In a highly anticipated matchup between the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams, it quickly became clear that every possession would matter. Both teams gained over 130 yards of offense in the first quarter, and a few plays into the second quarter the score was tied 14-14. New Orleans then appeared to take control with 21 unanswered points, but Los Angeles went on a 21-0 run of their own which tied the score again.
In the end, the ability to finish drives made the difference between these two elite offenses. Both teams entered the red zone five times. The Saints scored a touchdown on all five red zone attempts while Los Angeles came away with three touchdowns and a field goal. This amounted to an 11 point differential, just above the Saints’ 10-point margin of victory in the final score of 45-35.
New Orleans Saints Red Zone Success Key in Win Over Los Angeles Rams
Overview
All five Saints red zone trips took place in the first half as they jumped out to a 35-14 second-quarter lead. Overall, New Orleans spent a total of 11 plays in the red zone with a 7:4 run-pass ratio.
The Saints faced two third downs inside the Rams’ 20-yard line. Not only did they convert on both third-down attempts, but both plays also resulted in touchdown passes. The first attempt was a 16-yard Drew Brees pass to Alvin Kamara and the second went to rookie Tre’Quan Smith on third and goal from the four-yard line.
Assuming the Saints would have kicked field goals if they had failed on both attempts (which is not a safe assumption when Sean Payton is the head coach), these two conversions made a difference of at least eight points.
The Rams took less time to score on their successful red zone trips as two of their touchdowns came on their first play inside the red zone. The first was an eight-yard Todd Gurley run on the Rams opening drive. Then on their first possession of the second half, Jared Goff threw an 18-yard pass to Malcom Brown on a third-down play.
Los Angeles scored their other red zone touchdown on a four-yard pass to Brandin Cooks in the second quarter. This came on the Rams’ fourth play inside the 20 on that drive, and they didn’t face a third down on the entire possession.
Two Big Saints Stops
Technically both of the Rams’ failed red zone attempts were fourth down plays after moving inside the Saints’ 20-yard line on the preceding third downs. However, these are still officially recorded as red zone attempts and the Saints defense made great plays to bring up fourth down on both drives.
The first stop came after the Rams recovered a Mark Ingram fumble at the Saints’ 22-yard line. Goff faced pressure and threw incomplete passes on first and second down. On third down, Goff completed a screen pass to Cooks, but defenders swarmed the speedy former Saint and held him to a six-yard gain. Los Angeles attempted a fake field goal run on fourth down that was ruled inches short of the first down marker.
This was an important stand by the Saints defense because it made the Ingram fumble virtually inconsequential. New Orleans scored touchdowns on their next three possessions, while the next two Rams drives ended in a missed field goal and an interception.
The second defensive stand slowed down the Rams’ comeback late in the third quarter as they still trailed by 11. Goff overthrew Gurley on a fade route, then he was nearly intercepted by cornerback Eli Apple on second down. On third down, New Orleans dropped eight men into coverage and Goff scrambled for a six-yard gain. The subsequent Rams field goal cut the Saints lead to eight; forcing Los Angeles to go for two on their next drive.
Following the win, Payton expressed disappointment with the Saints red zone defense. While there’s definitely room for defensive improvement in many regards, these two stops were among the most important moments in the Saints win.
Closing Thoughts
It’s remarkable how similar the game played out for these top-five ranked offenses. Aside from the fact that both the Saints and Rams made five trips to the red zone, both teams’ non-red zone scores came in similar fashion. They kicked field goals over 50 yards and both Brees and Goff threw long touchdown passes in the fourth quarter.
The two offenses traveled nearly equal distances. New Orleans gained 487 yards of offense; just barely surpassing the Rams’ 483 total yards. Both offenses also turned the ball over just once in otherwise efficient performances
Overall, Los Angeles was more explosive with 8.2 yards per play compared to the Saints’ 7.0 yards per play average. However, the more methodical Saints approach ended up being an advantage since they possessed the ball for 7:22 longer than Los Angeles. They pulled this off by running 11 more plays, picking up eight more first downs, and converting on both third and fourth down attempts at a higher rate.
But most importantly, these long Saints drives ended in points on five out of five red zone attempts while Los Angeles lost 11 potential points by squandering two opportunities deep within Saints territory.
Both teams are likely to meet again in January, and it should come as no surprise if red zone success becomes the deciding factor then as well.
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