Los Angeles Rams (3-2) at Baltimore (1-4)
Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT, Fox.
BetMGM NFL Odds: Rams by 7 1/2.
Against the spread: Rams 3-2, Ravens 1-4.
Series record: Ravens lead 6-3.
Last meeting: Ravens beat Rams 37-31 in OT in Baltimore on Dec. 10, 2023.
Last week: Rams lost to 49ers 26-23 in OT; Ravens lost to Texans 44-10.
Rams offense: overall (2), rush (21), pass (2), scoring (15t).
Rams defense: overall (10), rush (10), pass (18), scoring (13t).
Ravens offense: overall (23), rush (17), pass (22), scoring (6).
Ravens defense: overall (31), rush (29), pass (31), scoring (32).
Turnover differential: Rams plus-1; Ravens minus-5.
WR Puka Nacua. He's the first NFL player with at least 50 catches through the first five games of a season, pacing the league with 52 receptions for 588 yards. He had 10 receptions for 85 yards in the frustrating overtime loss to the 49ers, Nacua’s third straight game with double-digit catches. Nacua (117.6) and Seattle’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba (106.8) are the only two receivers averaging over 100 yards per game through the air.
RB Derrick Henry. Since rushing for 169 yards in the season opener, Henry hasn't surpassed 50 in any game since. The Ravens have run up against some tough defenses and QB Lamar Jackson's absence last week certainly didn't help.
Baltimore's reshuffled secondary against Rams QB Matthew Stafford. The Ravens traded for S Alohi Gilman during the week, and S Kyle Hamilton (groin) and CB Marlon Humphrey (calf) are expected back from their injuries. Will that be enough for Baltimore's beleaguered defensive backfield to be more competitive against a Los Angeles team that can make struggling defenses look bad?
Rams: OT Rob Havenstein could miss his second straight game because of an ankle injury, but G Steve Avila (ankle) is on track to return to the starting lineup after being limited to a handful of special teams plays the past two games.
Ravens: Jackson (hamstring) will not return this week and LB Roquan Smith (hamstring) has been ruled out as well after missing the Houston game. ... T Ronnie Stanley (ankle) missed last weekend as well but is expected to play Sunday.
The Rams are 1-4 against the Ravens in Baltimore, picking up their lone win 20-19 on a last-minute touchdown pass from Stafford to Odell Beckham Jr. on Jan. 2, 2022. Jackson didn't play in that game. … The Ravens have won five of the past six meetings overall. … Baltimore's Tylan Wallace returned a punt for a touchdown in OT to win the most recent matchup.
The Rams have allowed 740 yards of total offense in their past two games, including a season-high 407 to the 49ers, after holding their first three opponents to 288 or fewer. ... Stafford has 11 touchdown passes to two interceptions through five games, including consecutive outings with three scoring throws and no picks. … RB Kyren Williams fumbled at the goal line with less than two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter against San Francisco. Williams has fumbled in each of the past two games. ... Los Angeles held Christian McCaffrey to 57 yards rushing on 22 carries and allowed a season-low 74 yards on the ground. The defense has held each of its past three opponents under 86 yards rushing. ... OLB Byron Young has at least a half-sack in every game this season. The Rams' defense didn’t have a takeaway for the first time this season against the 49ers. ... The Ravens have lost 10 of their last 12 games when Jackson didn't play. ... Baltimore has had a combined 1,549 snaps played by rookies this season, the second-most in the league behind Cleveland. That's a sign of how much injuries have changed the Ravens' plans. ... Baltimore has an NFL-high nine TDs of at least 20 yards. ... Henry needs one rushing TD to pass Walter Payton and take sole possession of fifth place on the career list. ... TE Mark Andrews needs 98 yards receiving to pass Derrick Mason for Baltimore's career franchise record. ... Ravens WR DeAndre Hopkins needs nine more receptions to reach 1,000.
No need to overthink this: Any Rams offensive player with a significant role could be in for a big day against a Baltimore defense that has allowed 177 points in five games.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry (22) talks with quarterback Cooper Rush (15) during the second half of an NFL football game against the Houston Texans, Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) throws a pass past San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Alfred Collins (95) during the second half of an NFL football game, Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
It's not just about sending federal law enforcement officers into Minnesota.
President Donald Trump's administration is also lashing out at the state by threatening to withhold billions in federal money, much of it intended to help low-income families with food aid, health care and child care — and with a new lawsuit against the state.
Trump's administration has struck out at Democratic-run states broadly, but it's made a prime example of Minnesota, where the president last month called the state's Somali population “garbage," targeting it with actions not seen elsewhere.
