The New Orleans Saints are now winners of two straight after they took down an on-fire New York Giants team that was riding high with their third-string quarterback Tommy Devito. New Orleans sacked the rookie signal caller seven times in the 24-6 win to improve to 7-7 on the season.
Now the Black and Gold will travel to the West Coast and play the Los Angeles Rams on a short week. LA has a 7-7 record too and has won four out of their last five games.
Both teams are tied for the fifth least amount of sacks on the season and it doesn’t help that New Orleans had four defensive linemen that were on the injury report; two of which won’t dress out on this cross-country trip.
This upcoming game between the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams will be played on Thursday night, December 21st. Kickoff in SoFi Stadium is set for 7:15 p.m. and the action can be heard on ESPN 103.7 Lafayette 104.1 Lake Charles.
ODDS ARE STACKED
The Black and Gold will have the cards stacked against them on Thursday night in Los Angeles.
New Orleans is 8-11 all-time on Thursday Night Football with a 4-8 record on the road. The Saints have also lost four out of their last five road Thursday night matchups. The Rams have a 12-11 record in these same tests and are 6-5 when hosting Thursday games.
Even Derek Carr’s play in these Prime Time games is lackluster with a 57.9 completion percentage, less than one passing touchdown per game, and a 5-5 record. His best game by far was in 2017 versus the Kansas City Chiefs where he threw for 417 yards and three touchdowns.
Another hurdle the Saints will face is the challenge of traveling across the country in a short week. Since Thursday Night Football became a thing in the 2006 season, teams that have traveled across two or more time zones have a 5-15 record. And teams that have gone from east to west are a combined 1-9.
DYNAMIC RECEIVERS
The Saints will have their hands full on Thursday night without Marshon Lattimore in the secondary. Los Angeles has a dynamic duo at wide receiver that Paulson Adebo, Alontae Taylor, and Isaac Yiadom will have to try and slow down.
Cooper Kupp leads the way as the veteran in the position group and has the most chemistry with quarterback Matthew Stafford. Kupp missed the first four weeks of the season due to a hamstring injury but has been on a roll ever since. In his 10 games played in 2023, the 30-year-old out of Eastern Washington has caught 49 passes for 658 yards and four touchdowns. Kupp has gone for over 100 yards in four of those games, including the last two against the Baltimore Ravens and Washington Commanders.
Rookie Puka Nacua is the rising star in this pass-catching group as he leads the team in receptions (87), targets (135), receiving yards with 1,163, and touchdowns with four. Nacua is also fourth in the NFL in big-play receptions of 20 yards or more with 21. Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill is the leader in that category with 26.
STILL IN THE RACE
As it currently stands in the NFC South, New Orleans and Tampa are tied for first in the division at 7-7. Meanwhile, Atlanta is in third place with a 6-8 record and is benching quarterback Desmond Ridder for a second time this season to go to Taylor Heinicke as they get ready to host an 8-6 Indianapolis Colts team that is 5-2 on the road.
The Buccaneers are winners of three straight and will host an 8-6 Jaguars team that is 5-1 on the road. The catch for Jacksonville is that their star quarterback Trevor Lawrence has yet to be cleared from concussion protocol. If the Saints do lose on Thursday night and the Bucs defeat the Jags, the Black and Gold will need to win their last two games while Tampa will need to lose their last two for New Orleans to win the division.
SERIES RECORD: Rams lead 43-35
Last 5 meetings:
2022: NO 27 – LAR 20
2019: LAR 27 – NO 9
2019: LAR 26 – NO 23 OT
2018: NO 45 – LAR 35
2017: LAR 26 – NO 20
STAT LEADERS
SAINTS
Derek Carr: 302-448 3,098 yards, 16 TD, 7 INT
Alvin Kamara: 161 carries, 630 yards, 5 TD
Chris Olave: 72 catches, 918 yards, 4 TD
Carl Granderson: 7.5 sacks
Demario Davis: 102 tackles (65 solo)
Paulson Adebo: 4 INT
Blake Grupe: 25-of-32 field goals, Long of 55
RAMS
Matthew Stafford: 278-453 3,320 yards, 21 TD, 9 INT
Kyren Williams: 186 carries, 953 yards, 8 TD
Puka Nacua: 87 catches, 1,163 yards, 4 TD
Aaron Donald/Byron Young: 6 sacks
Ernest Jones: 125 tackles (63 solo)
Akhello Witherspoon: 3 INT
Brett Maher: 17-of-23 field goals, Long of 54
NOTABLE INJURIES
SAINTS
Isaiah Foskey, DE, Quad, Out
Lonnie Johnson, S, Knee, Out
Kendre Miller, RB, Ankle, Questionable
Chris Olave, WR, Ankle, Probable
Ryan Ramczyk, T, Knee, Out
Cameron Jordan, DE, Ankle, Questionable
Carl Granderson, DE, Shoulder, Questionable
Payton Turner, DE, Toe, Out
RAMS
Tre Tomlinson, DB, Hamstring, Out
Joe Noteboom, OL, Foot, Questionable
Rob Havenstein, T, Groin, Probable
Akhello Witherspoon, DB, Groin, Probable
Tutu Atwell, WR, Concussion, Probable
Ronnie Rivers, RB, Knee, Probable