The Rams show flashes of Super Bowl potential in win over the Saints
Don’t start planning any walks yet. Postponing February travel plans to Santa Clara.
The Rams still have a long way to go in the playoffs and advancing to the Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium.
they Win 34-10 Sunday over struggling New Orleans Saints At SoFi Stadium there was no discovery or historic win.
But the Rams did something important. Something tournament teams are supposed to do: They convincingly dispatched a weaker opponent before 72.055.
Matthew Stafford passed for four RAfter the touchdown, receiver Pukka Nakoa returned from an ankle injury in spectacular fashion and the defense dominated again as the Rams won their third game, improving to 6-2 and showing that the Dodgers may not be the only Los Angeles team to hoist the championship trophy.
“We’ll see if we can continue to do some good things like they did,” coach Sean McVay said of the World Series champions.
The Rams’ victory puts them atop the NFC West heading into next Sunday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium.
“I like the fact that we’re getting better,” McVay said, adding, “There’s just a good vibe.”
On most fronts, anyway.
The Rams’ first victory over an NFC opponent did not come against the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles or the rival 49ers, teams the Rams lost in part due to kicking game disasters.
Rams coach Sean McVay watches from the sidelines during the first half on Sunday against the Saints.
(Allen J. Chapin/Los Angeles Times)
These issues remain: Joshua Carty missed a field goal and an extra point.
So McVay’s patience with the kicking game is wearing thin. No team will win a title without a competent team.
McVay again said he had faith in Carty, but that was after he said “it can’t go on like this…it’s been going on for too long”, and “it’s not getting better”, among other things.
Can the Rams be a championship team without enough unity to kick places?
“No,” McVay said. “It’s going to cost us — it’s already cost us. It’s been a momentum killer. … The harsh reality is that this is not sustainable.”
But if the Rams solve their kicking problem and stay healthy — Nacua said he will play against the 49ers after leaving the game in the second half with a chest injury — and McVay can keep his team focused against division rivals and other playoff contenders, the Rams could earn their own bid.
Stafford braces himself for one drive.
A fixture on NFL career hit lists, the 17-year-old pro is enjoying another exciting season.
As he did in 2021, when he passed for 41 touchdowns and led the Rams to a Super Bowl title, Stafford is playing at a level that should put him in the Most Valuable Player discussion.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford passes in front of Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan during the first quarter on Sunday.
(Allen J. Chapin/Los Angeles Times)
On Sunday, two touchdown passes to Davante Adams and one each to Nacua and tight end Tyler Higbee increased Stafford’s season total to 21, with just two interceptions.
Stafford, who passed for five touchdowns in a rout of the Jacksonville Jaguars on Oct. 19, completed 24 of 32 passes for 281 yards, extending a streak of five games without an interception.
Stafford’s wife and daughters attended the game wearing No. 22 Dodgers jerseys, a tribute to retired pitcher Clayton Kershaw, Stafford’s high school teammate.
Now Stafford is gunning for his second Super Bowl title.
“It’s not like we have it all figured out,” he said, adding, “We have to keep looking for ways to put more points on the board.”
Nacua sat out against the Jaguars with an ankle injury. But he said in the days leading up to the game that he was “feeling great.”
Rams wide receiver Pukka Nakoa, left, celebrates with wide receiver Davante Adams after catching a touchdown pass in the second quarter Sunday against the Saints.
(Allen J. Chapin/Los Angeles Times)
It looked like that early in the game, as he made two catches on first downs to start a scoring drive that ended with a Stafford touchdown pass to Higbee. The veteran tight end, in an apparent tribute to the Dodgers, celebrated by taking an imaginary swing and then doing a Dodgers celebration after the hit.
Adams then followed up his outstanding performance with three touchdowns against the Jaguars with two more first downs in the red zone. The 12-year pro is tied for eighth all-time with 111 catches.
Early in the second quarter, Stafford and Nacua went for a home run, connecting on a 39-yard pass that Nacua caught for a touchdown for a 20-3 lead.
Stafford’s short hit to Adams in the third quarter put the game out of reach, and Kyren Williams’ short touchdown run early in the fourth quarter provided the finishing touch.
Williams rushed for 114 yards and Blake Corum ran for 58 yards on a day when the Rams once again used all four tight ends in their passing and running attacks.
Meanwhile, the Rams’ defense made it difficult for rookie quarterback Tyler Shough in his first start.
Several Rams defensive players tackle Saints’ Tyler Shough in the second quarter of the Rams’ 34-10 win Sunday at Sophie’s Field.
(Allen J. Chapin/Los Angeles Times)
Lineman Braden Fiske got his first sack of the season, linebacker Nate Landman forced another fumble and cornerback Emmanuel Forbes Jr. had an interception.
“We are growing at a significant rate, and we will peak in time,” Landman said.
The game against the Saints was the beginning of a stretch that includes two home games after the 49ers.
Only two of their remaining nine games — a late-November trip to play the Carolina Panthers and a late-December trip to play the Atlanta Falcons — will require the Rams to travel farther east than Arizona.
A lot can happen between now and the start of the playoffs.
But the Rams look like the Super Bowl contender they were built to be.