NEW ORLEANS — It wasn’t veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford with the late-game heroics this time, in a 21-14 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday afternoon. The Los Angeles Rams’ young defensive line, much-maligned by last Sunday’s butt-kicking courtesy of the Philadelphia Eagles’ run game, stood up to the Saints’ inside runs on second and third down from their 10-yard line late in the fourth quarter and up by only seven points. Quarterback Derek Carr dropped back to pass on fourth-and-3, and rookie outside linebacker Jared Verse bulled back his blocker to hit Carr and end the game.
Verse finished with a team-high seven pressures, according to Next Gen Stats. Advertisement No, at a certain point Stafford — who chuckled postgame in acknowledgement that he’s seen just about every type of football game possible over his 16-year NFL career — knew the best thing for the Rams’ painfully stagnant offense would be to get out of the way. Literally.
“The way the game started, the way we were playing in the first half, definitely frustrating,” Stafford said. “You’re sitting there going, ‘Man, there are plays out there — we gotta go get ‘em!’ “And knowing, at the same time, every time I’m handing it off I feel like I’m getting good yards. So it’s like, ‘got to try to find a way to get some points for these drives, these guys up front are playing well enough to get these points!’ ” The @RamsNFL get a HUGE stop on 4th down! 📺: .
