Those around the league know New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara and wide receiver Michael Thomas are among the best at their position. Well on Sunday, they proved their elite rank against the best team in the NFL, helping the Saints defeat the Los Angeles Rams 45-35. The Rams entered the contest 8-0 and have rarely trailed any opponent all season. But the elusiveness of Kamara and the awareness of Thomas proved to be too much for the Rams defense to handle. Wade Phillips’ unit looked lost at times and a 72-yard catch and throw to Thomas in the fourth quarter was the final dagger that ended the Rams win streak.
Los Angeles Rams Struggle to Contain Alvin Kamara-Michael Thomas Duo, Suffer First Loss of 2018
Uncharted Territory
The Rams were 8-0 for the first time since 1969 and had everything working right for them this season. They typically jumped out to big leads early on and put pressure on opposing teams to play ‘catch up’ to them. However, it was the Rams who did so in Sunday’s loss to the Saints.
After the two teams exchanged a pair of touchdowns each, the Rams had a few miscues that allowed the Saints to put up 21 points in the second quarter. After securing a Mark Ingram fumble deep in Saints territory, they were unable to put points on the board after a failed fake field goal on fourth down – well, what the referees ruled short of the marker. You be the judge of the call.
Johnny Hekker is an inspiration to punters everywhere. ✊ @JHekker pic.twitter.com/itqo1Kd674
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) November 4, 2018
The following Rams possession, kicker Greg Zuerlein was wide right on a 51-yard field goal. Drew Brees and the Saints offense had great starting field position and capitalized by scoring another touchdown, this time to tight end Benjamin Watson. The Rams got the ball back with 1:06 left and were in need of some points before the half ended. However, Jared Goff threw a pass that was picked off by linebacker Alex Anzalone and the Saints wound up with great starting field position again, translating into seven more points. The Rams were able to get a field goal in the final seconds of the first half, but the damage had been done as they faced an 18-point deficit at the half.
No Pressure, a Lot of Problems
The Rams had one of the more ferocious defensive lines in the NFL and added to it by getting former first-rounder Dante Fowler Jr at the trade deadline. Many assumed that they would be able to create a lot of pressure on Brees, but they struggled to do so. In fact, Brees was never sacked in Sunday’s contest and no one outside of Aaron Donald was able to register a hurry.
This left all sorts of time for Brees, which is a nightmare to opposing secondaries. Thomas, who has great chemistry with Brees already, was tearing up the Rams corners left and right. It was a long afternoon for cornerback Marcus Peters as he was getting burnt constantly by the Saints star receiver. Thomas was able to break free for 12 receptions, registered 211 yards and delivered the final dagger with his lone touchdown.
Michael Thomas really did the Joe Horn ? (?@Saints)pic.twitter.com/615vyRWOKJ
— The Shadow League (@ShadowLeague) November 5, 2018
Brees was also able to connect with Kamara and Tre’Quan Smith for two more passing touchdowns.
Pointing Spider-Man Meme
The Rams have grown accustomed to their running back Todd Gurley going for big games and running through defenders with ease. However, the Rams got a taste of their own medicine in their loss Sunday facing the dynamic backfield of the Saints. Kamara had a monster game versus the Rams defense and broke plenty of tackles in the open field. His vision to find the open hole on Sunday was far superior to anyone the Rams had seen before this season and he created mismatches everytime he went out for a pass. Kamara finished the game with 82 rushing yards on 19 carries, two rushing touchdowns, four receptions, and 34 receiving yards
Last Word
Despite a sloppy first half, the Rams were able to score 18 unanswered points in the second half and tie things up at 35 apiece. They were unable to finish strong and keep the Saints off the board late in the fourth, but there are few positives to take from Sunday’s game. Phillips’ defense tightened up and held the Saints offense to just 165 total yards in the second half. Sean McVay was still able to stick to his game plan on offense and never abandoned the run game, which allowed Goff to still run the offense as normal. It was their first loss, but it was against a quality team and should still have the confidence they had entering the game.