The administration has not spelled out its exact plans in most cases, and it's not clear if some of the money will actually stop flowing — or, if so, when.
Trump's administration has unleashed a wave of threats to halt the flow of some federal funds to other states, too — including federal funds to “sanctuary cities” that limit cooperation with federal immigration officials and their states.
Minnesota has been singled out in some cuts as Trump repeatedly criticizes Gov. Tim Walz over fraud in federal programs. Walz, the 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee and a high-profile Trump critic, ended his campaign this month for a third term, saying he couldn't run a campaign while fending off the attacks and running the state.
Minnesota is pushing back in courts or otherwise.
Here's a look at the planned freezes in Minnesota.
The Agriculture Department said it’s freezing funding in the state and its largest city, Minneapolis — but without laying out many details. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a social media post Jan. 9 announcing the action: “No more handouts to thieves!”
In a letter to Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, she cited a major fraud case involving a USDA-funded pandemic relief program that broke in 2022 in which 78 people have been charged — and 57 convicted.
Rollins said she was suspending all current and future awards to the city and state and told them to provide payment justifications for all transactions since Jan. 20, 2025, the day Trump returned to office. The justifications would be required to receive future money, too.
Rollins said the awards at risk total more than $129 million but did not specify which programs are included. Her department has not clarified whether the amount includes payments that go to individuals, or just those to government entities.
Based on the figure from Rollins, the freeze would not appear to include funds for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which helps about 1 in 12 Minnesota residents buy groceries. Minnesota residents received more than $850 million through that program in 2024. Still, a Minnesota Department of Children, Youth and Families website says the department is analyzing any impacts to SNAP.
It also appears the National School Lunch Program, which provides and subsidizes school meals, is not included. Minnesota was expected to receive more than $240 million in that program in the budget year that ended Sept. 30.
The Agriculture Department also runs programs aimed at food producers, including disaster aid and price supports.
Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Thom Peterson said at a news conference Wednesday that it's not clear exactly which programs might lose funding, but the state has started receiving notices from some pauses, including to a University of Minnesota poultry testing lab. He said that leaves uncertainty about who would pay if avian influenza is found at a farm and birds must be removed.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services also told Minnesota last week that it intends to withhold $515 million every three months from 14 Medicaid programs that were deemed high risk after rejecting a corrective action plan the federal government demanded because of fraud allegations.
The programs identified as high risk include adult companion services, residential treatment services and nonemergency medical transportation.
The amount to be withheld is equivalent to one-fourth of the federal money for those programs.
On a call with reporters Tuesday, state Department of Human Services said they were mounting an administrative appeal to the freeze.
They said the department has been emphasizing anti-fraud measures for more than a year and questioned the federal action, which they said is unlike anything they've found in other states.
“Minnesota cannot absorb the loss of more than $2 billion in annual funding for these programs without catastrophic consequences for the people we serve,” Temporary Human Services Commissioner Shireen Gandhi said, adding that the state can’t find other examples of similar federal decisions.
“It's not corrective action,” she said. “It's a punitive action.”
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services told Minnesota in late December that it was freezing funds in the child Care and Development Block Grant, which subsidizes child care for low-income families, telling the state that it had to submit attendance records and other information before the money would flow again.
Last week, the Trump administration said it was halting payments of the child care money, along with temporary aid for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, which provides job training and cash assistance, and the Social Services Block Grant, which funds a variety of social services, for Minnesota and four other states where Democrats lead the government.
The five states — along with Minnesota, California, Colorado, Illinois and New York — sued. Advocates and officials warned that stopping the childcare subsidy would put many daycare providers at risk of layoffs of closures. And those could put the families of all their clients in binds, not just those who rely on the subsidies.
Last week, a federal judge ruled that the administration cannot block the money for now.
The federal administration on Wednesday unleashed another line of attack on the Minnesota state government.
The U.S. Department of Justice sued the state government in federal court over its affirmative action hiring requirements. The lawsuit seeks to end programs intended to diversify the government workforce, claiming “Minnesota requires its hiring managers to jump through additional hoops to hire employees with disfavored skin colors or sex chromosomes."
The lawsuit also seeks money for employees and prospective employees who were impacted.
The state attorney general's office said it would respond in court.
A person confronts a U.S. Border Patrol officer Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
Gov. Tim Walz speaks during a news conference on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026 at the Coliseum Building in Minneapolis. (Alex Kormann/Star Tribune via AP)
President Donald Trump delivers remarks to the Detroit Economic Club at the MotorCity Casino Hotel, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
