Rams lose to Saints as Matthew Stafford is hurt again

NEW ORLEANS — Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford delivered a deep touchdown pass to second-year wide receiver Tutu Atwell. That was the good part of the Rams’ day against the New Orleans Saints, and a little too late for those two to finally connect downfield.

There’s often a lot more bad than good on Sundays during the Rams’ disappointing 2022 season as defending Super Bowl champions.

Stafford left the game early to be evaluated for a concussion, two days after being cleared to play because he spent the past two weeks in the concussion protocol. Backup quarterback Bryce Perkins finished the Rams’ latest loss, a 27-20 setback at the Caesars Superdome.

Rams coach Sean McVay said he doesn’t know whether Stafford sustained a concussion against the Saints. McVay also mentioned that it’s too early to consider the option of shutting down Stafford for the final seven games of the regular season.

“I gotta talk to the doctors,” McVay told reporters in his postgame news conference. “We need to make a smart decision for Matthew and see where we’re at with that. Until I get with those guys afterwards, I know how he was feeling, he communicated that and we made the decision that was going to be in his best interest to not have him continue to play.”

The Saints considered benching quarterback Andy Dalton for Jameis Winston earlier in the week, but they didn’t and the Rams’ defense reassured them that they made the right decision.

Dalton delivered a standout performance and had a sensational 53-yard touchdown pass to rookie receiver Chris Olave in the third quarter to extend New Orleans’ lead to 24-14.

In their first half without injured wide receiver Cooper Kupp, the Rams (3-7 after their fourth loss in a row) finally showed commitment to the running game and Stafford managed to spread the ball around while building a 14-10 halftime advantage. The Rams entered the locker room with 65 rushing yards on 17 carries.

Stafford executed an 11-play, 87-yard scoring drive in the final three minutes of the first half, which was capped by a six-yard touchdown throw to Allen Robinson for the four-point lead.

The Rams drafted Atwell in the second round of last year’s draft because of the blazing speed he displayed while Stafford unleashed a 62-yard touchdown pass for him in the first quarter to give the Rams a 7-3 advantage. It was Atwell’s first career touchdown, and a long time coming for a player who has struggled to see the field in his first two NFL seasons. Atwell was a healthy scratch the prior two games, but he saw an uptick in snaps Sunday because of the ankle injury to Kupp.

The Saints (4-7) entered the red zone on their second drive of the game, but back-to-back sacks from Greg Gaines and Leonard Floyd forced New Orleans to settle for a 46-yard field goal from Wil Lutz and a 3-0 advantage with 4:14 in the first quarter. The scoring drive was ignited by a 26-yard reception by tight end Juwan Howard.

Taysom Hill, the Saints’ swiss-army knife, gave the Rams’ defense fits early and often. Hill’s designed runs from the quarterback position moved the Saints during a scoring drive in the second quarter that ended with a Dalton eight-yard touchdown pass to Johnson for a 10-7 lead.

More to come.

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