The New Orleans Saints’ “rizz” may have expired during the bye week.
The Saints’ offense and defense were flat in the second half on Sunday, allowing the Los Angeles Rams (6-6) to come from behind and win 14-6 in the Superdome. The loss puts New Orleans (4-8) two games behind the Atlanta Falcons (6-6), who lost to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, in the NFC South race.
To make matters worse, Saints utility player Taysom Hill left the game in the fourth quarter with a knee injury. The Saints’ medical staff carted Hill off the field. At the time he left the game, Hill led all Saints receivers with 37 yards on five catches.
Saints quarterback Derek Carr finished the day with 24 completions on 36 attempts for 184 yards and one touchdown. Running back Alvin Kamara ran for 108 yards on 21 carries.
Kyren Williams led the Rams offense, rushing for 104 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. Quarterback Matthew Stafford threw for 183 yards and two touchdowns on 14 completions out of 24 attempts.
The Saints will host the New York Giants (2-10) next Sunday in the Superdome.
The Saints struck first, using a fourth-down conversion to push into Ram territory and to set up a 54-yard field goal by Blake Grupe. After New Orleans forced the Rams to go three-and-out, the Saints nearly struck again. On the Saints’ next drive, an ineligible man downfield nullified a 12-yard touchdown pass from Carr to Kamara. Grupe then missed a 36-yard field goal on the first play of the second quarter.
Los Angeles nearly made the Saints pay for the miscue. The Rams went 49 yards down field, converting three first downs to reach the Saints’ 25-yard line. On fourth down, the Saints defensive line pressured Stafford into badly missing his intended receiver, Cooper Kupp, on a corner route, forcing a turnover on downs. The Rams quickly regained possession by forcing the Saints to punt after a three-and-out. Los Angeles relied heavily on running back Kyren Williams early in the drive, allowing him to run the ball five times for a total of 39 yards to put the ball at the New Orleans 49-yard line. The drive came to a screeching halt just before the two minute warning when Nate Sheppard sacked Stafford. Two plays later, the Rams punted the ball back to the Saints.
New Orleans then used a two-minute drill to move the ball to the Los Angeles 36-yard line. The drive stalled, forcing New Orleans to settle for a 54-yard Grupe field goal and a 6-0 halftime lead.
The Rams finally put points on the board on their opening drive of the second half. Williams rushed seven times for 37 yards, including his four-yard touchdown run to tie the game. Receiver Puka Nacua set up the score with a diving eight-yard reception to put the ball at the 10-yard line.
Joshua Karty’s extra point gave the Rams a 7-6 lead with 8:50 remaining in the third quarter.
The Rams scored their second touchdown of the day on the first play of the fourth quarter. Stafford found Demarcus Robinson in the front of the end zone for a three-yard score, capping off a four-play, 82-yard drive.
The extra point gave Los Angeles an eight-point lead, 14-6, with 14:57 left in the game.
The Saints woke up from their second-half slumber on their next drive. A series of runs by Alvin Kamara, a nine-yard end-around by receiver Kevin Austin, Jr., and a 21-yard pass from Carr to tight end Jujuan Johnson set up a 28-yard touchdown pass from Carr to Marquez Valdes-Scantling with 11:53 on the clock. The Saints tied the game moments later when Carr connected with practice squad call-up Dante Pettis for the two-point conversion.
The Rams benefitted from two critical penalty calls third down on the next drive. An offside call followed by a pass interference infraction put the ball at the Saints’ one-yard line. Two plays after the pass interference, Stafford found Nacua in the flat for a one-yard touchdown with 8:54 left on the clock, giving Los Angeles a 21-14 lead after the extra point.
The Saints responded with a sustained drive that required a fourth-down conversion to continue. After Carr completed a series of passes for a total of 30 yards, Hill ran a quarterback draw to pick up the yard the Saints needed on fourth down to keep the drive alive with 4:36 to go in the game.
However, Hill suffered his injury on that play, leaving the game. Four plays later, the Saints failed to convert a fourth down and two, giving the Rams the ball back at the Los Angeles nine-yard line. Rams outside linebacker Jared Verse hit Carr on his blindside while Carr was throwing, forcing an incompletion and the turnover on downs with 1:09 left in the game.
Neither team committed a turnover in the game.
