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Game Recap: Rams defeat Saints 30-22 on Thursday Night Football

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Under the bright lights of prime time, the Rams (8-7) continued their playoff push with a 30-22 win over the Saints (7-8) Thursday night at SoFi Stadium.

Quarterback Matthew Stafford completed 24 of 34 pass attempts for 328 yards and two touchdowns, his fifth-straight game with two or more passing touchdowns. Wide receiver Puka Nacua led L.A.'s receivers with 9 catches for 164 yards and one touchdown; Demarcus Robinson (6 catches for 82 yards) accounted for Stafford's other touchdown. Running back Kyren Williams added 22 carries for 104 yards and 1 touchdown as the Rams scored 28 or more points for the fifth-straight game.

Defensively, nose tackle Kobie Turner had one sack to reach 6.5 on the season, passing Kevin Carter (6) for second-most in a rookie season in franchise history.

Here is the complete game recap, presented by Hyundai:

After forcing the Saints to punt on their opening possession, the Rams marched downfield to the Saints' 2-yard line. They needed a 4th-down conversion, but came away with points via a 2-yard touchdown pass from Stafford to Nacua for a 7-0 lead with 2:28 left in the first quarter.

An early second-quarter, 20-yard field goal by kicker Lucas Havrisik made it 10-0 Rams, but a miss by Havrisik from 47 late in that same period cost Los Angeles a chance to extend its lead to 13. On the possession after the miss, New Orleans quarterback Derek Carr connected with wide receiver Rashid Shaheed for a 45-yard touchdown pass that cut L.A.'s lead to 10-7 with 2:28 to go in the first half.

Forced to punt on the ensuing possession, the Rams watched as the Saints reached their side of the field with an 18-yard completion from Carr to wide receiver Chris Olave, but Carr's incomplete pass on 4th and 5 from the Los Angeles 42 resulted in a turnover on downs.

The Rams recaptured momentum on that change of possession, as Stafford's arm drove them downfield to a 4-yard touchdown pass to Demarcus Robinson for a 17-7 lead by halftime.

Havrisik's 22-yard field goal early in the third quarter extended L.A.'s lead to 20-7 on a drive that featured an impressive 41-yard catch by Nacua.

Defensive back Jordan Fuller's interception and 21-yard return on the ensuing possession set up the Rams at the Saints 41, and Los Angeles capitalized with a 10-yard touchdown run by Williams to make it 27-7 L.A. with 5:42 left in the third quarter.

Getting the ball back via a fourth-down stop with 2:39 to go in the third quarter, the Rams added a 32-yard field goal by Havrisik to extend their lead to 30-7 with 12:44 to go in the fourth quarter.

The Saints answered on the ensuing possession with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Carr to tight end Juwan Johnson to cut the Rams' lead to 16 with 6:33 left.

A 35-yard touchdown pass from Carr to wide receiver A.T. Perry – after forcing the Rams to punt – and successful 2-point completion from Carr to wide receiver Chris Olave reduced the Rams' lead to just eight with 3:53 left.

With Nacua recovering the ensuing onside kick attempt at the New Orleans 44 and New Orleans out of timeouts, Los Angeles was able to drain the remaining 3:52 to secure the win.

The Los Angeles Rams take on the New Orleans Saints at SoFi Stadium in Week 16 of the 2023 season. Take a look at photos from the matchup!

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