Rams at Saints
Jared Goff's professional debut was a bust last week as the No. 1 pick threw for just 134 yards without a touchdown in the Los Angeles Rams' 14-10 home loss against Miami. Goff now has the unenviable task of trying to match darts against the NFL's leading passer, Drew Brees, when the Rams visit the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
The Rams looked to carry their rookie to the win last week but Miami scored twice late in the fourth quarter, the dagger coming on a 9-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Tannehill to DeVante Parker with just 36 seconds to play. Goff's first career interception ended the Rams' comeback attempt in the waning moments. While Brees continues to excel, the Saints continue to find ways to lose. A week after Denver broke the Saints' hearts by returning an blocked extra point for the game-winning score, New Orleans spotted Carolina a 23-3 lead and ran out of time in its comeback bid, falling 23-20 despite two fourth-quarter touchdown passes.
TV: 1 p.m. ET, FOX. LINE: Saints -7. O/U: 45.5.
ABOUT THE RAMS (4-6): Los Angeles started Goff's debut fairly well last week, racing out to a 10-0 lead, but Goff played little part in it. Struggling back Todd Gurley gave the Rams a 7-0 lead with a 24-yard scoring run but he finished with just 76 yards on 20 carries after a strong start and he has not topped 85 yards in a game all season. Goff said he thought things went relatively well in his debut. "Felt good," he said. "We're obviously disappointed with the result there at the end and how things turned out, and how we felt through the whole game and how in control we were."
ABOUT THE SAINTS (4-6): Brees has thrown for 300 yards four times on the season and surpassed 400 yards twice to lead the league with 3,277 yards passing and 26 touchdowns. The Saints lost running back Mark Ingram to a head injury in the third quarter and their leading rusher with 575 yards and two touchdowns on the ground remains in concussion protocol. Ranked last in the league the past two seasons, New Orleans' defense has improved steadily this year and it ranks a respectable 18th in the NFL since Week 4, allowing 354.7 yards a game, and it is No. 1 in red-zone defense since Week 7.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Even for a team that's ranked last in the league in scoring, the Rams' offense is a mess. Los Angeles is averaging an NFL-low 14.9 points. New Orleans, conversely, is averaging 28.5 points.
2. New Orleans expects to have cornerback Delvin Breaux back for Sunday's game as he continues to improved from a broken fibula.
3. The Rams have won the last two in the series but the teams have not met since 2013.