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Rams show flashes of their Super Bowl potential in victory over struggling Saints
Don’t start planning any parades just yet. Hold off on those February plans to travel to Santa Clara.
The Rams still have a long way to go make the playoffs and try to advance to the Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium.
Their 34-10 victory Sunday over the struggling New Orleans Saints at SoFi Stadium was no revelation or landmark win. But the Rams did something important. Something championship-caliber teams are supposed to do: They convincingly dispatched of a weaker opponent before 72,055.
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Gary Klein breaks down what went right for the Rams in a 34-10 win over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
Matthew Stafford passed for four touchdowns, receiver Puka Nacua returned from an ankle injury in spectacular fashion, and the defense dominated again as the Rams won their third game in a row, improved to 6-2 and showed that the Dodgers might not be the only L.A. team hoisting a championship trophy.
“We’ll see if we can continue to do some good stuff like they did,” coach Sean McVay said of the World Series champions.
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Rams extend their lead on Kyren Williams TD; Puka Nacua back on sideline
🏈 Rams 34, Saints 10 — 12:40 left in the fourth quarter
Kyren Williams scored on a one-yard touchdown carry to cap a 10-play, 52-yard drive for the Rams.
In addition to the touchdown, the Rams also got some good news on the injury front — Puka Nacua is back on the sideline after going to the locker room with a chest injury. With the Rams firmly in control, Nacua probably will not reenter the game.
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Rams extend their lead, but Puka Nacua leaves with injury
🏈 Rams 27, Saints 10 — 4:11 left in the third quarter
Matthew Stafford and Davante Adams continued to show a dynamic red-zone threat.
Stafford and Adams connected for a four-yard touchdown that increased the Rams lead to 17 points.
Stafford has completed 23 of 30 passes for 268 yards and four touchdowns, two to Adams, who increased his career total to 111.
Adams has five catches for 60 yards.
Puka Nacua, who has seven catches for 95 yards and a touchdown, sustained a chest injury on the drive and went to the locker room. He is questionable to return.
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Saints cut into Rams’ lead with touchdown late in first half
🏈 Rams 20, Saints 10 — HALFTIME
Rookie quarterback Tyler Shough connected with tight end Juwan Johnson for an 11-yard touchdown with seven seconds left in the second quarter.
The Saints scored after Rams kicker Joshua Karty missed a 39-yard field-goal attempt.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford has completed 18 of 23 passes for 215 yards and three touchdowns. He has 20 touchdown passes, with only two interceptions, this season.
Puka Nacua caught six passes for 87 yards, including a 39-yard touchdown.
Davante Adams and Tyler Higbee also have touchdown receptions.
Kyren Williams has rushed for 51 yards in 12 carries.
Braden Fiske has a sack for the Rams, his first of the season.
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Puka Nacua makes incredible 39-yard touchdown catch
🏈 Rams 20, Saints 3 — 6:25 left in the second quarter
Puka Nacua hauled in a 39-yard touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford to put the Rams in complete control.
Stafford has completed 15 of 18 passes for 164 yards and three touchdowns.
Nacua, who sat out the last game because of an ankle injury, has six catches for 87 yards.
Running back Blake Corum set up the touchdown pass play with a 21-yard run.
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Saints get on the board with a field goal
🏈 Rams 13, Saints 3 — 11:28 left in the second quarter
Blake Grupe kicked a 39-yard field goal to trim the Rams lead to 10 points.
Versatile Taysom Hill started the series at quarterback and rushed for 29 yards on the first play. He also completed a third-down pass to Brandin Cooks for 10 yards.
The Saints drove to the Rams’ 17-yard line, where they attempted to run a play on fourth and one, but the Saints were penalized for a false start, leading to the field-goal attempt.
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Davante Adams touchdown catch gives Rams 13-0 lead
🏈 Rams 13, Saints 0 — 11:28 left in the second quarter
Matthew Stafford connected with Davante Adams for a three-yard touchdown, but Joshua Karty missed the extra-point attempt.
Stafford directed an 11-play, 62-yard scoring drive that was keyed by a pass interference call against the Saints on a fourth-and-three play at the 35-yard line.
