Ten things to remember about the Rams’ 30–22 win over the Saints upon Thursday Night Football
The Los Angeles Rams had to win their game against the New Orleans Saints on Thursday night. Sean McVay or Matthew Stafford delivered a statement by beating the other team 30–22.
With a win, the Rams’ hopes of making the playoffs went above 70%. It would have been very hard for them to win if they had lost.
Instead, the Rams took up business and were in sixth place in the NFC going into the weekend. Here are ten things you can learn from the Rams’ win over the Saints.
Thursday night at SoFi Stadium, the Rams beat the New Orleans Saints 30–22. Even though the score was close, it doesn’t really show who was better from beginning to end.
There was a score and 164 yards gained by Nacua on nine passes. He ran for 16 yards and picked off an onside kick as well.
You picked Nacua in the fifth round of the draft. He has 96 catches to feed 1,327 yards. With just two matches left, he has the chance to set NFL records for both the most catches and receiving yards by a start.
Last season, Miami Dolphins youngster Jaylen Waddle set a record by catching 104 passes. It was set by Bill Groman with the Houston Oilers in 1960, when he rushed for 1,473 yards.
Seven passes were caught by the veteran for 82 yards. One of them was for 32 yards to start a drive that the ended with his 4-yard score.
Robinson has done a great job of finding room when quarterback Stafford’s extends plays outside the pocket.
Peace of mind In the third quarter, Jordan Fuller picked off a pass that led to a score and a 20-point lead for the Rams. Fuller caught the pass for the second time this season.
But the Rams left up costly big plays for their third game in a row. It cost them a loss to the Baltimore Ravens and almost cost them wins with the Washington Commanders or the Saints.
It’s hard for NFL defenses to appear perfect because almost every team has good players. But the Rams need to improve their defense if they want to finish strong in the playoffs and move on in the playoffs if they make it.
The Rams stopped the Saints from getting any closer shortly after Puka Nacua recovered a onside kick and then caught a key pass that led to the last down of the game.
Nacua, the Rams’ rookie star, had a night like that. He caught nine passes for 164 yards and scored the first touchdown of the game.
When the Saints were down 30–7, Derek Carr threw two touchdowns in three minutes, which made the game more interesting.
Matthew Stafford at quarterback and Kyren Williams at running back both had big games for the Rams, who improved to 8-7 and moved up in the NFC playoff standings.
In the NFC South, the Saints slid to 7-8 and were below the 7-7 Buccaneers. Even though the Saints made it interesting in the end, Los Angeles was better overall, especially on defense.
Carr threw for 319 yards, yet he made some bad choices and the running game didn’t help much—on 16 carries, they got only 35 yards.
It looked like the “Greatest Show on Turf” when the Rams’ offense played Thursday night. The Rams would have scored a lot more points if they had made more than 3 of 6 red zone throws.
Stafford had another great game for Los Angeles. He completed 24 out of 34 passes, gaining 328 yards and scoring three scores. Stafford has thrown 14 touchdowns and only one interception so far this season.
In his last five games, he has made nearly 67% of his passes. It’s no surprise that the Rams are 4-1 during that time and 5-1 in the six games prior to that.
Williams added to Stafford’s dominance through the air by rushing for 104 yards. He broke the 1,000-yard mark for the season, even though he missed four games. In the late third quarter, he scored a touchdown run of 10 yards that won the game.