DENVER — The Rams have a lead at halftime, but an injury to wide receiver Cooper Kupp has put somewhat of a damper on the proceedings. Here are some notes from the first half of action, as the Rams lead the Broncos 13-3.
KUPP LEAVES WITH KNEE INJURY
In the second quarter, wide receiver Cooper Kupp left Sunday's contest with a knee injury.
The injury occurred on the first play of Los Angeles' drive midway through the second quarter. On 1st-and-10 from the L.A. 14, Kupp took a jet sweep going from left to right and ran it up the sideline. But Denver cornerback Darian Stewart performed a horse-collar tackle on Kupp, which apparently caused the injury to the wide receiver's left knee.
There's not likely to be a further official update on Kupp's injury status until at least after the game.
GOOD START ON DEFENSE
The Rams came into Sunday's game knowing they would have to stop the run in order to be effective on defense. That happened early, as the club forced a pair of punts on Denver's first two possessions.
On the first drive, outside linebacker Matt Longacre and defensive tackle Aaron Donald's run stuffs put Denver in 3rd-and-7, and quarterback Case Keenum threw his first pass incomplete over the middle.
The Broncos were able to get a first down on their next drive with a quick screen out wide on the right to running back Phillip Lindsay, but the drive stalled from there. Cornerback Marcus Peters tackled wideout Emmanuel Sanders a yard short on 3rd-and-6 to force a punt.
ABOUT THAT WEATHER
While temperatures were hovering around 20 degrees at kickoff, the Rams offense appeared unaffected. Quarterback Jared Goff came out firing on the first drive, and moved the ball into the red zone with a pair of completions.
On the second play from scrimmage, Goff connected with wide receiver Robert Woods on the right side for a 15-yard gain. Then on the next play, Goff went deep to wideout Brandin Cooks on the right side for a 44-yard gain down to the 12-yard line.
The drive stalled from there, but L.A. was still able to take an early 3-0 lead on a 26-yard field goal by kicker Cairo Santos.
On the team's second drive, a 28-yard pass from Goff to Woods on 3rd-and-6 moved the club up 28 yards into Denver territory. But the offense once again stalled, settling for a Santos 39-yard field goal to go up 6-0.
THE GURLEY DRIVE
On the first possession of the second quarter, L.A. used running back Todd Gurley to gain 58 yards from scrimmage en route to the first touchdown of the day.
Gurley took a handoff on the first play and darted 29 yards up the middle, putting the club in Denver territory. Then Gurley took a handoff for five yards and a shovel pass for 13 yards on the left side.
A few plays later, L.A. had 3rd-and-2 at the Broncos' 11. Gurley took a handoff for a yard, bringing up 4th-and-1. Head coach Sean McVay once again trusted his offense to go for it, and once again the players delivered. With strong blocking ahead of him, Gurley took the rock to the left side and ran it 10 yards to the end zone.