Stafford has completed 13 of 16 passes for 120 yards.
Adams, who scored three touchdowns against the Jacksonville Jaguars, has two catches for 23 yards.
Puka Nacua has five catches for 48 yards.
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Rams take early lead on Tyler Higbee touchdown catch
🏈 Rams 7, Saints 0 — 6:18 left in the first quarter
Matthew Stafford tossed a one-yard touchdown pass to tight end Tyler Higbee to cap an 88-yard drive.
Stafford completed all eight of his passes for 72 yards during the 12-play drive.
Star receiver Puka Nacua caught four passes for 33 yards and Davante Adams had one catch for 20 yards.
Kyren Williams rushed for 16 yards in four carries.
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Rams proved against Jaguars their offense goes well beyond the Big Three
LONDON — As the Rams begin their off week feeling good about themselves, opposing defensive coordinators have to be experiencing a slight sense of dread.
The Rams’ on Sunday defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars and improved to 5-2 without injured star receiver Puka Nacua, using the opportunity to fully showcase their developing weapons.
None more so than rookie receiver Konata Mumpfield and rookie tight end Terrance Ferguson.
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With Tutu Atwell out, Rams know they’ll have to make adjustments
While the Rams will welcome the return of star receiver Puka Nacua on Sunday against the New Orleans Saints, they will be without speedy wideout Tutu Atwell for at least four games.
Atwell was placed on injured reserve because of a hamstring injury.
“He’s like a Lamborghini,” coach Sean McVay said. “You have to make sure that you get him back ready to roll. Not putting an imaginary timeline on him, but actually being able to say, ‘All right, you got this next month.’
“It’s not ideal. We’re going to miss him, but we’ll be better when we get him back. I think it’s the right approach for him.”
Jordan Whittington, Xavier Smith and rookie Konata Mumpfield are expected to get help fill the void left by Atwell.
“It’s a hit to us because we know what he brings,” receiver Davante Adams said. “He’s such a threat downfield, being able to mix in some of the downfield stuff with some deeper routes because they have such a respect for his speed.
“It is obviously something we have to adjust to, but we have depth ... and a lot of guys that are ready.”
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Warning to rest of NFL: Davante Adams-Matthew Stafford attack heating up for Rams
As a 12th-year pro, Davante Adams knows the value of rest during a bye week. So before the Rams played the Jacksonville Jaguars in London on Oct. 19, Adams looked forward to days off that awaited.
Then Adams, flashing his three-time All-Pro form, caught three touchdown passes.
Was there any part of him that did not want a break?
“Oh, hell yeah,” Adams said this week, noting that he told coach Sean McVay, “‘I wish we could keep rolling at this point.’”
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Rams inactives for Sunday’s game vs. Saints
Here are the players who will not be suiting up for the Rams against the Saints on Sunday:
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Roger McCreary excited to make his Rams debut vs. Saints
Cornerback Roger McCreary is set to make his Rams debut Sunday against the New Orleans Saints at SoFi Stadium.
The Rams acquired McCreary in a trade with the Tennessee Titans.
How did he feel about going from a team with a 1-7 record to a possible Super Bowl contender?
“Excited!” McCreary said, adding that he will always have love for the Titans, the team that selected him in the second round of the 2022 draft. “Just to see how these guys play and practice, you can tell why they [have] their record. ... I respect that a lot and I’m just willing to learn and feed off their energy.”
With Ahkello Witherspoon still recovering from a broken collarbone and Darious Williams out because of a shoulder injury, McCreary could see extended action in a cornerback group that includes Cobi Durant and Emmanuel Forbes Jr.
McCreary said he was looking forward to playing for secondary coach Aubrey Pleasant, who coached him at the Senior Bowl before the 2022 draft.
“He’s got the same energy, the same personality — funny, goofy,” McCreary said. “So ... it felt comfortable right away. Felt like home.
“That relationship with me and him, I feel like this is just the beginning.”
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Matthew Stafford looking to continue his interception-free run
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford established a personal record last season when he went five games without an interception.
The 17th-year pro is on the verge of doing it again.
Going into Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints at SoFi Stadium, Stafford has passed for 17 touchdowns with only two interceptions — none in the last four games.
