Rams’ Tyler Higbee catches TD six days after coughing up blood

Six days after being hospitalized for coughing up blood, Rams tight end Tyler Higbee celebrated in the end zone after catching a touchdown pass in the first quarter of their NFC Divisional Round game against the Eagles on Sunday.

Higbee suffered a chest injury during Los Angeles’ wild-card win over the Vikings on Monday that caused him to cough up blood, according to head coach Sean McVay, and resulted in the 32-year-old going to the hospital before eventually being able to travel home with the team.

At the time, McVay expected Higbee to play against the Eagles, and he ended up practicing in a limited capacity Wednesday and Thursday before being a full participant Friday and avoiding a designation on the injury report going into the weekend.

It didn’t take long for Higbee to be targeted by the Eagles, either.

Stafford connected with Higbee for a nine-yard completion — and a third-down conversion — on Los Angeles’ third offensive snap of the afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field.

Higbee caught another third-down pass, this time inside the 5-yard line, to cap the Rams’ first drive with a touchdown and take a brief one-point lead — sending an emphatic spike into the ground after he squeezed between a pair of defenders and stretched the ball into the end zone.

Higbee started just three games for the Rams during the regular season while continuing to recover from a torn ACL and MCL that ended his season last year, catching eight passes for 66 yards and two touchdowns.

Then, in their postseason opener, Higbee — a former fourth-round pick out of Western Kentucky who has spent his entire career in Los Angeles — caught five passes for 58 yards.

The Rams and Eagles were tied at 13 late in the third quarter Sunday, with Higbee sitting on five catches and 43 receiving yards for the game.

Long touchdown runs by Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts and running back Saquon Barkley — 44 and 62 yards, respectively — gave Los Angeles an early deficit to erase with a spot in the NFC Championship game on the line, but a missed extra point by Jake Elliott allowed The Rams eventually tied the game with just one touchdown and two field goals.