Nahshon Wright had just made a huge play for the Chicago Bears, and in spectacular fashion.

The fifth-year cornerback leaped high in full sprint with his hand stretched over his head to intercept a pass by Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy in the end zone to preserve a 10-3 Bears lead late in the second quarter.

No wild celebration followed. Instead, Wright jogged to the back of the end zone and took a knee in memory of Oakland football legend John Beam, the former football coach at Laney College who died Friday after being shot on campus a day earlier.

“He was watching over me,” Wright, who played for Beam at Laney in 2018, said after the Bears’ 19-17 victory on Sunday . “It’s crazy. He called me the night before he passed and he told me that every game he watched, I just seemed to get a pick. So I just know he was behind me today.”

Just before noon Thursday, the Oakland Police Department responded to reports of gunshots at Laney and found Beam suffering from gunshot wounds. He was transported to an area hospital, where he was listed in critical condition. At approximately 10 a.m. the next day, Beam was pronounced dead.

Oakland police arrested 27-year-old Oakland resident Cedric Irving Jr. as a suspect in the case early Friday morning at the San Leandro BART station. Irving is a former football player at Skyline High School where Beam once coached, but police said he did not play under Beam.

Irving and Beam knew each other but were not close, acting Oakland Police Chief James Beere said Friday at a news conference. Beere added that Irving isn’t a student at Laney but “was on campus for a specific reason” on Thursday.

“This was a very targeted incident,” Beere said.

On Monday, Irving was charged with murder and 10 other felonies related to Beam’s death. Alameda County Dist. Atty. Ursula Jones Dickson said during an afternoon news conference that Irving faces 50 years to life in prison if convicted.

Irving is scheduled for arraignment Tuesday, Jones Dickson said.

Beam coached football in Oakland for more than 40 years. He came to Laney as running backs coach in 2004, was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2005 and was head coach from 2012 to 2024. Upon retirement from coaching, Beam continued to serve as Laney’s athletic director, a post he had held since 2006.

For many of his players and members of the community, Beam was much more than a coach, as seen by viewers of Season 5 of the Netflix documentary series “Last Chance U,” which focused on Beam and the Eagles during the 2019 football season.

“Filming with him at Laney College gave us a firsthand look at his passion, his integrity, and his unwavering commitment to the young men he coached — and to the city of Oakland,” the show’s creator, Greg Whiteley, wrote Friday on X.

Wright told reporters that Beam was “someone I could confide in, someone that I love dearly.” He added that the coach filled a huge void for him and his brother — New Orleans Saints cornerback Rejzohn Wright, who played at Laney in 2018 and 2019 — after the death of their father in 2017.

“Beam stepped in, stepped in as a father figure, a father role,” Nahshon Wright said. “He did a lot for me and my brother, my family. He’s been there. He’s been there every step of the way, and it won’t stop. I gained an angel, for sure.”

In a scene from “Last Chance U,” Laney coach John Beam talks to player Rejzohn Wright.

(Netflix)

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Rejzohn Wright reposted a video clip of his brother’s interception and its aftermath on X and wrote: “Long live Coach beam forever with us!”

In an Oct. 19 Instagram post, Beam wrote that he was “in Chicago to watch the brothers battle” as the Bears hosted the Saints. The pride and love Beam felt toward his former players was more than evident in the photos he posted and the words he wrote.

“The Wright Way — always believe and keep grinding, never give up and believe the path will open up,” Beam wrote.

NFL fans may not have any nails left to bite as several games came down to the wire in Week 11.

Six games came within three points while eight games came within seven points. The Miami Dolphins and Carolina Panthers each won their respective games in overtime. The Dolphins did it while playing the first-ever regular-season NFL game in Madrid, Spain.

Meanwhile, Josh Allen led the Buffalo Bills to a win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a slugfest. He scored three touchdowns through the air and three touchdowns on the ground.

As of now, the Kansas City Chiefs are out of the playoff picture. The Chiefs lost to the Denver Broncos in the closing moments and dropped to 5-5 on the season.

Read below for the rest of the scores this week.

Nov. 13, 2025

• New England Patriots 27, New York Jets 14

Nov. 16, 2025

• Miami Dolphins 16, Washington Commanders 13 (OT)
• Carolina Panthers 30, Atlanta Falcons 27 (OT)
• Buffalo Bills 44, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 32
• Houston Texans 16, Tennessee Titans 13
• Chicago Bears 19, Minnesota Vikings 17
• Green Bay Packers 27, New York Giants 20
• Pittsburgh Steelers 34, Cincinnati Bengals 12

• Jacksonville Jaguars 35, Los Angeles Chargers 6
• Los Angeles Rams 21, Seattle Seahawks 19
• San Francisco 49ers 41, Arizona Cardinals 22
• Baltimore Ravens 23, Cleveland Browns 16
• Denver Broncos 22, Kansas City Chiefs 19
• Philadelphia Eagles 16, Detroit Lions 9

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Nov. 17, 2025

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Midnight Mode, indeed.