Stafford, who has led the Rams to a 5-2 record, entered the week tied with Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes for most touchdown passes in the NFL, though Mahomes has played eight games.
Staffford’s 266.6 yards passing per game ranks third in the league.
In his last game, a 35-7 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars, Stafford passed for only 182 yards but he tossed five touchdowns, three to receiver Davante Adams.
Certain games shake out certain ways and sometimes the ball bounces your way and sometimes it doesn’t,” Stafford said of his streak of games without an interception. “And so I’m just trying to go out there and make as many good decision in a row as I possibly can. ... If there’s a turnover here or there or a bad play here or there, move on and find a way to impact the game in a positive way sooner rather than later.”
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Rams acquire Roger McCreary in trade with Titans; Puka Nacua set to return
The Rams traded for cornerback Roger McCreary, star receiver Puka Nacua is expected to return for Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints and receiver Tutu Atwell will spend at least four games on injured reserve.
All of those moves were announced by the Rams or discussed by coach Sean McVay on Monday as the Rams returned from an off week.
With the NFL trade deadline approaching next week, the Rams acquired McCreary, 25, and a conditional 2026 sixth-round pick from the Tennessee Titans in exchange for a conditional 2026 fifth-round pick.
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Recap: Matthew Stafford throws 5 TDs as Rams dominate Jaguars in London
LONDON — Goodbye, London. Hello, bye week.
The Rams’ ended an extended road trip and welcomed some time off with a 35-7 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday at Wembley Stadium.
Matthew Stafford passed for five touchdowns — three to Davante Adams and one each to rookies Konata Mumpfield and Terrance Ferguson — and edge rushers Jared Verse and Byron Young led a mostly suffocating defense as the Rams improved their record to 5-2 heading into an off week.
“Man,” coach Sean McVay said, “it will make for a much more enjoyable flight home.”
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Gary Klein talks about what went right for the Rams in their 35-7 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday.
A giddy one, even, if the Rams don’t conk out en masse during the 11-plus hours in the air.
In a light rain, and without injured star receiver Puka Nacua, McVay and Stafford poured into 10 different receivers during a victory that not only made the nine-day road trip worth it, but also showed the rest of the NFL that the Rams remain a legitimate Super Bowl contender.
Stafford, 37, is playing like he did in 2021, when the Rams won the Super Bowl. The defense is keeping opponents out of the end zone. And the troubled placekicking unit played without error.
For the first time since 2021, the Rams will go into their off week with a winning record.
In 2023, the Rams were 3-6 at the bye and then won seven of eight games to finish 10-7 and make the playoffs.
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Rams vs. Saints: How to watch, start time and prediction
It was December 2020, and the Rams were in the midst of their third run to the playoffs in four seasons under coach Sean McVay.
Their opponent: the 0-13 New York Jets.
There was seemingly no way the hapless Jets could beat a 9-4 Rams team at SoFi Stadium.
But the Rams came out flat and lost, 23-20.
On Sunday, the Rams welcome the seemingly hapless New Orleans Saints, who arrive with a 1-7 record.
“I don’t care what the record says,” McVay said. “The tape tells you a very different story. ... If we’re not ready to go we’ll certainly be humbled.”
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Gary Klein breaks down what to expect from the Rams on Sunday when they face the New Orleans Saints at SoFi Stadium.
Don’t expect a repeat of 2020.
The Saints, under first-year coach Kellen Moore, will send rookie quarterback Tyler Shough into his first start against a Chris Shula-coordinated Rams defense that features edge rushers Jared Verse and Byron Young and linemen Kobie Turner, Braden Fiske and Poona Ford.
Young ranks third in the NFL with nine sacks. Verse has four.
Sunday’s game marks the Rams debut of cornerback Roger McCreary, who was acquired in a trade with the Tennessee Titans.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford has passed for 17 touchdowns, with only two interceptions. He has not had a pass intercepted in four games.
Star receiver Puka Nacua is back after sitting out an Oct. 19 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars in London because of an ankle injury. Right tackle Rob Havenstein also will return after being sidelined for three games because of an ankle injury.