The New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams meet again in a rematch of last year’s NFC Championship game. Here’s a recap and a look of what’s to come for each team: It’s Saints vs Rams
New Orleans Recap and Preview
New Orleans escaped the Houston Texans 30-28 thanks to a 58-yard field goal from Wil Lutz as time expired. That was the third successful kick of four field goal attempts. It was also his new record of longest field goal attempt in his career. The first half didn’t see a lot of the offense out there, but that changed in the second half. The 30-yard touchdown run from Latavius Murray got them closer as did Drew Brees’s pass to Taysom Hill nearly two minutes before the end of the third quarter. They took their first lead of the game with a TD by Tre’Quan Smith at the start of the fourth. It was then all Lutz from there with his last two successful field goals.
As mentioned in the beginning, this is a rematch of last year’s NFC Championship game. The Saints would have won if it wasn’t for an uncalled pass interference penalty in the fourth quarter. It was there when fans realized the referees messed up and blamed them for the Saints’ unhappy ending. Luckily, this game has no championship implications or otherwise. To achieve the second win, the offensive line will have to get passed Aaron Donald, last year’s sacks leader. Michael Thomas could be a wild card this time. He only had four catches for 36 yards in last year’s game because of Marcus Peters, Aqib Talib and Nickell Robey-Coleman.
Los Angeles Recap and Preview
The LA Rams beat the Carolina Panthers 30-27 in a game that became a real back-and-forth battle in the second half. Malcolm Brown scored on a 5-yard TD run while kicker Greg Zuerlein contributed with 49-and-56-yard field goals to put the Rams in the lead by halftime. Zuerlein and Brown scored another field goal and TD to give the team an advantage. Finally, Tyler Higbee’s 5-yard pass sealed the deal and gave the team their first win of the season. Now they prepare for a team that has redemption in their minds.
LA is no stranger to the Saints, but if their last meeting taught them something, it’s that they got lucky. However, luck might not save them this time because of some minor complications. Todd Gurley suffered a knee injury in the last game and will be limited for this one. His backup, Brown, will be playing, but it didn’t stop Gurley from practicing this week. Safety Eric Weddle entered concussion protocol following the game against the Panthers. He was cleared of protocol several days later after receiving stitches to close his head laceration. He’s likely to play on Sunday. Gurley remains questionable.
Who Will Win?
You can’t deny the teamwork of the Saints trio of Brees, Thomas, and Alvin Kamara. You can’t also underestimate the duo of Rams’ Gurley and Jared Goff. They way things look is that both teams are matched. It’s the obstacles each one should be on the lookout for. The Saints’ offensive line has Donald to worry about while the Rams’ should worry if Gurley will play long enough to give them a win. One thing to be certain about is this will be another thriller if things are done the right way this time. The game could go either way, but the Saints have a better chance Sunday.
