Matthew Stafford throws 2 TDs as Rams spoil home opener for Titans and Cam Ward

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Los Angeles Rams know how efficient they can be on offense. They clicked into high gear Sunday when they had to, scoring 20 straight points to spoil rookie Cam Ward's NFL home opener.

Matthew Stafford threw for 298 yards and two touchdowns and the Rams beat the Tennessee Titans 33-19.

“When we execute with the players that we have and the scheme that we have, we got a ... a high probability of being successful,” Stafford said.

Wide receiver Puka Nacua also ran 45 yards for a touchdown and had 91 yards receiving. Davante Adams had 106 yards receiving and a touchdown catch. Joshua Karty also kicked two field goals.

The Rams (2-0) sacked the No. 1 overall draft pick five times. Linebacker Byron Young had two, and he also stripped Ward of the ball at the Titans 21 on his second sack.

Tennessee, which led 13-10 at halftime, was up 16-13 when the Rams made their almost perfunctory comeback.

Stafford put the Rams ahead to stay with an 8-yard TD pass to Davis Allen late in the third quarter. After Ward's fumble, Stafford needed three plays to put the Rams up 27-16 with 9:40 left on a 16-yard TD pass to Davante Adams.

Blake Corum added a 1-yard TD run with 6:45 left. The Rams outgained the Titans 439-252.

“I was pleased with the way we finished that game,” Rams coach Sean McVay said. “I thought we had really great command in the second half. That’s a really a tough football team.”

The Titans (0-2) now have lost eight straight going back to last season. They didn’t have right tackle JC Latham or nose tackle T’Vondre Sweat. John Ojukwu, promoted from the practice squad Saturday, replaced Latham.

“Frustrating to start a season 0-2, certainly," said coach Brian Callahan, who is 3-16 since being hired. “I’ve still got a lot of belief in our football team, that we can win games in this league in the season. But right now, we haven’t put together a game worth winning against two really good football teams to start.”

Ward was 19 of 33 for 175 yards and his first NFL touchdown pass.

Linebacker Cody Barton had an interception, and Joey Slye kicked four field goals for Tennessee.

The Rams played without a pair of key offensive players in starting left guard Steve Avila and tight end Colby Parkinson.

Los Angeles opened the scoring with Nacua going around the left end and to the end zone on fourth-and-1. It was the Rams’ longest TD run since Week 15 of the 2017 season and their longest run since Week 12 of 2023.

Titans rookie Chimere Dike had a 57-yard punt return for a touchdown wiped out by a late flag for a blindside block. It would’ve been Tennessee’s first punt return for a TD since Darius Reynaud had two on Dec. 30, 2012.

Ward and fellow rookie Elic Ayomanor teamed up on the ensuing drive. Ward found Ayomanor for a one-handed catch on a 23-yard gain on third-and-6. Three plays later, Ward scrambled right under pressure, then throwing back across the field left to Ayomanor for a 9-yard TD — his first in the NFL.

With his 100-yard receiving game, Adams tied Antonio Brown, Calvin Johnson, Brandon Marshall and Jimmy Smith for the 11th-most such games in NFL history with 46. Only Julio Jones with 47 has had more than Adams since starting his career in 2014.

“This is much more sweet when you get a W for sure," said Adams, who also topped 12,000 yards receiving for his career. "I’ll tell you, I’ve had a few different ones over the last few years where it’s harder to feel good about it.”

McVay said Rams cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon broke a clavicle, which knocked him out early in the second quarter. OLB Jared Verse, the 2024 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, walked to the sideline after a medical timeout with 16 seconds left. He was back in the third quarter.

“He was just a little bit on the ground a little bit longer than usual,” McVay said. “Just erring on the side of safety and caution so he’s good, though.”

Titans RG Kevin Zeitler hurt an elbow late and didn't return. Cornerback L'Jarius Sneed went into the medical tent twice late in the game, and wide receiver Bryce Oliver hurt a knee.

The Rams visit Philadelphia in a rematch of their NFC divisional loss, and the Titans host Indianapolis on Sept. 21.

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Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward passes during the second half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Jordan Whittington, left, makes a catch as Tennessee Titans safety Amani Hooker defends during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Tennessee Titans head coach Brian Callahan, left, and Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay greet each other after the Rams defeated the Titans in an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis)

Los Angeles Rams tight end Davis Allen, left, and tight end Tyler Higbee celebrate after the Rams defeated the Tennessee Titans in an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis)

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford gestures during the first half of an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Los Angeles Rams running back Blake Corum, center, runs the ball as Tennessee Titans cornerback Jarvis Brownlee Jr., left, and safety Amani Hooker defend during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward throws a touchdown pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Tennessee Titans wide receiver Elic Ayomanor (5) catches a pass for a touchdown as Los Angeles Rams cornerback Emmanuel Forbes Jr. (1) and safety Kam Curl (3) defend during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis)

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford passes during the first half of an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Los Angeles Rams tight end Davis Allen, left, celebrates his touchdown with offensive tackle Rob Havenstein during the second half of an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado discussed her country's future with President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday, even though he has dismissed her credibility to take over after an audacious U.S. military raid captured then-President Nicolás Maduro.

