The Rams get 4 field goals to beat the 49ers 12-6 in a sloppy game

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Four nights after winning the highest-scoring game of the NFL season, the Los Angeles Rams won the only game this year that didn't have a touchdown.

Joshua Karty kicked four field goals and the Rams survived a slugfest a week after winning a shootout, beating the San Francisco 49ers 12-6 on Thursday night in a key game in the NFC West race.

“What’s really cool is this team has found a bunch of different ways to be able to win football games," coach Sean McVay said. “You come off a 44-42 game the other day and then you win 12-6. Our group did what they needed to do to be able to get it done.”

The Rams (8-6) followed up the high-scoring win over Buffalo by winning for the seventh time in nine games following a 1-4 start. The Rams moved within a half-game of division-leading Seattle. Los Angeles won a game without a touchdown for the first time since 2016.

The 49ers (5-8) led 6-3 heading into the fourth quarter but came up short, dealing a major blow to the dwindling playoff hopes for the defending NFC champions.

This marked the fourth time this season that the Niners lost to a division opponent after leading by at least three points in the fourth quarter, making them the first team to do that since New England in 2000 in coach Bill Belichick's first season with the Patriots.

“It was the story of the year,” linebacker Fred Warner said. “Just not doing enough to win games. Not playing complementary. Just coming out a little too short.”

Karty capped a 17-play drive with a game-tying 23-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter and then hit a 27-yarder after Matthew Stafford connected on a 51-yard pass to Puka Nacua.

Karty made all four kicks after missing four in the past five games of his rookie season.

“He’s steady,” McVay said. “He’s consistent. He’s kind of unflappable.”

The Niners then drove into field-goal range but Brock Purdy was intercepted on a deep pass into the end zone by Darious Williams, helping the Rams secure their first series sweep against the 49ers since 2018.

Stafford then led a clock-killing drive that was capped by Karty's fourth field goal with 18 seconds to play. Stafford went 16 for 27 for 160 yards, with 137 of those yards coming after halftime when the heavy rain stopped.

“In the second half, the weather was good enough to do it all,” Stafford said. “We had the feeling that that was the kind of way this game was going to be played and it’s going to have to be one of those games. We scored 44 four nights ago and come out here and score 12 but they both count for one.”

Purdy finished 14 for 31 for 142 yards as the Niners failed to score a touchdown in a game for the first time since 2019.

The first half was played in a downpour and it had a major impact on the offensive performances with neither team able to move the ball.

The Rams had no first downs on their first four drives for the first time since 2013 before getting a late field goal to tie the game. The Niners went three-and-out three times and got one field goal.

The teams combined for 11 punts, nine first downs and 197 yards four days after they both had season highs in points.

The rain mostly stopped at halftime but the offenses still struggled.

Rams: LB Nick Hampton (chest) left in the second half.

49ers: LB Dre Greenlaw returned for the first time since tearing his left Achilles tendon in the Super Bowl last season. He had eight tackles in the first half but played sparingly in the second half. Veteran De'Vondre Campbell, who lost his starting role when Greenlaw returned, refused to enter the game in the second half, according to coach Kyle Shanahan. ... S Ji'Ayir Brown (groin) left in the second half.

Rams: Visit the New York Jets on Dec. 22.

49ers: Visit Miami on Dec. 22.

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

Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Kobie Turner (91) celebrates with linebacker Byron Young (0) after sacking San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy during the first half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Rain falls as San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) tries to scramble before being sacked by Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Kobie Turner, left, during the first half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) passes against the San Francisco 49ers during the first half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, left, runs against San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner during the second half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr. (1) runs against the Los Angeles Rams during the second half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Rain falls as Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford signals at the line of scrimmage during the first half of an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara, Calif., Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) passes as Los Angeles Rams linebacker Jared Verse (8) applies pressure during the second half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw (57) watches as Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) stands behind center during the second half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua (17) reacts after catching a pass against the San Francisco 49ers during the second half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Los Angeles Rams cornerback Darious Williams (24) intercepts a pass in front of San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings (15) during the second half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Los Angeles Rams place kicker Joshua Karty (16) kicks a field goal from the hold of Ethan Evans during the second half of an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara, Calif., Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr., center, is tackled by Los Angeles Rams linebacker Christian Rozeboom, front right, and others during the first half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A day after the audacious U.S. military operation in Venezuela, President Donald Trump on Sunday renewed his calls for an American takeover of the Danish territory of Greenland for the sake of U.S. security interests, while his top diplomat declared the communist government in Cuba is “in a lot of trouble.”

The comments from Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio after the ouster of Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro underscore that the U.S. administration is serious about taking a more expansive role in the Western Hemisphere.

With thinly veiled threats, Trump is rattling hemispheric friends and foes alike, spurring a pointed question around the globe: Who's next?

