Rams Ruin the Saints Rookie Debut
In Week Nine of the 2025 NFL Season, the Los Angeles Rams and the New Orleans Saints matched up in a contest that heavily favored the Rams going in. The Rams came in with a record of 5-2 and were coming out of their bye looking to continue a strong first half of their season. By contrast, the Saints came in at 1-7. The biggest news heading into this game was that the Saints were set to start their second-round rookie, Tyler Shough, for his first NFL start.
New Orleans started with the ball and had a quick three-and-out. The Rams capitalized on the opportunity and efficiently marched down the field. Matthew Stafford went nine for nine on passes and got Tyler Higbee a one-yard touchdown pass to cap off the drive. The Saints’ offense once again flamed out in a three-and-out. This was forced by a sack from Braden Fiske. This drive marked the end of a poor offensive first quarter for Tyler Shough’s first start.
Los Angeles responded by getting deep into New Orleans’ territory at the end of the first quarter. However, Chase Young got to Stafford for an eight-yard sack, and this meant the Saints’ defense had a chance to hold them to a long field goal. Unfortunately for New Orleans, a pass interference call on fourth and three at the start kept the drive alive, and a couple of Kyren Williams rushes set up Davante Adams for a three-yard touchdown reception. However, the Rams were nearly blocked on another extra point try, and Joshua Karty missed wide left. The Saints offense switched to Taysom Hill under center to get a bit of offensive rhythm. Hill rumbled for 29 yards in order to get New Orleans’ first first down of the game. Shough came back in and completed a pass to Brandin Cooks to get them into field goal range. Blake Grupe sent it through from 39 yards away to get the Saints’ first points of the game, with a score of 13-3.
Los Angeles quickly responded on offense, scoring the third touchdown of the game off three plays. The first was a short pass to Xavier Smith. Then Blake Corum ran outside the tackles on the right side for 21 yards. Matthew Stafford put a flourish on the end of the drive with his third touchdown pass in a tight window pass to the right corner of the Rams’ end zone that Puka Nacua hauled in for 39 yards. The Saints were unable to respond and had their third three-and-out of the game. Los Angeles got the ball back, and Kyren Williams got the drive started with 21 yards on three runs. The rookie, Terrance Ferguson, caught a huge pass for 36 yards to get the Rams into the Saints’ territory. Davis Allen nearly had a touchdown that was called back for offensive facemask, and the Rams had to settle for a field goal that Karty missed wide right.
Given a lucky opportunity with just under a minute left, Tyler Shough got the drive started by connecting to Rashid Shaheed for a 13-yard slant. Shough continued the drive with an eight-yard completion to Juwan Johnson and connected deep to Chris Olave for 27 yards. With 13 seconds left in the first half, Shough completed his first career touchdown to Johnson for 11 yards. This effectively ended the half with a score of 20-10.
To start the second half, Los Angeles started with the ball, and New Orleans knew their defense would soon need to start showing some resistance. The Saints got a bit of momentum on defense when Jonah Williams got a sack that nearly forced a fumble. However, this wasn’t enough to contain Los Angeles, as Stafford and the running game were still able to find efficient offense. Blake Corum was the running back of the drive and got seven rush attempts that he converted for 30 yards. New Orleans was able to get the Rams to fourth down at their own seven-yard line, but Puka Nacua converted for a first down on a jet sweep rush. Nacua went back to the locker room with a chest injury after this play, but Stafford was still able to connect with Adams for his second touchdown of the game and Stafford’s fourth passing touchdown.
Now down 27-10, New Orleans needed to cut into their deficit in order to keep itself in the game. This hope was short-lived as, on the third play of the drive, Nathan Landman continued his amazing campaign as the center of the Rams’ defense. Landman punched the ball out of Alvin Kamara’s hands on a short rush, and the ball was recovered by the safety Kamren Kinchens. Even with Nacua questionable to return, the Rams now have the ball back in a favorable position as the third quarter was dwindling down. Los Angeles let Williams run down the clock into the fourth quarter with a series of eight rushes. Williams was able to punch it in for a one-yard touchdown.
Tyler Shough and the Saints got the ball back and were able to string together a series of good plays. Most notably, Shough connected for a pair of nice deep balls. One was to Shaheed for 26 yards, and the other was to Olave for 24. This got New Orleans into the red zone, but they got stuck at fourth and two on the Rams’ seven-yard line. Taysom Hill attempted a rush down the middle on fourth down, but Kobie Turner got to him for a tackle for loss and a turnover on downs. With a score of 34-10 and the game effectively over, the Rams tried to run out the clock but got stopped for a three-and-out, and their first punt of the game. Shough was given another chance to put together a solid drive in the fourth quarter, but this one also ended disappointingly. In back-to-back plays, cornerback Emmanuel Forbes put a stop to Shough’s plans. On third and four, Forbes broke up a sure-fire first-down conversion to Juwan Johnson. Forbes followed that up with an interception on fourth down, which was intended for Shaheed and was aided by Jared Verse and his QB pressure. This interception let Los Angeles run out the rest of the clock, and the Rams won the game with a final score of 34-10.
For the Rams, this was a win that was nice to see, even if it was expected. Stafford and the offense were unstoppable, and the defense proved too much for a less talented Saints’ offense. It would have been concerning if this weren’t the result. Hopefully, Nacua’s injury is not serious, and Los Angeles will now look to continue their winning streak against two back-to-back divisional opponents. For the Saints, this is a game worth forgetting. New Orleans’ defense was unable to get a stop, and the offense barely had a run game to support their rookie quarterback; Kamara and Devin Neal combined for just 25 yards on nine carries, and Hill effectively only had his one 29-yard rush. Fans will need to be patient with Shough. The Rams’ defense was always going to be a tough first matchup for Shough, and hopefully, he gets a better chance to prove himself against the Carolina Panthers next week. It was nice to see Shough connect a series of deep throws, and hopefully, this is indicative of more to come in his future.
