Curtis Nelson's header was his second goal of the season
Derby County scored twice in two second-half minutes as they ended a three-game losing streak with a dominant win over an insipid QPR at Pride Park.
The Rams dominated possession and regularly got into good areas before the interval only to be let down by questionable decision-making and poor delivery.
But Curtis Nelson powered in a wonderful header to put the home side ahead from a corner and a glorious first-time finish from the impressive Marcus Harness just 76 seconds later, made it 2-0.
Only a staggering save from QPR goalkeeper Paul Nardi denied Jerry Yates a third but they had little trouble in seeing out fourth Championship win of the season.
Struggling Rangers, who have now lost three in row and are winless in five, went close through decent Karamoko Dembele strikes - one in each half.
But the QPR threat was sporadic and mainly on the break, while they looked vulnerable in defence throughout, and remain in the relegation zone having managed just one victory from nine league games this season.
While QPR were menacing going forward in the first half, with the creativity of Dembele to the fore, and had a spell on top in the closing stages, they looked far from comfortable at the back throughout.
And the Rams seized control after Jacob Widell Zetterstrom's stunning fingertip save kept out Dembele’s rasping 25-yard strike.
Kenzo Goudmijn led the way, showing great control and composure from the centre of the pitch, but they mixed up their tactics intelligently.
On countless occasions the hosts got the ball out wide quickly and played in behind the visitors, using the pace and threat of Harness, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and Yates.
But the final ball was poor time after time and they failed to test Nardi, whose only notable action was to stop a sliced effort from Jimmy Dunne and watch on as a Craig Forsyth strike went across goal.
Nelson’s stunning header into the top corner from 15 yards and Harness' delightful sweeping finish from Kayden Jackson’s pass relaxed the mood around the ground 10 minutes after the break.
After that Derby had little trouble in fending off QPR, although Marti Cifuentes' side had their best period of the game and only a stunning scrambling save by Zetterstrom prevented Sam Field from scoring with a close-range header in injury-time.
Derby boss Paul Warne:
“I’m really pleased. We were really good box-to-box in the first half but in the box we were honking, we played a little bit too soft.
“In the second half we were better and created good chances and did enough to win. We were more aggressive on the press and a little bit more positive in the final third.
“We have to be at our very best to beat anybody in this league and at times we have been and still haven’t won. I’m really proud of the group, it’s a great group to manage.
“We’ve been unlucky on a couple of results. We could have had more points but we’ve played some really good teams. There’s a lot to be pleased about."
QPR boss Marti Cifuentes:
“It’s not a good performance; I need to help the players to perform at their best. I’m not here to point any fingers, mistakes are part of the game but we can play much better.
“There are some things we need to improve. I’m not happy, no manager in the world would be happy after three defeats (in a row), but there’s a lot of time to improve as a team.
“Now is a moment to stay together. As a club we made certain decisions in the summer in terms of the player profile, many signings arrived from other leagues, the club knew it could take time and it’s my job to make sure it works as soon as possible."
