The Los Angeles Rams (5-2) return home to SoFi Stadium, where they will take on the New Orleans Saints (1-7). The Rams are coming off a bye week, while the Saints are hoping to find their footing after changing quarterbacks.
The Rams defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 35-7 in London before the bye week. Quarterback Matthew Stafford performed phenomenally, tossing five touchdown passes. That performance continued Stafford’s streak of dominance. He is leading the NFL in touchdown passes with 17 and third in passing yards.
Meanwhile, the Saints’ quarterback situation has been a struggle. New Orleans lost 23-3 last week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Saints’ offense has been lackluster under first-year head coach Kellen Moore, averaging only 16 points per game.
Quarterback Spencer Rattler led the way for the offense to start the season, but his consistently poor performances got him benched. Rookie quarterback Tyler Shough has taken over, and the Saints hope the second-round pick will be the answer to fixing the weak offensive effort. This week’s game will be Shough’s first career NFL start.
Star wide receiver Puka Nacua is expected to return for LA after sitting out last week with an ankle injury. Wide receiver Tutu Atwell, who was also absent due to a hamstring injury, was placed on IR and will miss at least four weeks. Wide receiver Konata Mumpfield scored his first career touchdown in the absence of Atwell and Nacua, and he will look to step up for Atwell in the upcoming weeks.
With Nacua returning, it’ll be the first game since Week 5 where Nacua is fully healthy and paired up with wide receiver Davante Adams, who had three touchdowns against Jacksonville. The formidable wide receiver duo will test the Saints’ secondary.
The Saints have running back Alvin Kamara and wide receiver Rashid Shaheed, both of whom are dealing with injuries, but are expected to play. Kamara has underperformed this season, averaging only 3.6 yards per carry, and he has looked like a shell of his former self.
The Rams’ defense aims to maintain its outstanding performance. The unit has allowed only 17 points per game, and this matchup against the Saints seems to be a positive one. New Orleans allowed five sacks last Sunday against Tampa Bay, and Los Angeles sacked Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence seven times in the victory. Edge rushers Byron Young and Jared Verse will look to make Shough’s first NFL start a nightmare.
Los Angeles also has a new addition to its secondary, unit with cornerback Roger McCreary being traded over from the Tennessee Titans. It’s unlikely he plays against the Saints on Sunday, but the addition shows the Rams’ commitment to attracting solid defensive talent.
The secondary will have to look out for Saints wide receiver Chris Olave. He’s ranked 13th in the league with 503 receiving yards, and Shough will heavily rely on the star wideout during his first start. Rams corners Cobie Durant and Emmanuel Forbes need to lock up Olave and bait the rookie quarterback into making mistakes.
The New Orleans defense is really good at stopping the air attack. Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield, who is an MVP candidate, mustered a relatively low 152 passing yards against the Saints. Led by cornerbacks Alontae Taylor and Kool-Aid McKinstry, the pass defense has allowed the ninth-fewest passing yards per game in the league.
It’s the first time the Rams have played at SoFi Stadium since the squad’s Week 5 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.