The Los Angeles Rams went into New Orleans and took down the Saints on Sunday afternoon, beating their NFC South foes, 21-14. They were favored to win the game so it wasn’t an upset, but the Saints were much better than their 4-7 record indicated.
The Rams took care of business in a hostile environment and overcame yet another terrible start. They came back to beat the Saints with 21 second-half points after getting shut out in the first two quarters, while also getting a key fourth-down stop by the defense with under two minutes to play.
The Rams are right in the thick of the NFC West at 6-6, sitting just one game back of the Seahawks, who they’ve already beaten once this season. It wasn’t a statement win over the Saints, but it was a much-needed victory.
Here’s who played well and who struggled on Sunday.
Stud: Christian Rozeboom
Rozeboom started the game strong and continued to play well throughout the afternoon. On the Saints’ opening drive, he made a big tackle on Alvin Kamara on third-and-1, stopping him right at the line of scrimmage to force a fourth-down attempt. The Saints converted, but that doesn’t take away from how great a play it was by Rozeboom.
Two drives later, he broke up a pass over the middle that was intended for Taysom Hill, making a fantastic play on the ball to break it up without committing a penalty. Since Troy Reeder went down, Rozeboom has been playing fairly well, with the exception of last week’s outing against Saquon Barkley. He finished Sunday’s game with 12 tackles, a tackle for a loss and a pass breakup.
Stud: Kyren Williams
Sean McVay clearly sent a message early in the game by utilizing Blake Corum before he gave Williams the football. Williams fumbled twice against the Eagles last week and it was Corum who got four carries before Williams even touched the ball. Yet, it was Kyren who had his best game of the season, rushing for 104 yards and a touchdown on only 15 carries.
He also had a 9-yard reception, giving him 113 yards from scrimmage on only 16 carries. Importantly, he didn’t fumble a single time, either.
Stud: Jared Verse
Verse made the play of the game when he pressured Derek Carr on fourth-and-3 from the Rams’ 9-yard line in the final two minutes, knocking the ball out of the quarterback’s hands and forcing a turnover on downs. He finished the game with six pressures, five tackles and three stops, according to Pro Football Focus, once again wreaking havoc in the backfield.
Stud: Puka Nacua
The Rams only threw the ball 24 times so Nacua’s opportunities were limited. He was targeted eight times, catching five of those passes for 56 yards and a touchdown. Those weren’t the numbers we’re accustomed to seeing from Nacua, but he made several big plays, including catches of 19 yards and 18 yards in the second half alone. He moved the chains on third down twice during the Rams’ opening drive of the third quarter, which ended in a touchdown by Williams.
Dud: Cooper Kupp
Kupp saw the second-most targets on the team with six, but he only caught three of them for a total of 17 yards. He simply doesn’t run many downfield routes and on Sunday, most of his patterns were near the line of scrimmage. It’s not even as if the Rams gave him many opportunities to catch it over the middle. It seemed like most of his routes were toward the sideline where there was no chance to gain yardage after the catch.
Dud: Davis Allen
For the third straight week, Allen was held without a single catch. In fact, he wasn’t targeted a single time, so he wasn’t involved at all as a receiver. As a blocker, he struggled, which led to more playing time for Colby Parkinson. Allen’s role has already shrunk in recent weeks as a receiver and it’ll be reduced even further once Tyler Higbee returns.
Dud: Braden Fiske
It was a quiet day from the Rams’ stud defensive tackle, who finished the game with just two tackles, both of which were assisted. He didn’t have a quarterback hit or a tackle for a loss, struggling to have much of an impact up front for Los Angeles. It didn’t seem like he was generating much pressure on the interior, either.
