, one player or another isn't being successful for us. We just wanted to try to find a way to get that first first down, stay on the field. That was the biggest thing. Obviously didn't do a good enough job of it. Two-minute drive was a big spark for us on the offensive side. Two straight weeks, two touchdowns for Kyler Williams and Blake Warren. What have you seen specifically out of Blake as he's continued to grow? Yeah, I mean, I think just more experience in the league, understanding what we're trying to do, obviously understanding our game is, you know, as good as he can, and, you know, he's finding himself as a player as well, you know. It's a rush to judgment a lot of times in the league and the way that, you know, people are, you know, either... Crowned or put away, and so it's hopefully a long career for a lot of people, and it takes time. You guys would have laughed at me if you watched me my rookie year and some of the struggles that you go through. But just happy for him that he's healthy, he's playing great. Both those guys feeding off of each other, giving our offense a bunch of life, both in the run game and in the pass game. All right, there is quarterback Matthew Stafford. So now the Rams get back to 4-4, and now they go on the road for a couple of games. They go to Washington next week, and then they go to Arizona to take on the Cardinals. Do you feel, from what you saw today, obviously in the second half, because the first half was horrible, do you sense that maybe they're getting a little momentum here and they can carry this into a 3-in-a-row and a 4-in-a-row? No, I do feel that way, but like he said, You've got to finish the game, okay? And they're a veteran team. You've got a veteran quarterback. They know the importance of that, and they did it. But you finish sometimes by going back to basics. It was about the blocking, the catching, the kicking, tackling, all of that kind of stuff. And we joke, they had two kickers active today just in case one decided to do the coop, you know, and that has happened with them. But they were aggressive. And how about Aaron Donald? Aaron Donald showing up. What if you didn't have Aaron Donald? You still haven't seen Myles Garrett on the field yet, you know, except for game one, right? So they're doing everything right. It's very easy to not play well against a team like the Chargers, and they didn't fall into that trap. Kudos to them. Aaron Donald almost had a scoop and score. Yeah, he got a little nervous. Oh, so close. Oh, man, he's got to pick that thing up. All right, we're going to take another time out here on Sports Wrap, but when we come back, much more on the Rams running over the Chargers in the battle for L.A. Stick around. Here we go. Sports Wrap, fully loaded schedule, is sponsored by your Toyota dealers. We make it easy. We are always looking ahead here on Sports Wrap, so here's a quick look ahead to week number nine in the NFL season. Next Sunday, the Chargers will stay in L.A. and they will play host to the Texans. The Rams hit the road for D.C. to face off against the Commanders. The Niners host the Raiders. And next Monday night, the Bills visit the Vikings. Yeah. The Rams wake up in the second half and score a pair of touchdowns, including one final one to Puka Nacua in the third. This is third scoring strike of the year. The Rams keep the Chargers winless at 0-7 today with a 24-9 victory. Takeaways are we lost the game. We weren't able to finish drives with touchdowns. Also lost in the middle eight, touchdown before the half, and the opening drive touchdown by the Rams, and turning the ball over. Those were key once again. It's been nine quarters since your offense scored a touchdown. Just what do you kind of attest to that problem in the last few games? Yeah, aware of that and keep working, keep studying. Good morning. And not a familiar position for any of the guys. In our locker room, so we're the only ones who can change it, and we are highly motivated and dedicated to do. Keep working, keep studying. I appreciate the sentiment from Jim Harbaugh, but, I mean, this season, you're 0-7, and this season's going nowhere. We'll be right back. Do you consider making some sort of a change? I mean, he said that, you know, Mike McDaniel was going to be his offensive coordinator, but as you heard the reporter say, nine straight quarters now, no touchdowns for the Chargers. No, at this point, everything is on the table, okay? Yeah. They can say whatever they want to say in the interviews, but once that door shuts in those meetings, it's a whole nother deal. Now you have to start weighing, okay, what is the change? Where does it