Canal Street Chronicles
The New Orleans Saints were in Los Angeles on Sunday to take on the Rams in rookie quarterback Tyler Shough’s first NFL start. Here’s a quick recap of all that went down.
The black and gold had a fruitless first possession, with a quick three-and-out giving the ball to the hosts.
Matt Stafford and the Rams offense took no time at all to get going, with his first four throws complete for a combined 55 yards.
Kyren Williams would then do some work on the ground before Stafford eventually found Tyler Higbee in the end zone to give LA a 7-0 lead.
The Saints then went three-and-out again as Shough was sacked, but the defense was able to return the favor and get the ball back. Again, though, the offense couldn’t find a first down, punting after a three-and-out for a third consecutive time to begin the game.
Chase Young sacked Stafford on the final play of the opening frame as the Rams drove into Saints territory.
A pass interference against Kool-Aid McKinstry helped keep the LA drive alive, before it continued into the red zone as Stafford found Higbee twice more.
Davante Adams hauled in a 3-yard touchdown pass to extend the lead, but a missed extra point kept the score 13-0.
The visitors were then finally able to get something going with a 29-yard run from Taysom Hill. Shough connected on a 3rd-and-9 with Brandin Cooks to extend the possession, and the Saints soon looked to convert a 4th-and-1 in the red zone. But a false start against Kelvin Banks Jr meant a field goal attempt from Blake Grupe instead, who was good from 39 yards.
The Rams responded with a quick touchdown, as a 21-yard run from Blake Corum set up a 39-yard pass from Stafford to Puka Nacua for six.
The Saints were unable to respond as they went three-and-out once more.
Kyren Williams had a few productive runs to begin the Rams’ next drive before Stafford found Terrance Ferguson for 36 yards. Davis Allen thought he had a touchdown, but he was called for a facemask penalty, and the Rams eventually had to settle for a field goal attempt.
But having missed an extra point early, Joshua Karty failed to convert the 39-yarder, and the score remained 20-3.
With less than a minute to work with, Shough was able to find some momentum to carry into the half. He found Rashid Shaheed, Juwan Johnson, and then Chris Olave on a 27-yard pass before eventually finding Johnson again for an 11-yard touchdown.
Grupe made the extra point to put the halftime score at 20-10.
The Rams began the second half with a prolonged drive that spanned almost 10 minutes. Corum and Adams were responsible for the bulk of the yards on a 16-play, 80-yard scoring drive capped off by a touchdown pass to Adams.
With the Rams holding a commanding lead once again, the Saints failed to...
