Rams vs. Saints score, takeaways: Los Angeles stays hot, improves playoff hopes with ‘TNF’ win vs. New Orleans

For a moment, it appeared that Thursday night’s game could be a reprise of the Titans’ shocking, come-from-behind win over the Dolphins in Week 14. But the Saints’ comeback ultimately came up short as the Rams hung on for a 30-22 win. 

Down 30-7, the Saints made things interesting when Derek Carr threw a pair of touchdown passes in a three-minute span. But the Rams didn’t allow the Saints to get any closer after Puka Nacua recovered an onside kick, then caught a key pass that set up a game-clinching first down. 

It was that kind of night for Nacua, the Rams’ rookie sensation who caught nine passes for 164 yards that included the game’s first touchdown.  The Rams received big nights from quarterback Matthew Stafford and running back Kyren Williams, who helped Los Angeles improve to 8-7 while strengthening their position in the NFC playoff standings. 

The Saints fell to 7-8 and behind the 7-7 Buccaneers in the NFC South standings. While they made things interesting late, New Orleans was mostly outplayed by Los Angeles, especially on defense. Carr put up solid numbers with 319 yards passing, but he made several bad decisions and was not helped by a running game that gained just 35 yards on 16 carries. 

Here’s a closer look at the Rams’ big win. 

Why the Rams won 

The Rams’ offense looked like the “Greatest Show on Turf” on Thursday night. In fact, the Rams could have scored a lot more points had they fared better than 3 of 6 in the red zone. 

Los Angeles received another big game from Stafford, who went 24 of 34 for 328 yards and three touchdowns. Stafford now has 14 touchdowns and just one pick and has completed nearly 67 percent of his passes over his past five games. Not surprisingly, the Rams are 4-1 over that span and are 5-1 in their last six games. 

Stafford’s success through the air was complemented by Williams, who rumbled for 104 yards while breaking the 1,000-yard barrier for the season despite missing four games. His 10-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter proved to be the game-winning score. 

Stafford, Nacua and Williams were the headliners, but the Rams’ offense received some stellar supporting cast performances from wideouts Demarcus Robinson and Cooper Kupp. Robinson had six catches for 82 yards in the first half, including his 32-yard grab that set up his short touchdown catch that gave Los Angeles a 17-7 halftime lead. Kupp had six catches for 52 yards, including a key third-down grab that helped the Rams extend their lead to 20-7 early in the second half. 

As good as the Rams’ offense was, L.A.’s defense was just as good for most of the game. The unit forced three turnover on downs and helped make it a 27-7 game after Jordan Fuller’s pick set up Williams’ touchdown run. 

Why the Saints lost

As noted above, the Saints’ offense came up empty three times on fourth down, committed a costly turnover on Carr’s interception to Fuller and were unable to get anything going on the ground. The game would have been decided much earlier had Carr not connected with Rashid Shaheed on a 45-yard scoring strike late in the first half. 

New Orleans turned it on late and was aided by J.T. Gray’s blocked punt that set up Carr’s 35-yard touchdown pass to A.T. Perry. Still, the Saints could not overcome their slow start or their defense that allowed the Rams to churn out 458 total yards. 

Turning point 

Fuller’s pick turned a relatively tight game into a 20-point lead for the home game. Williams capitalized on the pick by scoring his 12th touchdown of the year that proved to be the winning score. 

Play of the game 

Nacua’s 41-yard catch on the first play of the second half was a thing of beauty. The catch, which set up the second of Lucas Havrisik’s three field goals, was made despite Nacua falling to the ground while being guarded tightly by a Saints defender. 

Quotable  What’s next 

Los Angeles will head to the Big Apple, where they’ll face a Giants team that is still alive in the NFC playoff race despite their 5-9 record.

The Saints will stay on the road when they head to Tampa to take on the Buccaneers. The winner of that game could very well take home the NFC South title and the playoff berth that comes with it.