Rams 27, Saints 16
Zac Stacy rushed for 133 yards and a touchdown to lead host St. Louis to the victory over New Orleans.
Kellen Clemens threw two touchdown passes and the Rams (6-8) forced three turnovers to snap a two-game losing streak. Defensive end Robert Quinn forced his NFL-leading seventh fumble while recording one of his two sacks.
Drew Brees passed for 393 yards and one touchdown and added a rushing score but also was intercepted twice for the Saints (10-4). New Orleans drops into a tie for first place with Carolina in the NFC South and visits the Panthers next Sunday.
Touchdown receptions of 31 yards by Cory Harkey and 4 yards by Lance Kendricks enabled the Rams to take a 14-point first-quarter lead. Greg Zuerlein kicked a 31-yard field goal on the first play of the second quarter and Stacy dashed for a 40-yard score to make it 24-3 at halftime.
Zuerlein added a 35-yard field goal in the third quarter to make it a 24-point margin before Brees scored on a 1-yard keeper and threw a 5-yard scoring pass to Marques Colston to bring the Saints within 27-16 with 3:07 remaining. New Orleans recovered the onside kick but Garrett Hartley’s 26-yard field goal with 1:51 left was deflected by Kendall Langford to halt the comeback attempt.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Quinn has 15 sacks this season and 25.5 over the past two campaigns. … The Saints are 3-4 on the road and averaging just 18.4 points compared to the home output of 32.9 per contest. … Rams rookie WR Tavon Austin missed the game with an ankle injury.