6 stats and facts to know for Rams at Saints in Week 11
The Rams and Saints aren’t exactly the biggest rivals, but the NFC title game in January 2019 sparked a feud between these franchises because of the missed pass interference penalty. The Rams won the only meeting with the Saints since then, which was eight months later in September 2019.
Sunday’s game will be their first matchup in three years and both teams look very different since the last time they squared off. Here are six stats and facts to know for this Week 11 tilt at the Superdome.
Saints have 2nd-most turnovers, 2nd-fewest takeaways
The Saints are way in the red in terms of turnover margin. They’ve given the ball away 19 times in 10 games and forced only seven turnovers, giving them a minus-12 figure in turnover margin – the worst in the league by three. Their 12 interceptions thrown are the most in the NFL, while their two interceptions on defense are the fewest.
The Rams should be able to get their hands on at least one interception this weekend, whether it’s Andy Dalton or Jameis Winston starting.
Rams are 3-1 vs. Saints since 2017
The Rams have faced the Saints four times since Sean McVay became the head coach in 2017, including one playoff game. Los Angeles holds the series lead, 3-1, winning each of the last two games. Their most recent meeting came in 2019, which the Rams won at home, 27-9. That was the season after the Rams beat the Saints in the NFC title game when Nickell Robey-Coleman wasn’t flagged for clear pass interference.
These have mostly been high-scoring games, with each team scoring at least 20 points in three of the four contests.
Rams and Saints combined for 55 points in Weeks 9 and 10
These have been two of the worst offenses in the league the last two weeks. In their last two games, the Rams scored 13 and 17 points against the Bucs and Cardinals. The Saints have been even worse. They put up 13 against the Ravens in Week 9 and only 10 points against the Steelers last week.
No one should expect many points to be scored on Sunday when these teams square off, especially without Cooper Kupp on offense.
Taysom Hill leads Saints in total touchdowns
Not Chris Olave. Not Alvin Kamara. Taysom Hill. He’s scored six total rushing and receiving touchdowns, which is two more than any other Saints player. Kamara has three touchdowns, but all of them came in Week 8 against the lowly Raiders. Otherwise, he hasn’t scored in a single other game.
Hill also has a touchdown pass, so he’s accounted for seven of the Saints’ 15 total touchdowns on offense.
Rams have 1 takeaway since Week 3
It’s been the offense weighing Los Angeles down this season, but the defense hasn’t done a good enough job taking the ball away. The Rams forced four turnovers against the Bills in Week 1 and another three in Week 2, giving them seven through two games. In the seven games since, they’ve taken it away just once: an interception by Nick Scott in Week 6 against the Panthers.
They’ve dropped several potential interceptions since then, but the Rams’ lack of takeaways is really troubling. The Saints turn it over a ton, so this is the week for the defense to help out the offense with a takeaway or two.
Alvin Kamara has almost as many rushing yards as every Rams RB combined
It’s no secret that the Rams can’t run the ball. They have the worst rushing offense in the NFL, and no matter who they put back there, they struggle to move it on the ground. Kamara is one of the best all-around running backs in the league and though he’s only averaging 4.2 yards per carry, he’s nearly outrushed all of the Rams’ running backs combined.
He has 469 rushing yards compared to 514 for Darrell Henderson Jr., Cam Akers, Malcolm Brown, Ronnie Rivers and Kyren Williams combined.