Trump has raised doubts about his stated commitment to backing democratic rule in Venezuela and signaled his willingness to work with acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who was Maduro’s No. 2. Along with others in the deposed leader’s inner circle, Rodríguez remains in charge of day-to-day government operations and was set to deliver her first state of the union speech Thursday.

In endorsing Rodríguez so far, Trump has sidelined Machado, who has long been a face of resistance in Venezuela. She also had sought to cultivate relationships with Trump and key administration voices like Secretary of State Marco Rubio among the American right wing in a gamble to ally herself with the U.S. government.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump had been looking forward to the lunchtime meeting with Machado and called her “a remarkable and brave voice” for the people of Venezuela. But Leavitt also said Trump's opinion of Machado had not changed, calling it "a realistic assessment."

Trump has said it would be difficult for Machado to lead because she “doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country.” Her party is widely believed to have won 2024 elections rejected by Maduro.

Leavitt went on to say that Trump supported new Venezuelan elections “when the time is right” but did not say when he thought that might be.

Leavitt said Machado sought the face-to-face meeting without setting expectations for what would occur. Machado previously offered to share with Trump the Nobel Peace Prize she won last year, an honor he has coveted.

“I don’t think he needs to hear anything from Ms. Machado," the press secretary said, other than to have a ”frank and positive discussion about what’s taking place in Venezuela.”

Machado spent about two and a half hours at the White House but left without answering questions on whether she'd offered to give her Nobel prize to Trump, saying only “gracias."

After her White House stop, Machado plans to have a meeting at the Senate. Her Washington visit began after U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says had ties to Venezuela.

It is part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil after U.S. forces seized Maduro and his wife at a heavily guarded compound in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas and brought them to New York to stand trial on drug trafficking charges.

Leavitt said Venezuela's interim authorities have been fully cooperating with the Trump administration and that Rodríguez's government said it planned to release more prisoners detained under Maduro. Among those released were five Americans this week.

Rodríguez has adopted a less strident position toward Trump then she did immediately after Maduro's ouster, suggesting that she can make the Republican administration's “America First” policies toward the Western Hemisphere, work for Venezuela — at least for now.

Trump said Wednesday that he had a “great conversation” with Rodríguez, their first since Maduro was ousted.

“We had a call, a long call. We discussed a lot of things,” Trump said during an Oval Office bill signing. “And I think we’re getting along very well with Venezuela.”

Even before indicating the willingness to work with Venezuela's interim government, Trump was quick to snub Machado. Just hours after Maduro's capture, Trump said of Machado that “it would be very tough for her to be the leader.”

Machado has steered a careful course to avoid offending Trump, notably after winning the peace prize. She has since thanked Trump, though her offer to share the honor with him was rejected by the Nobel Institute.

Machado’s whereabouts have been largely unknown since she went into hiding early last year after being briefly detained in Caracas. She briefly reappeared in Oslo, Norway, in December after her daughter received the Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf.

The industrial engineer and daughter of a steel magnate began challenging the ruling party in 2004, when the nongovernmental organization she co-founded, Súmate, promoted a referendum to recall then-President Hugo Chávez. The initiative failed, and Machado and other Súmate executives were charged with conspiracy.

A year later, she drew the anger of Chávez and his allies again for traveling to Washington to meet President George W. Bush. A photo showing her shaking hands with Bush in the Oval Office lives in the collective memory. Chávez considered Bush an adversary.

Almost two decades later, she marshaled millions of Venezuelans to reject Chávez’s successor, Maduro, for another term in the 2024 election. But ruling party-loyal electoral authorities declared him the winner despite ample credible evidence to the contrary. Ensuing anti-government protests ended in a brutal crackdown by state security forces.

Garcia Cano reported from Caracas, Venezuela, and Janetsky from Mexico City. AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado gestures to supporters on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado waves to supporters on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado smiles on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado waves to supporters on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

FILE - U.S. President George Bush, right, meets with Maria Corina Machado, executive director of Sumate, a non-governmental organization that defends Venezuelan citizens' political rights, in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington, May 31, 2005. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

FILE - Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gestures to supporters during a protest against President Nicolas Maduro the day before his inauguration for a third term, in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, file)