All good things must come to an end and the New Orleans Saints (8-3) win streak is no exception. The Saints were put behind the eight-ball early on and couldn’t recover against the Los Angeles Rams (8-3) on Sunday afternoon, falling 26-20.
The Rams took advantage of some great field position after the opening kickoff, going on a methodical drive down the field capped off by Jared Goff connecting with Sammy Watkins in the endzone to give them an early lead.
The Rams made it 10-0 late in the first quarter with a 50-yarder courtesy of Greg Zuerlein. The Saints responded on the next drive with Alvin Kamara making a house call with a 75-yard run into the endzone, making it 10-7.
It remained a three-point ballgame until late in the second quarter when Goff capped off an eight-play drive with a seven-yard pass to rookie Josh Reynolds to make it a ten-point ballgame. The Saints were able keep it within one possession at the break with a 50-yard field goal from Wil Lutz in the final minute of the half.
The Saints defense made some second half adjustments and they paid off, allowing only nine points. However, the Saints offense kept stumbling in the grass inside Los Angeles Coliseum.
The Saints did put together a solid two-minute drill offense with several sideline passes to Ted Ginn and capped it off with a 15-yard pass to Kamara to cut the deficit to six-points. However, the Saints were unable to recover the ensuing onside kick giving the Rams the much needed win.
The Saints will return to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome to take on the Carolina Panthers with kickoff set for 3:25 pm.
-Clint Domingue