There were a lot of eyes on the Rams and Saints Thursday night, knowing the playoff implications that this NFC matchup carried. Los Angeles was rolling coming into this game, winning four of its last five, but the Saints had also won two straight entering the week.
Well, the Rams left no doubt about who was the better 7-7 team, beating the Saints in fairly comfortable fashion, 30-22. The game wasn’t even as close as the final score indicates, with the Rams going over 400 yards of total offense in less than three full quarters. The defense shut down Derek Carr and the Saints, too, limiting them to 229 total yards on their first eight possessions before allowing two quick touchdowns in the final seven minutes to make things a little bit more interesting.
At 8-7, the Rams are in great position to make a playoff push, holding onto the seventh seed in the NFC no matter what happens this weekend or on Monday. There’s still work to do, but this was a massive win for the Rams in their final home game of the season.
- It would’ve been hard for the Rams to start the game better than they did. Ernest Jones sacked Derek Carr on third down to end the Saints’ first possession, forcing a punt. Then, the Rams took the ball 95 yards in 14 plays and scored a touchdown on fourth down, a 2-yard catch by Puka Nacua.
- After a curious punt from the 37 on their opening drive, the Saints went for it from the Rams’ 39 on their second drive, but that one ended with a sack, too. Kobie Turner got to Carr for a 10-yard loss, setting the Rams up at midfield. They turned that drive into a field goal, opting to take three points from the 2-yard line instead of going for it on fourth again.
- On the Rams’ third drive, they settled for a field goal attempt on fourth-and-2 from the Saints’ 28-yard line. Instead of going for it, they trotted Lucas Havrisik out for a 47-yard attempt to put the Rams up 13-0, but he missed wide left. He’s now 2-for-6 from 40-49 yards this season
- A few plays after Havrisik’s miss, Carr hit Rashid Shaheed for a 45-yard touchdown to make it 10-7, a 10-point swing following the missed field goal.
- The Rams got a big stop on fourth down again just before halftime, giving them the ball back with 56 seconds left in the first half. Stafford led them down the field, going 58 yards and throwing a 4-yard touchdown pass to Demarcus Robinson, his fourth straight game with a score. Robinson led the team in the first half with six catches for 82 yards and a touchdown.
- To open the second half, Stafford hit Nacua for a 41-yard gain on the first play. The Saints easily could’ve been called for pass interference, but Nacua made the catch anyway. That drive led to a field goal for Los Angeles to go up 20-7.
- Jordan Fuller picked off Derek Carr midway through the third quarter, setting up the Rams with great field position. Five plays later, Kyren Williams was in the end zone with his 12th touchdown of the season, giving the Rams a 27-7 lead.
- Just like last week, the Rams struggled to put the game away. They let the Saints score two easy touchdowns in the final 7 minutes to make it interesting, forcing the offense to pick up a couple of first downs late in the fourth quarter to ice the game. Fortunately, they were able to do that again, but the Saints pulled within eight points to give the Rams a scare.
- Nacua was the player of the game, catching nine passes for 164 yards and a touchdown, while also adding two runs for 16 yards and an onside kick recovery to thwart the Saints’ comeback attempt. There’s nothing he can’t do.
- Stafford threw for 328 yards despite only targeting four players on his 34 pass attempts. Kupp led the team with 12 targets, but he had just six catches for 52 yards.
… Nacua carried the ball for 9 yards on second-and-5 to help kill the clock and move the chains with the Saints out of timeouts. It was such a heads-up play by him to seal the win, once again showing what a smart player he is.
No. 3 star: Matthew Stafford – 24-for-34, 328 yards, 2 TDs
No. 2 star: Kyren Williams – 22 carries, 104 yards, 1 TD
No. 1 star: Puka Nacua – 9 catches, 164 yards, 1 TD. 2 carries, 16 yards
Nacua made some ridiculous catches in this game, but his 41-yarder on the first play of the second half was so impressive. The Saints defender was all over him, to the point where pass interference should’ve been called, but Nacua still managed to make the catch regardless.
There’s nothing this rookie can’t do.
The Rams get a nice mini-bye following this victory before heading across the country to face the Giants in Week 17, the penultimate game of their regular season. It’s a dreaded road game at 1 p.m. ET on the East Coast, but the Rams are absolutely rolling right now and the Giants are, well, not very good. A win in that game will give the Rams a great chance to make it into the postseason, regardless of Week 18’s result against the 49ers.