NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Kryen Williams and the Los Angeles Rams strode to the locker room at halftime confident that the zero they had on the scoreboard was no indication of how the final 30 minutes would go.
“We knew the second half was going to be ours,” said Williams, who rushed for a season-high 104 yards, including a 4-yard touchdown, in the Rams' 21-14 victory 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 passed for two fourth-quarter touchdowns as the Rams (6-6) stayed close in the NFC West race and handed 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) drove inside the Rams 10-yard line in the final minutes, but Derek Carr’s pass on fourth-and-3 was deflected from behind 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 without a turnover. His scoring passes went 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."
Versatile New Orleans tight end Taysom Hill, who powered the Saints to their previous victory with one of the best games of his career, injured his left knee and was carted off the field 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, saying he still needed to have imaging done before the full extent of his injury was understood.
The Saints narrowly outgained the Rams and possessed the ball for more time, but struggled to get in the end zone. New Orleans settled for three field-goal attempts in the first half, with Blake Grupe hitting two from 54 yards but missing one from 36.
That was enough to give New Orleans a 6-0 halftime lead before Williams' 10th TD of the season put the Rams up 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' lone touchdown came on Carr's 28-yard pass in the fourth quarter to Marquez Valdes-Scantling, his fourth TD reception in four games since being signed midseason. Dante Pettis hauled in Carr's pass in tight coverage in the right corner of the end zone for a 2-point conversion that tied it at 14.
Hill’s departure capped off a tough day for New Orleans on the injury front. Starting center Erik McCoy was unable to return from his re-aggravated groin injury despite two weeks' rest, so Shane Lemieux started in his place. The offensive line took another hit in the fourth quarter when guard Nick Saldiveri was carted off with a left knee injury. Safety Tyrann Mathieu appeared to hurt his shoulder making a second-half tackle on Williams. He remained on the sideline after receiving treatment and said after the game that he expected to recover quickly.
Rams: Host Buffalo next Sunday.
Saints: At the New York Giants next Sunday.
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