The Los Angeles Rams played their NFL Play 60 game Sunday, celebrating youth health and wellness before the game against the Miami Dolphins at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and at halftime.
The NFL began the NFL Play 60 program in 2007, bringing together the league's long-standing commitment to health and fitness with partner organization to increase physical activity among youth. The NFL has committed more than $325 million to youth health and fitness through programming, grants and media time for public service announcements.
The NFL and its teams have built more than 200 NFL Youth Fitness Zones and integrated programs into more than 73,000 schools.
Each of the 32 NFL teams plays a NFL Play 60 game, mainly in Weeks 3 and 4 this season. The games include NFL Play 60 field stencils, banners and goal post wraps. The Rams played road games during both Weeks 3 and 4.
As part of the NFL Play 60 initiative, the 2016 NFL Punt, Pass & Kick Los Angeles Team Championship began at 7:30 a.m., with competition in five age divisions for both boys and girls between 6 and 15 years old.
The top four scorers in each age group from across the nation qualify for the National Championships, which will be held at the 2017 Pro Bowl game in Orlando, Florida.
Past Punt, Pass & Kick competitors at Ram games at the Coliseum include Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid, who threw a pass shown at halftime of ABC's "Monday Night Football'' telecast on Dec. 13, 1971.
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The City Ducks youth football team will scrimmage at halftime. The program conducts its practices at University High School in West Los Angeles and plays it home games at Harvard-Westlake School and Notre Dame High School.
Pregame festivities included the singing of the national anthem by Pia Toscano, who finished ninth in the 2011 season of the Fox singing competition "American Idol''; the Calipatria High School Color Guard presenting the colors; and 20 children from the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Los Angeles joined the Rams cheerleaders on the field forming the player tunnel before the national anthem.
Newly enshrined Pro Football Hall of Fame member Kevin Greene was recognized atop the Peristyle steps to help mark the start of the game. Greene played for the Rams from 1985-92 when they were based at Anaheim Stadium.
Quarterback Jared Goff made his regular-season debut, more than seven months after the Rams acquired the first choice in the NFL draft from the Tennessee Titans which they used to select him.
Under Case Keenum, the Rams had the league's lowest-scoring offense, averaging 15.4 points per game, and a 4-5 record, third in the four-team NFC West.
"The difficulties we've had offensively ... were not necessarily his fault, but it's time,'' Fisher said Wednesday in announcing the quarterback change. "I felt like this was the best time to go ahead and turn the keys over to Jared.''
Fisher said he didn't "have any concerns about Jared.''
"I just have high expectations for him,'' Fisher said.
Goff and the Rams faced a Miami team that has won four consecutive games, their longest winning streak since 2008, improving to 5-4.
The Dolphins roster includes four players with ties to the Los Angeles area.
Tight end Thomas Duarte and fellow rookie Jake Brendel, a center who was promoted to the active roster on Saturday, both played at UCLA. Backup quarterback Matt Moore is an alumnus of William S. Hart High School in Newhall.
Linebacker Spencer Paysinger graduated from Beverly Hills High School The Dolphins are 3-1 at the Coliseum, including a 14-7 victory over Washington in Super Bowl VII in 1973 to complete a 17-0 season.