On the day the Rams donned black uniforms for the only time this season, the offense largely went dark.

Red-hot quarterback Matthew Stafford cooled. Star receivers Davante Adams and Puka Nacua struggled to consistently make the clutch plays that they often make look routine.

But safety Kamren Kinchens and the Rams’ defense managed to keep the Seattle Seahawks at bay — just barely.

Kinchens intercepted two passes, and cornerbacks Cobie Durant and Darious Williams also picked off passes as the Rams held off the Seahawks for a 21-19 victory on Sunday at SoFi Stadium that was not secured until Seattle’s Jason Myers missed a 61-yard field goal as time expired.

“I’m proud of our football team,” coach Sean McVay said. “We’re not going to apologize for finding different ways to win.”

No apologies necessary. Despite some struggles Sunday, the Rams are living up to expectations as a Super Bowl contender.

Stafford continues to play without major errors, the defensive front continues to pressure quarterbacks into mistakes, and kicking-game issues appear to be solved.

And now the secondary, regarded as a potential liability before the season, is stepping up.

Stafford tossed touchdown passes to Adams and tight end Colby Parkinson, and Kyren Williams rushed for a touchdown as the Rams improved to 8-2, extended their winning streak to five games and assumed sole possession of first place in the NFC West.

Rams coach Sean McVay tries to rev up his players before Sunday’s 21-19 win over the Seahawks at SoFi Stadium.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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“We found a way to win without playing perfect football against a really good football team,” Stafford said. “So I’ll take it.”

So will Adams, whose lone catch marked the 1,000 of his career and his league-leading 10th touchdown reception this season.

“It wasn’t like it was the worst of all time,” he said of the offense’s performance, “but to our standard it definitely was not there.

“But, I mean, it makes you feel even better knowing you can play like crap … and still come out with a victory against a really good team.”

The Rams can thank Kinchens, a second-year safety who has six career interceptions, including four against the Seahawks. His interceptions set up Williams’ one-yard touchdown in the first quarter and Parkinson’s six-yard score in the fourth.

Rams safety Kamren Kinchens celebrates with teammates after intercepting a pass in the second half against Seattle on Sunday at SoFi Stadium.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

“Man, they want to throw the ball,” a chuckling Kinchens said in explaining his success against the Seahawks. “People that want to kind of put it down the field or give us a shot — big mistake.”

Or, as Durant put it: “Preaching what we do every day, man — take the ball away.”

The Rams went into the game having scored at least 34 points in each of their last three games. But that production was absent against a Seahawks team that fell to 7-3 and had its four-game winning streak end.

Stafford increased his league-leading total of touchdown passes to 27 and did not have a pass intercepted for the seventh consecutive game. But the 17th-year pro was not as sharp as he had been during a stretch that put him in the conversation for NFL most valuable player.

“I’m obviously excited that we got the win,” said Stafford, who completed 15 of 28 passes for 130 yards. “Don’t get it twisted on me here, but at the same time I know I can be better too.”

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford slings a pass to tight end Colby Parkinson in the first half Sunday at SoFi Stadium.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Stafford enjoyed a banner day compared to Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold.

The Rams’ front did not sack Darnold but it pressured him into poor decisions, and Kinchens, Durant and Williams made him pay. Darnold completed 29 of 44 passes for 279 yards with four interceptions.

Seahawks receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who was on pace to set an NFL record for yards receiving in a season, caught nine passes for 105 yards. But he did not score.

Cooper Kupp, the former Rams star making his return to SoFi Stadium, did not have a catch in the first three quarters but had three during a late scoring drive that trimmed the Rams’ lead to two points.

With 1 minute 41 seconds left, Rams punter Ethan Evans kicked the ball 50 yards to the Seahawks’ one-yard line. The Seahawks drove past midfield, but Myers could not match his career-best 61-yard field goal against the Rams in 2020.

This time it went wide right, generating a roar from the crowd, a sigh of relief from the Rams and a joyous locker room celebration.

“It’s a lot of fun in there,” McVay said.

With more, seemingly, to come.

Rams defensive end Braden Fiske (55) and linebacker Byron Young (0) pressure Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold in the fourth quarter.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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