Nacua, Rams Can’t Be Stopped on Thursday Night
Some people may have described this Thursday night football matchup as the battle of mediocracy, as both of these teams went into this game with a 7-7 record still fighting to make the playoffs. If we are looking at this game as the battle of mediocracy, the Rams proved they are much better than the other mediocre team on the other end as they were able to generate a 30-7 lead on the Saints in this one. While New Orleans would attempt a comeback and be successful late in the game, it still wasn’t enough as it was clear from the very beginning Los Angeles was the better team on the field on Thursday night. With this win, the Los Angeles Rams improve to 8-7 on the season and sit second in their NFC West Division and sixth in the NFC overall. With this loss, the New Orleans Saints fall to 7-8 on the season and sit second in their NFC South Division and ninth in the NFC overall. The Saints will travel to Tampa Bay next week and try to get a win in a must-win game against their divisional rival Buccaneers on New Year’s Eve, while the Rams will head to New York to take on the Giants in what should be an easy win for Los Angeles. Let’s take a look at how the Rams got this win.
The Los Angeles Rams would start this game strong as quarterback Matthew Stafford connected with wide receiver Puka Nacua for a 2-yard touchdown. This touchdown, plus the extra point by kicker Lucas Havrisik would put the Rams up 7-0. The Rams' lead would only extend on their next drive with the ball as their offense was about to set up a 20-yard field goal attempt for Havrisik, which he would knock down to put Los Angeles up 10-0. Unfortunately for Los Angeles though, their offense would make their first big mistake of the game on their next drive as Havrisik missed a 47-yard field goal attempt. The Saints' offense was able to capitalize off of this turnover by the Rams as quarterback Derek Carr found wide receiver Rashid Shaheed open for a 45-yard touchdown to give New Orleans its first points of the game. After kicker Blake Grupe made the extra point, the score was 10-7. Unfortunately for New Orleans though, the Rams would score another touchdown soon as Stafford connected with wide receiver Demarcus Robinson for a 4-yard touchdown to make the score of the game 17-7 as both teams headed into the locker room.
The Rams lead would extend once again at the beginning of the second half as Havrisik knocked down another field goal, this one from 22 yards out, to put Los Angeles up 20-7. The Rams offense would get the ball back sooner than expected as well, as Carr threw an interception, a pass intended for tight end Juwan Johnson, into the hands of Los Angeles safety Jordan Fuller. Once the Rams had the ball back their offense would score once again as running back Kyren Williams ran into the endzone to make the score of the game 27-7. The Rams' offense would only continue to destroy the Saints' defense as they scored once again when they got the ball back when Havrisik made another field goal to make the score of the game 30-7. The Saints would score two touchdowns in the fourth quarter as Carr found Juwan Johnson for the first and wide receiver A.T. Perry for the second. Wide receiver Chris Olave would score a two-point conversion for the Saints on this second possession, but a full comeback in this one was never really a possibility as the Saints beat the Rams 30-22 on Thursday night in a game that seemed like much more a blowout than it looks from the final score.
Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford missed ten of his pass attempts in this game, going twenty-four for thirty-four and threw for 328 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Kyren Williams had twenty-two carries for 104 yards and one touchdown. Wide receiver Puka Nacua reeled in nine catches for 164 yards and one touchdown. Wide receiver Demarcus Robinson also had a receiving touchdown in the game. New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr went twenty-seven for forty on this pass attempt in the game, finishing having thrown for 319 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. The Saints barely ran the ball in this game but had a solid receiving night as wide receiver Chris Olave caught nine passes for 123 yards and wide receivers Rashid Shaheed, A.T. Perry, and tight end Juwan Johnson all had receiving touchdowns in the game.
