Young Rams have stayed in the playoff hunt with a 4-1 surge led by the venerable Matthew Stafford

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Rams realized last month that they needed to stack up victories against a few struggling opponents before their tough final stretch of the regular season.

They failed a week ago against the then-two-win Miami Dolphins, but they got it done Sunday against the three-win New England Patriots.

Coach Sean McVay sees every up and down, every inconsistent effort followed by encouraging improvement, as the price of progress as he tries to fashion one of the NFL's youngest rosters into a winner.

The coaching staff’s work is looking better and better now that the Rams (5-5) have followed up their 1-4 start to the season with a 4-1 stretch to stay firmly in the postseason hunt for another week.

“I’ve been pleased with our group’s ability to get themselves back into the fight,” McVay said Monday. “Winning four of five, there’s been different and unique ways that we’ve done it, but I think there is an element of learning how to be able to finish games and come away with the results you’re hunting up with the amount of youth that we have. They’re taking these lessons in stride, and some of the veteran players have done a good job.”

Chief among those veterans is Matthew Stafford, who still looks awfully sharp in his 16th NFL season. He threw four touchdown passes against the Patriots, giving him 10 in the past four weeks since Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua returned from injury.

“You’ve got to string wins together,” Stafford said. “That’s what you’ve got to do. You’ve got to try to build off momentum, things that you do positive, and find ways to get better at the things that maybe didn’t go your way in the game.”

Stafford went 18 of 27 for 295 yards and didn't even throw an interception, ending the risk-taking QB's six-game streak with a pick. He was also a primary reason why the Rams returned to effectiveness in the red zone, scoring on three of their four trips against New England after failing to get in the end zone at all against the Dolphins.

With Stafford, Nacua, Kupp and running back Kyren Williams allowed to work at peak effectiveness by their solid offensive line, the Rams look quite good, if not exactly formidable. McVay is hoping to see more of the same in the next two weeks before the stretch run toward the postseason.

The Rams' young defensive line continues to excel. Rookie tackle Braden Fiske had two sacks for the second time in three games, while nose tackle Kobie Turner racked up seven tackles and a fumble recovery after one of Fiske's sacks. A key penalty on Jared Verse aside, the group continues to be the defense's strength. “I've seen steady improvement as they've gained experience,” McVay said. “These guys are fun to be around. They're super-coachable. They've got an energy and an authenticity. They love to compete, and I think they're getting a lot better.”

The Rams' defense in total took a step back, surrendering 382 yards — 100 over the Pats' current average — and 22 points to one of the league's worst offenses. Allowing six third down conversions was a key to the issues. At least Los Angeles had two takeaways, including Kam Kinchens' clinching interception at midfield with 1:47 left.

Rookie center Beaux Limmer filled in during high-priced free agent signee Jonah Jackson's lengthy injury absence, but Limmer also got the job back Sunday in the second game after Jackson returned to uniform. “He's got better,” McVay said of Limmer. “We had so many injuries that he got a lot of opportunities that he might not have, and he's answered the bell. The game makes sense to him, he's really sturdy in his lower half, and I think he's done a good job in protection.”

Rookie Joshua Karty missed a 26-yard field-goal attempt, the shortest miss in the NFL this season. It was his third missed field goal in five weeks, along with a missed extra point. The Stanford product appears to be on thin ice with McVay, who punted rather than attempt a 52-yard field goal late in the game.

McVay said there's “a possibility” right tackle Rob Havenstein can return from the sprained ankle that has kept him out for two games. “He's trending in the right direction,” McVay added.

0 — The number of sacks taken by Stafford in the Rams' past three wins combined. He was sacked 10 times in the Rams' past three losses.

