Kings of L.A.

Jared Goff was about four weeks old the previous time two NFL teams based in Los Angeles played each other.

When this long-dormant derby returned in its newest form Sunday, the young quarterback was the biggest reason why the Rams won this round in the long fight ahead for the hearts of LA.

Goff passed for 354 yards and three touchdowns, and Todd Gurley rushed for 105 yards and another score, leading the Rams to a 35-23 victory over the Chargers in the franchises’ first meeting since their relocations to Los Angeles.

Cory Littleton blocked a punt in the end zone and Blake Countess recovered it for an early touchdown for the Rams (3-0), who racked up 521 yards and remained one of the NFL’s four unbeaten teams.

Two seasons after the Rams kicked off professional football’s return to the nation’s second-largest market after 21 years away, they got their first meeting with the Chargers, who moved a year later. Both teams put on an entertaining show for a Coliseum crowd of 68,947 containing a surprisingly significant turnout of Chargers fans, but the Rams’ offensive brilliance kept them ahead all day.

These teams are likely to have a friendly coexistence in LA instead of a real rivalry, since they’ll only play each other roughly once every four years while they share a multi-billion-dollar stadium complex in Inglewood starting in 2020.

Neither side ascribed much cultural significance to this win – but the Rams were thrilled to defend their turf.

“Coming out, they were kind of loud, but I think we quieted them up,” Rams receiver Robert Woods said. “At the end of the game, you knew whose house it was, who is LA’s team.”

Woods caught two TD passes and Cooper Kupp made a 53-yard scoring catch from Goff.

Philip Rivers passed for 226 yards and hit Mike Williams with two touchdown passes for the Chargers (1-2), whose two losses have come against the powerhouse Chiefs and Rams without injured pass-rusher Joey Bosa. Melvin Gordon rushed for 80 yards and a score .

“(The Rams) are good in all areas, but I feel like we had a lot of opportunities to make plays,” Williams said. “We know the talent that we have in the locker room. We’ve just got to put it on the field.”

Despite their prolific offensive performance, the Rams never got comfortable. They lost starting cornerbacks Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib to injuries during the game, and the Chargers twice drove deep into Rams territory in the fourth quarter, only to come away with three points.

Chargers rookie safety Derwin James got his first career interception in the end zone to kill a likely scoring drive, but he blamed the defense for the loss.

“We couldn’t get a stop,” James said. “We made them punt one time. Offense put up enough points.”

The Rams racked up 313 yards and held the ball for almost 20 minutes in the first half, but also committed two red zone turnovers that allowed the Chargers to stay close. Gurley fumbled on the Rams’ opening drive, and James picked off Goff in the end zone in the second quarter.

Kupp and Goff put the Rams up 28-13 early in the third when Goff evaded pressure and slung a perfect, long throw to Kupp, who shook off Trevor Williams’ tackle and ran away.

The Rams didn’t punt until they led 35-23 with 7:38 to play, but the Chargers couldn’t get into the end zone in the final 23 minutes of the game.