INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Los Angeles Rams tight end Hunter Long only remembers hearing two “thuds.”

The first was the football hitting Buffalo Bills punter Sam Martin’s foot as Martin punted from the Buffalo 48-yard line with 12:38 left in the second quarter. The second was the ball hitting the inner arm of inside linebacker Jake Hummel as Hummel stretched unblocked toward Martin.

“I like, blacked out,” Long said in the locker room after the Rams’ 44-42 win over the Bills on Sunday night. Long batted the loose ball forward after Hummel’s block and then scooped it up and ran it back for a touchdown.

It was also Long’s first in the NFL. He’s proud it came on special teams — where he has toiled with fellow less-heralded players as he works to build positive career momentum after multiple seasons ended because of injuries. Long was the “other” player in the Rams’ trade of star cornerback Jalen Ramsey to the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins drafted him in the third round in 2021

“It’s been one hell of a ride,” Long said. “I came into this year just trying to focus on, worry about, what I can control. Try to go out there and take every chance I get and make the most of it. Anything they ask me to do, I’m going to go out there and lay it on the line for the team.”

Read more about the Rams’ special teams below.