Tutu Atwell appeared to be the forgotten man.
After signing a one-year, $10-million contract, he seemed to be virtually ignored while playing in the shadow of stars Puka Nacua and Davante Adams.
Atwell went into Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts with only one target in each of the first three games.
He got two targets against the Colts.
But the speedy Atwell made one count.
With less than two minutes left, he broke free, caught a midrange pass from Matthew Stafford and turned it into an 88-yard touchdown that gave the Rams a 27-20 victory before 71,257 at SoFi Stadium.
“Throughout this season, I’m mentally ready for a game like this.” Atwell said. “Just wait for my number, because it’s something I’ve been doing the whole year, all these years that I’ve been here.”
Stafford also tossed touchdown passes to Nacua and Adams, and Kam Curl intercepted two passes as the Rams improved their record to 3-1 and rebounded from their heart-wrenching defeat by the defending Super Bowl-champion Philadelphia Eagles.
So, not a bad start.
The Rams are far from perfect, or even consistently dominant in any phase.
But nearly a quarter of the way into the season, the Rams still look like the Super Bowl contender they were built to be.
The Rams don’t have much time to marinate in the victory: the rival San Francisco 49ers are coming to town on Thursday night.
But coach Sean McVay and his players should be feeling confident, if not overly so.
For the second game in a row, Stafford missed on some passes he typically completes. But he was outstanding during a trademark two-minute drill that ended with a touchdown pass to Adams at the end of the first half, during a fourth-quarter drive that Nacua finished with a fourth-down touchdown catch and on his perfect throw to a wide-open Atwell.
Nacua caught 13 passes for 170 yards, and became only the third player in NFL history to have at least eight catches in each of the first four games.
General manager Les Snead’s offseason effort to bolster the run defense continues to pay early dividends.
A week after neutralizing Eagles star Saquon Barkley, the Rams limited Jonathan Taylor, the NFL’s leading rusher, to 76 yards rushing in 17 carries.
They also forced quarterback Daniel Jones into his first turnovers of the season.
After having two consecutive field-goal attempts blocked by the Eagles — including a potential game-winner that the Eagles returned for a touchdown — Joshua Karty kicked two field goals against the Colts. And punter Ethan Evans boomed long punts that forced the Colts to start drives deep in their territory.
The Rams led 13-10 at halftime after Stafford engineered a patented two-minute drive that covered 96 yards and ended with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Adams.
Stafford had misfired on a few passes, and also had a few bounce off the hands of receivers, before he found Adams, Nacua and tight end Tyler Higbee on consecutive plays to move the ball to the 21-yard line.
The Rams have struggled to score touchdowns from inside the 20, and it looked like it might be a repeat when Stafford was sacked on first-and-goal from the 10. But this time Stafford finished the deal with a laser pass to Adams.
That momentum, or at least the breaks, continued early in the second half.
Colts receiver Adonai Mitchell caught a pass and seemingly was on his way to turning it into a 76-yard touchdown. But Mitchell lost the ball at the one-yard line and it bounced through the end zone for a touchback that gave the Rams the ball.
The Rams, however, failed to capitalize, and fell behind 17-13 early in the fourth quarter after Jones engineered a long drive that ended with a short touchdown pass to Michael Pittman Jr.
Stafford did not get much of an opportunity to direct a come-from-behind scoring drive.
On the first play of the ensuing possession, Stafford and Williams could not complete a handoff and the ball fell to the turf for a fumble that was recovered by the Colts.
With about nine minutes left, the Colts kicked a field goal to increase their lead to 20-13.
Despite two penalties that stunted their drive, Stafford finished an 83-yard march with a fourth- down touchdown pass to Nacua that tied the score with 3:20 left.
Taylor broke off a run for an apparent 53-yard touchdown, but a holding penalty nullified the play. Two plays later, Jared Verse sacked Jones and forced a fumble that was recovered by the Colts at their 29-yard line.
The Rams got the ball with 1:44 left, and on their first play, Stafford passed to Atwell for the touchdown.
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