come from? Is it, is it a coaching change? Like you mentioned the coordinator there, or is it a positional change? And how much will that change help us or hurt us going forward? Sometimes teams make changes, Kyle, and they do absolutely nothing because they made it in the We're in the wrong area. You know, now they're at that point now because they clearly and I've never seen Herbert look like this. He looks like. He doesn't understand the offense, okay? Now, is that a relationship problem between him and the coordinator? I don't know. Is it just him? I don't know. But clearly, they've got a disconnect, and it's been going on for a while, like since the beginning of the season, and it's not getting any better. You've got a very good quarterback, if you look at the whole body of work. You've got a very good coordinator, and it just doesn't seem like the two... are on the same page, obviously. Let's talk about the Rams, though, and let's talk about the positives. Well, the game started off with five consecutive drives without a first down, and then the Chargers gave them the football with under two minutes to go, and that's when it all came to life for the Rams. That's right, and you heard Coach Harbaugh say middle eight, and he's talking about the four minutes going into half, the four minutes coming out of half, and that's where this game really... Opened up for the Rams. That was a big pass play that got them the first first down of the game. And then they started to move inside and work Puka. They had Puka going all day long. We know that. And those are the two plays there. That right side, they had something there. And they kept milking it. But this was an example of, okay, the Rams knew what they could do. They knew they were better than this team. And I guarantee you, McVay went in that locker room and said some very choice words, a lot of adjectives being thrown around. But that's the way it is. You can't drop games. You can't even come out and look bad in games like that against teams you know you can beat. Because you're going to see too many teams in this league that you're not going to be able to get past on that day. And the Rams have seen a couple of them thus far. You've got to feel if the Rams can come out and start a game. How about getting a touchdown on the first drive of the game, something they haven't done all season. Right. And we used to see them do that. They would come out. They're not good on the field, but that's not what they are right now. Unfortunately, it's been a while. All right, still to come here on SportsDraft, the Raiders and the Jets showdown, and it turns into a shootout. Love that, and a lot more from Week 8 in the NFL. He's behind the line of scrimmage. No one can touch him. Welcome back to Sports Wrap. Falcons in Tampa facing the Bucs in a heavy Florida rainstorm. It was a brutal day to try to pass the football. Atlanta trailing six zip in the second. On fourth down, Michael Penix Jr. throws his third pick of the half. He would end with four interceptions. The Bucs go on to win 16 to nothing and to become the first team since 1974 to win a game without completing a single pass. It's true Baker Mayfield was 0 for three Raiders and Jets facing off at MetLife Stadium, Raiders trailing thirteen seven in the second after a New York Touchdown, silver and black on top, 35-30. Last chance for the Jets, still down five with 14 seconds remaining. Geno Smith has to take a shot to the end zone, but it is picked off by Jeremy Chin. The Raiders win 38-33, and at 4-4, they have more wins now than they did all of last year. Welcome back inside our studios with Ron Pitts. I'm Kyle Kraska. Welcome. Happy Sunday to you. Let's get right to it again. The Cincinnati Bengals, double-digit favorites today, hosting the 1-6 Titans. But Tennessee had other plans, and this thing got wild. Joe Burrow trying to overcome, throwing three interceptions in this game. Bengals trailing 36-29, under 90 seconds left. Burrow finds T. Higgins for an 18-yard touchdown. Burrow's Fifth touchdown pass of the day, and it's sent it into overtime. But Burrow not done. No, the three-time Pro Bowler, he's going to do it himself. He'll race in, and there it is from nine yards out. His sixth total touchdown of the day. Cincinnati on top, 43-36. Final chance for Tennessee, fourth and three. Cam Ward trying to hit Elic Ayuman. I don't know. Ayuman, I should say. It is incomplete. The Bengals survive. They win 43-36. Let's talk about the Bengals. Joe Burrow, wow. This guy's been going crazy, 13 touchdowns in his last three games. Never seen a day like this, though. He comes out, he goes 38 for 48, 462 yards