The Los Angeles Rams lost 27-20 to the New Orleans Saints for a fourth straight loss. Upon his return to action, Matthew Stafford again left the game due to a concussion.
Stafford missed the game between the Rams (3-7) and the Arizona Cardinals last week due to a concussion suffered Nov. 6 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Things had started well for Stafford and the Rams. Trailing 3-0 in the first quarter, Stafford joined Tutu Atwell on 62 yards for the major. The young wide receiver collected his first touchdown in the NFL.
The Saints (4-7) responded early in the second quarter. Juwan Johnson found the end zone on an eight-yard play to restore the lead to his side.
Despite losing star receiver Cooper Kupp for an extended period, Stafford didn’t seem bothered. He orchestrated an 11-play, 87-yard streak late in the second quarter that ended with an Allen Robinson II touchdown to allow the Rams to retreat to the locker room with a four-point lead.
After a Jarvis Landry touchdown, his first with the Saints, Stafford’s game ended faster than expected. Victim of a quarterback sack at the hands of Demario Davis and Tanoh Kpassanon, the veteran quarterback did not return to the game.
With second Rams quarterback John Wolford inactive due to injury, Bryce Perkins took over from Stafford. Perkins completed just five of 10 passes for 64 yards.
Andy Dalton had a strong game with 260 passing yards and three touchdowns, including a 53-yard pass to rookie receiver Chris Olave. The Saints’ first-round pick in the last draft finished the game with five receptions and 102 yards.
The unconvincing Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles were unconvincing, but they did enough to defeat the Indianapolis Colts 17-16.
The Philly squad suffered their first loss of the campaign on Monday against the Washington Commanders and they were hoping to bounce back from a team that posted four wins this season.
The Colts took the lead in the first quarter on a run from Jonathan Taylor. The running back finished the game with 84 yards.
Nothing was working offensively for the Eagles until the fourth quarter. Jalen Hurts spotted Quez Watkins for the touchdown. With less than two minutes to go and down 16-10, the Eagles absolutely had to convert the first play on a fourth down in Colts territory.
The quarterback made up the missing yards on the ground and then found his way to the end zone to help his team take the lead on the conversion of a point. The defense held off Matt Ryan and Philly posted their ninth win this season in 10 games.
The Commanders leave nothing to the Texans
The Washington Commanders showed confidence in a 23-10 victory over the Houston Texans.
Winners ahead of the Eagles, the Commanders continued on this path Sunday with 20 unanswered points in the first two quarters.
The defense set the tone when Davis Mills’ pass was intercepted by Kendall Fuller who brought the ball back into the end zone for six points. Curtis Samuel added to his team’s lead in the second quarter by scoring a touchdown with a 10-yard run.
The Commanders controlled the game with the ground game afterwards. Antonio Gibson finished the game with 72 yards while Brian Robinson had 57 yards on the ground.
For the Texans, quarterback Davis Mills finished with the best yardage on land with just 10 yards. Dameon Pierce was limited to eight yards on 10 carries. Mills scored his team’s only touchdown with a run, but he had a tough passing encounter.
He completed 19 of 33 passes for 169 yards and had two interceptions.