The Los Angeles Rams traveled to New Orleans to take on the Saints in Week 12. The game was competitive in the first half but the Saints dominated the whole second half. Saints won the game 49-21.
Positives:
- Jared Goff in the first half. Goff looked impressive in the first half throwing for 3 touchdowns & had the Rams only down 7 at half time. Goff did a great job pushing the ball downfield early & often as he threw for 72 yards on just his 1st drive. Goff definitely showed signs of having potential to be a talented NFL quarterback.
- Aaron Donald. Do I need to even explain how good he is? Donald on Sunday had 4 tackles, 3 for a loss & 1 sack that was a forced fumble deep in Saints territory that turned into a Rams touchdown. Donald has shown all year why he’s the best interior defensive lineman in the NFL.
Negatives:
- Jared Goff in the second half. It was definitely a tale of 2 halves for Goff in this game. Goff finished the game 20-32, 214 yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 interception, & 1 fumble. In the first half Goff was 11-19, 160 yards, 3 touchdowns & 1 fumble. Goff had his struggles in the 2nd half where he was 9-13, 54 yards, & 1 interception. Hopefully he can build on his first half going forward & he can just forget the second half.
- Pass protection. The pass protection for Jared Goff was not good at all. Goff was sacked 3 times & was under duress all game against a Saints defensive line that isn’t really known for their pass rush. Rodger Saffold left with an injury which didn’t help & Greg Robinson was a healthy scratch but is expected to start again at left tackle in Week 13 according to Jeff Fisher.
- Lack of a running game. Just like the rest of the season has gone the Rams were unable to run the ball effectively. Todd Gurley finished with 13 carries for 50 yards. Gurley should never only get 13 carries in a game but I guess one positive is that the Rams are continually finding a way to get him the ball in the passing game as he had 4 receptions for 39 yards.
- Allowing 49 points, 28 unanswered. Allowing 49 points wasn’t all on the defense in this game but they definitely were a big part of it. At the end of the first half it was just a 7 point game with the Saints leading 28-21. Then in the 2nd half the Saints scored 28 unanswered points to win the game 49-21. The defense looked lackadaisical all game for the most part as they missed easy tackles & allowed easy plays.
Moving Forward:
The now 4-7 Los Angeles Rams will travel to Gillette Stadium to take on the 9-2 New England Patriots in Week 13. The Patriots are still the best team in the NFL to me even with their big loss this week where Rob Gronkowski will miss the rest of the season with yet another herniated disk surgery. The good thing for the Patriots is that they have Martellus Bennett who isn’t Gronk but is very good in his own right. Patriots are coming off a 22-17 victory over the New York Jets in Week 12. This game could get ugly fast especially since Jeff Fisher believes we should watch out for Brandon Bolden & a guy named Danny at running back. I believe Patriots win this game 34-16.
