EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Tyler Higbee waited nearly a year for this moment.
And once the Los Angeles Rams tight end had the ball in his hands, he wasn't letting anyone stop him from getting into the end zone.
With the game tied against the New York Jets early in the fourth quarter Sunday, Higbee caught a short pass from Matthew Stafford, rumbled down the sideline and dived over the goal line for a go-ahead 11-yard score in the Rams' 19-9 victory.
''I didn't know I was going to have to jump,'' said Higbee, who made his season debut after tearing the ACL and MCL in his right knee in the playoffs last January. "I met a lot of guys at the pylon and I lowered my shoulder trying to get in there. Then I saw a little opening and thought I'd take it.
''In the air, it felt a little bit like ‘Space Jam' Michael Jordan with his arm out there. This has got to get in.''
It was — and it turned out to be the winning score as the Rams (9-6) got their fourth straight victory and maintained their spot atop the NFC West standings after a slow start against the Jets (4-11) on a day when it was a frosty 23 degrees (minus-5 Celsius) at kickoff.
''A strange game,'' Rams coach Sean McVay acknowledged after several long possessions by both teams throughout the day.
But Los Angeles' defense, which struggled most of the game against Rodgers and New York's offense, came up with a momentum-turning play.