passing. Crazy. Five touchdowns, but he throws three interceptions. But he has a 115 quarterback rating. He gets it done in the red zone. It's like this man lives in the world of good and bad, right? And that's the way this team is. And you wonder, okay, Jamar Chase. And where are those guys at? They're there. Higgins is there. Higgins had 10 catches, 155 yards. Crazy, went crazy. They find a way to win. They know how to close the game. We heard Corum talk about that. They learn how to close games. They got veterans. The coach knows how to do it. And they're going to be reckoned with. An ugly-looking record at 5-2, but it's 5-2. You can't argue with it, right? It's like the ugly of 5-2, but they're 5-2. I think when the season started, if you asked Joe Burrow how's five and two sound, he'd say that's okay. Yeah, he'll say that's okay. Right. Very deadpan-like. Okay. All right. We're going to take another time out here on Sports Chat. When we come back, we'll check in on the collegiate ranks. And how about USC with a huge upset over number two, Ohio State. We'll revisit that and hear from Lincoln Riley next. Let's talk to our Nets. Top Fantasy Players is brought to you by your SoCal Hyundai dealer. America's best warranty from Hyundai includes a 10-year, 100,000-mile powertrain limited warranty and 24-7 roadside assistance. See your SoCal Hyundai dealer today. All right, you fantasy football aficionados, here are the Week 8 fantasy leaders so far. Cincinnati quarterback-receiver duo of Joe Burrow and Tee Higgins lead their respective positions. Burrow accounted for six total TDs, with two going to Higgins. The Cardinals' Tyler Algier is the leading running back, and the Raiders' Brock Bowers tops all tight ends. Well, in case you missed it, Halloween belonged to the Trojans last night, and now they return to the AP poll at number 18. What an upset over number two Ohio State freshman tight end Mark Bowman. Delivered the offensive dagger here in the third quarter, vaulting over and tossing off tacklers on his way to a 70-yard gain that set up USC's last touchdown. Then, after a late Buckeye TD, this crucial stop on a two-point conversion was huge. Buckeye quarterback Luke Faye sailed it out of the end zone, sealing the game for USC and the recently beleaguered Lincoln Riley. This wins for all the staff members, the players, the leaders, admin, all the people within the walls. I said before this game that I'm the right person for this job, and as long as all those people know that, that's all I care about. I appreciate being a part of this university and all it does. I appreciate our kids and our staff, and I'm gonna continue to fight on because that's what being a Trojans is all about. Adios. Adios. Perhaps you heard about that. That was post-game during the news conference. At the end of comments, Lincoln Riley reached in and pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and read a prepared statement, basically addressing a lot of the critics that he's heard from over the last several weeks. What do you make of what he did and how he did it? Man has a right to do whatever he wants. That's his team. You know, he heard that noise all week long and not just all week long leading up to this game. He heard it. He's been hearing it all year long. Every time they lose a game, every time he comes up short, every time something doesn't look right offensively, it's on him. Get it. He's the offensive coordinator slash head coach. You know, he's all of that. So, but yeah, clearly he got tired of hearing that and he wanted to shoot back. And you know what? But he took down... The number two team in the country, supposedly. And yeah, you earned the right to do that. And before we move on to your alma mater, just what does this victory mean over Ohio State? Considering everything that's happened prior, but how big was this? It's huge because anytime we're in this Big Ten, right? They always want to say, oh, the West Coast teams can't compete. Well, he proved the West Coast teams can compete and the other West Coast team is undefeated right now. So that was kind of a... You know, a shot to the jaw there, but they played well. They took that team all the way to the end there, and they're showing people this is what we are. This is what we're going to do, and, you know, can you handle it? Can you handle us? And it's going to be fun going down the stretch here. I'm a little curious if we would have heard that prepared speech had they been beat by the Buckeyes. It might have slipped out of their minds, but you never know. All right, only USC's victory over Ohio State could overshadow the Bruins. Who intercepted