Kyren Williams and the Los Angeles Rams walked into the locker room at halftime confident that their scoreless first half would not reflect the outcome of the game.
“We knew the second half was going to be ours,” said Williams, who ran for a season-high 104 yards, including a 4-yard touchdown, in the Rams’ 21-14 win over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
“It felt great. It felt like I was me, myself and I when I was out there playing like that,” Williams said. “I was playing instinctive football and had great energy.”
Matthew Stafford threw two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, and the Rams (6-6) stayed in the NFC West race while handing interim Saints coach Darren Rizzi his first loss.
“All we could do is get one win this week, and we were able to,” Rams coach Sean McVay said. “There was improvement for our team collectively, and that’s what I want to continue to see.”
The Saints (4-8) reached the Rams’ 10-yard line in the final minutes, but Derek Carr’s pass on fourth-and-3 was deflected by edge rusher Jared Verse and fell incomplete.
“I realized the tight end was staying on me,” Verse said, referring to the Saints’ Foster Moreau. “The No. 1 rule on the edge is you can’t be blocked by the tight end — you just can’t. I just walked him back and was able to peel off and affect the throw.”
That allowed the Rams to run out the clock on the Saints and Rizzi, who had won his first two games since taking over after the firing of Dennis Allen.
“We did a lot of things in the game that we set out to do and played the game in a lot of ways that we wanted to, but we didn’t execute in crunch time,” Rizzi said. “We had a chance to win there. We had a guy open in the end zone and we can’t get the ball off. So, unfortunate.”
Stafford passed for 183 yards with no turnovers. His touchdown passes were for 3 yards to Demarcus Robinson and 7 yards to Puca Nacua, the latter putting the Rams up for good with 8:54 left.
“The first half was definitely frustrating, but we knew at the same time, every time we were handing it off we were getting good yards,” Stafford said. “You have to keep playing. Football is a game of ebbs and flows.”
Saints tight end Taysom Hill, who had been key in New Orleans’ previous victory with one of his best games, injured his left knee and had to be carted off after converting a fourth-and-short run late in the fourth quarter.
The 34-year-old Hill, a fan favorite, waved from the cart as the Superdome crowd chanted his name. Rizzi did not provide an update on Hill after the game, stating more tests were needed before the full extent of his injury was known.
The Saints slightly outgained the Rams and held the ball for longer but struggled to score. New Orleans had to settle for three field-goal attempts in the first half, with Blake Grupe making two from 54 yards but missing one from 36.
This gave New Orleans a 6-0 halftime lead, before Williams’ 10th touchdown of the season put the Rams ahead 7-6.
“Kyren’s energy was outstanding,” McVay said. “He was excellent in being really decisive. He was putting his foot in the ground, leveling off well and doing a great job on slash running to the second and third levels.”
Saints running back Alvin Kamara rushed for 112 yards on 23 carries.
New Orleans’ only touchdown came in the fourth quarter when Carr threw a 28-yard pass to Marquez Valdes-Scantling, his fourth touchdown reception in four games since being signed midseason. Dante Pettis caught Carr’s pass in tight coverage in the right corner of the end zone for a 2-point conversion, tying the game at 14.
