Well that was refreshing. The New Orleans Saints bulldozed the visiting Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, outscoring them 27-17 without committing a single turnover and drawing just one penalty flag. It was one of the best games New Orleans has played this season. They’ve cut their losing streak off short again and improved to 4-7 on the year so far.
Final score: Saints 27, Rams 20
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final | |
| Los Angeles | 7 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 20 |
| New Orleans | 3 | 7 | 14 | 3 | 27 |
Injury outlook
- Defensive end Payton Turner left the game with an ankle injury, and the team initially said he was questionable to return. Later, the Saints downgraded his status and said he would not return to the game.
It was over when...
At halftime. The Saints took over in the second half by scoring 14 unanswered points in the third quarter, with Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford exiting the game and entering concussion protocol. His backup Bryce Perkins wasn’t quite up to task in replacing him, though he gave the Saints defense some trouble as a runner. New Orleans’ pass rush heated up in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
Saints' top performers
- Passing: QB Andy Dalton completed 21 of 25 pass attempts (84.0%) for 260 yards, scoring 3 touchdown pass without throwing an interception while taking 3 sacks for a loss of 32 yards
- Rushing: RB Alvin Kamara ran 12 times for 42 yards, with his longest attempt gaining 11 yards. … TE Taysom Hill ran 9 times for 52 yards, with his longest carry gaining 12 yards
- Receiving: WR Chris Olave caught 5 of his 6 targets for 102 yards and a touchdown reception, with his longest reception gaining 53 yards … TE Juwan Johnson caught 3 of his 4 targets for 47 yards and a touchdown reception, with h is longest pickup gaining 26 yards
- Defense: LB Kaden Elliss was credited with 11 tackles, 6 of them solo and 1 tackle for loss, along with 1.5 sacks and 2 quarterback hits … DE Carl Granderson had 7 tackles (3 solo) with another tackle for loss, plus 1.5 sacks and 2 quarterback hits
Team stats
- Third and fourth downs, offense: 4-of-11 (36.4%)
- Third downs and fourth, defense: 6-of-16 (37.5%)
- Total yards, offense: 323 yards gained on 56 plays (5.8 yards per play)
- Total yards, defense: 336 yards allowed on 62 plays (5.4 yards per play)
- Penalties against the Saints: 2 fouls for 15 yards
- Penalties benefiting the Saints: 6 fouls for 55 yards, 1 first down
- Time of possession: 31:07 for New Orleans, 28:53 for Los Angeles
What's next?
The Saints are flying out for the first leg of a two-week road trip, with the San Francisco 49ers coming up first. They’ll kick off with Christian McCaffrey’s new team at Levi’s Stadium next Sunday. After that, the Saints are headed for a prime-time game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — after flying from one coast to the other, they’ll finally reach their bye week.