“It’s so strategic right now. Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place," Trump told reporters as he flew back to Washington from his home in Florida. "We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it.”

Asked during an interview with The Atlantic earlier on Sunday what the U.S.-military action in Venezuela could portend for Greenland, Trump replied: “They are going to have to view it themselves. I really don’t know.”

Trump, in his administration's National Security Strategy published last month, laid out restoring “American preeminence in the Western Hemisphere” as a central guidepost for his second go-around in the White House.

Trump has also pointed to the 19th century Monroe Doctrine, which rejects European colonialism, as well as the Roosevelt Corollary — a justification invoked by the U.S. in supporting Panama’s secession from Colombia, which helped secure the Panama Canal Zone for the U.S. — as he's made his case for an assertive approach to American neighbors and beyond.

Trump has even quipped that some now refer to the fifth U.S. president's foundational document as the “Don-roe Doctrine.”

Saturday's dead-of-night operation by U.S. forces in Caracas and Trump’s comments on Sunday heightened concerns in Denmark, which has jurisdiction over the vast mineral-rich island of Greenland.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in a statement that Trump has "no right to annex" the territory. She also reminded Trump that Denmark already provides the United States, a fellow member of NATO, broad access to Greenland through existing security agreements.

“I would therefore strongly urge the U.S. to stop threatening a historically close ally and another country and people who have made it very clear that they are not for sale,” Frederiksen said.

Denmark on Sunday also signed onto a European Union statement underscoring that “the right of the Venezuelan people to determine their future must be respected” as Trump has vowed to “run” Venezuela and pressed the acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, to get in line.

Trump on Sunday mocked Denmark’s efforts at boosting Greenland’s national security posture, saying the Danes have added “one more dog sled” to the Arctic territory’s arsenal.

Greenlanders and Danes were further rankled by a social media post following the raid by a former Trump administration official turned podcaster, Katie Miller. The post shows an illustrated map of Greenland in the colors of the Stars and Stripes accompanied by the caption: “SOON."

“And yes, we expect full respect for the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark,” Amb. Jesper Møller Sørensen, Denmark's chief envoy to Washington, said in a post responding to Miller, who is married to Trump's influential deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller.

During his presidential transition and in the early months of his return to the White House, Trump repeatedly called for U.S. jurisdiction over Greenland, and has pointedly not ruled out military force to take control of the mineral-rich, strategically located Arctic island that belongs to an ally.

The issue had largely drifted out of the headlines in recent months. Then Trump put the spotlight back on Greenland less than two weeks ago when he said he would appoint Republican Gov. Jeff Landry as his special envoy to Greenland.

The Louisiana governor said in his volunteer position he would help Trump “make Greenland a part of the U.S.”

Meanwhile, concern simmered in Cuba, one of Venezuela’s most important allies and trading partners, as Rubio issued a new stern warning to the Cuban government. U.S.-Cuba relations have been hostile since the 1959 Cuban revolution.

Rubio, in an appearance on NBC's “Meet the Press,” said Cuban officials were with Maduro in Venezuela ahead of his capture.

“It was Cubans that guarded Maduro,” Rubio said. “He was not guarded by Venezuelan bodyguards. He had Cuban bodyguards.” The secretary of state added that Cuban bodyguards were also in charge of “internal intelligence” in Maduro’s government, including “who spies on who inside, to make sure there are no traitors.”

Trump said that “a lot” of Cuban guards tasked with protecting Maduro were killed in the operation. The Cuban government said in a statement read on state television on Sunday evening that 32 officers were killed in the U.S. military operation.

Trump also said that the Cuban economy, battered by years of a U.S. embargo, is in tatters and will slide further now with the ouster of Maduro, who provided the Caribbean island subsidized oil.

“It's going down,” Trump said of Cuba. “It's going down for the count.”

Cuban authorities called a rally in support of Venezuela’s government and railed against the U.S. military operation, writing in a statement: “All the nations of the region must remain alert, because the threat hangs over all of us.”

Rubio, a former Florida senator and son of Cuban immigrants, has long maintained Cuba is a dictatorship repressing its people.

“This is the Western Hemisphere. This is where we live — and we’re not going to allow the Western Hemisphere to be a base of operation for adversaries, competitors, and rivals of the United States," Rubio said.

Cubans like 55-year-old biochemical laboratory worker Bárbara Rodríguez were following developments in Venezuela. She said she worried about what she described as an “aggression against a sovereign state.”

“It can happen in any country, it can happen right here. We have always been in the crosshairs,” Rodríguez said.

AP writers Andrea Rodriguez in Havana, Cuba, and Darlene Superville traveling aboard Air Force One contributed reporting.

In this photo released by the White House, President Donald Trump monitors U.S. military operations in Venezuela, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (Molly Riley/The White House via AP)