Nevada quarterback Luke Duncan on the Wolfpack's first three drives and route to a 27-0 shutout win to start the Bob Chesney era. Perfect. UCLA moves up to number five in the country. Their first time ranked in the top five in 25 years. Next week, the Bruins head to Minnesota as they look to remain perfect. After every win, you feel like there's so much work left to be done. I don't think you ever walk out of a game, regardless of what it is, and be like, man, we've arrived, we made it. Not one guy on this team probably feels that way. Not one coach feels that way. So with every win, it's nice, and you have to enjoy them because it is not easy to do. Thank you. But at the same point in time, there's a lot of work that still needs to go into this thing, and we've got to get better. We've got to get better. We've got to get better. It is good to be Bob Chesney right now. Wow. Did you see this coming at all? I mean, you could not have possibly expected it. No, with the last couple years UCLA has gone through, no one saw this coming. But you know the man's resume, you know his background, and he said what he was going to do in his opening press conference, and you know what? He's done it. They've played some teams that are not at the same level as the teams that's going to play in the next couple weeks. Everyone knows that. Nevada was an example of that. But still, it's hard to not fall into the trap when you play. They're doing a great job defensively. They got three turnovers there, took one back to the house, and they went out and took the game. You know, at the end of the day, they say defense saves lives. Well, turnovers save lives as well. And they're doing it with a backup quarterback that no one saw on the radar early in the year, and that's Ty Dieffenbach. But it's going to get interesting. They've got to go to Minnesota. Minnesota's waiting on them. Their back is against the wall. Those are tough, tough games. And they're going to see Michigan in about two weeks after that. And then after that? Oh, we know what it is. And those two teams could be on a collision course with everything at stake, and that's how we like it. That would be Bruins and Trojans. Alright, we're going to take a final time up, but when we come back, more from the Rams taking down the Chargers earlier today at SoFi Stadium. Stick around. More sports coming up. Ask Matthew Stafford, hey, without Davante Adams, the guys that you typically... Welcome back to SportsWrap. Here are the results of our poll question. Asked you earlier, who is the offensive player of the year so far? And it looks like Puka Nakua is running away with this. 42. 42 percent of the vote. Thanks for playing along. Hey, I want to show you this. We're going to go right to the end of the Chiefs-Broncos game. Denver clinging to a 28-24 lead, but the Chiefs with a chance here, fourth and goal. Four seconds to go. Patrick Mahomes tries to evade the pressure, goes down and tries to flip it forward, but he would be ruled down. And the Broncos with a goal line stand that ends the game and earns them the victory. Chiefs lead for just the second time this season. And in case you missed it, the Rams get the offense rolling today, but also pick off Justin Herbert twice on their way to a 24-9 victory over the still winless 0-7 Chargers. The Rams, meanwhile, crawl back to .500 with the victory, and they have lots to smile about while offering some good-natured ribbing as well, which teammates gave Aaron Donald not being able to pick up this loose ball that he forced away from Herbert. They're scooping. Okay, I thought we were going to hear some of the ribbing, but apparently not. Let's talk about it, though, and where do the Rams go from here? Now 4-4, first win streak of the season, and they go to Washington next week to take on the Commanders. That's right, two tough away games coming up. Not so much because Washington is playing well, they're not. But it's Arizona after that, the one that scares me. Arizona's already come here to put the L on them, so they've got to go get that one back. Just like Kansas City and Denver did today, Denver had to get that game because Kansas City took it from them first game of the season. And then the Rams will get a bye. Much needed bye. Heal up. We're going to reset this whole thing and come out and get ready for the second half of the season. Some tough teams coming up. All right. That's a lot to digest. But, man, you know, it's been a crazy season, which we pretty much say every single season. He's Ron Pitts. I'm Kyle Kraska. Thanks for hanging with us on this Sunday, everybody. Good night and enjoy the rest of your Sunday night.