Philadelphia and its six-game winning streak will be a formidable challenge on Sunday night, but the Rams will have to beat some good teams to get to where they hope to be in January.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp (10) is congratulated after his touchdown against the New England Patriots during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Los Angeles Rams tight end Colby Parkinson (86) is congratulated after his touchdown against the New England Patriots during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford throws under pressure during the second half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Los Angeles Rams tight end Colby Parkinson (86) is congratulated by Demarcus Robinson, center, after his touchdown against the New England Patriotsduring the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A state judge on Monday struck down Wyoming's overall ban on abortion and its first-in-the-nation explicit prohibition on the use of medication to end pregnancy in line with voters in yet more states voicing support for abortion rights.

Since 2022, Teton County District Judge Melissa Owens has ruled consistently three times to block the laws while they were disputed in court.

The decision marks another victory for abortion rights advocates after voters in seven states passed measures in support of access.

One Wyoming law that Owens said violated women's rights under the state constitution bans abortion except to protect to a pregnant woman's life or in cases involving rape and incest. The other made Wyoming the only state to explicitly ban abortion pills, though other states have instituted de facto bans on the medication by broadly prohibiting abortion.

The laws were challenged by four women, including two obstetricians, and two nonprofit organizations. One of the groups, Wellspring Health Access, opened as the state’s first full-service abortion clinic in years in April 2023 following an arson attack in 2022.

“This is a wonderful day for the citizens of Wyoming — and women everywhere who should have control over their own bodies," Wellspring Health Access President Julie Burkhart said in a statement.

The recent elections saw voters in Missouri clear the way to undo one of the nation’s most restrictive abortion bans in a series of victories for abortion rights advocates. Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota, meanwhile, defeated similar constitutional amendments, leaving bans in place.

Abortion rights amendments also passed in Arizona, Colorado, Maryland and Montana. Nevada voters also approved an amendment in support of abortion rights, but they’ll need to pass it again it 2026 for it to take effect. Another that bans discrimination on the basis of “pregnancy outcomes” prevailed in New York.

The abortion landscape underwent a seismic shift in 2022 when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a ruling that ended a nationwide right to abortion and cleared the way for bans to take effect in most Republican-controlled states.

Currently, 13 states are enforcing bans on abortion at all stages of pregnancy, with limited exceptions, and four have bans that kick in at or about six weeks into pregnancy — often before women realize they’re pregnant.

Nearly every ban has been challenged with a lawsuit. Courts have blocked enforcement of some restrictions, including bans throughout pregnancy in Utah and Wyoming. Judges struck down bans in Georgia and North Dakota in September 2024. Georgia’s Supreme Court ruled the next month that the ban there can be enforced while it considers the case.

In the Wyoming case, the women and nonprofits who challenged the laws argued that the bans stood to harm their health, well-being and livelihoods, claims disputed by attorneys for the state. They also argued the bans violated a 2012 state constitutional amendment saying competent Wyoming residents have a right to make their own health care decisions.

As she had done with previous rulings, Owens found merit in both arguments. The abortion bans “will undermine the integrity of the medical profession by hamstringing the ability of physicians to provide evidence-based medicine to their patients,” Owens ruled.

The abortion laws impede the fundamental right of women to make health care decisions for an entire class of people — those who are pregnant — in violation of the constitutional amendment, Owens ruled.

Wyoming voters approved the amendment amid fears of government overreach following approval of the federal Affordable Care Act and its initial requirements for people to have health insurance.

Attorneys for the state argued that health care, under the amendment, didn’t include abortion. Republican Gov. Mark Gordon, who signed the abortion laws into effect in 2022 and 2023, did not immediately return an email message Monday seeking comment.

Both sides wanted Owens to rule on the lawsuit challenging the abortion bans rather than allow it to go to trial in the spring. A three-day bench trial before Owens was previously set, but won’t be necessary with this ruling.

FILE - Protesters wave signs and chant during a Women's March, Jan. 20, 2018, in Casper, Wyo. (Josh Galemore/The Casper Star-Tribune via AP, File)

FILE - A patient prepares to take the first of two combination pills, mifepristone, for a medication abortion during a visit to a clinic in Kansas City, Kan., Oct. 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)