Rams show flashes of Super Bowl potential in win over Saints

Don’t start planning parades yet. Wait for your February travel plans to Santa Clara.

The Rams still have a long way to go to make the playoffs and advance to the Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium.

Their 34-10 victory Sunday over the struggling New Orleans Saints at SoFi Stadium was neither a revelation nor a historic victory.

But the Rams did something important. Something championship-caliber teams are supposed to do: They convincingly knocked out a weaker opponent before 72,055.

Matthew Stafford spent four years touchdowns, wide receiver Puka Nacua returned from an ankle injury in spectacular fashion and the defense dominated again as the Rams improved to 6-2.

OK, so it wasn’t a win against the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles or their rival San Francisco 49ers, teams the Rams lost to in part because of running game disasters.

And those problems remain: Joshua Karty missed a field goal attempt and an extra point attempt.

So coach Sean McVay’s patience with the kicking game is wearing thin. And no team wins a title without a competent player.

But if the Rams stay healthy — Nacua left the game in the second half with a chest injury — resolve the kicking problem and McVay can keep his team focused against division opponents and other playoff contenders, the Dodgers may not be the only Los Angeles team to hoist a championship trophy.

Because Stafford, already on NFL career success lists, is having another sensational season.

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford passes during the first half against the Saints.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

As he did in 2021, when he passed for 41 touchdowns and led the Rams to a Super Bowl title, Stafford is playing at a level that should put him in the discussion of most valuable players.

The 17th-year pro’s two touchdown passes to Adams and one to Nacua and tight end Tyler Higbee brought his season total to 21, with just two interceptions.

Stafford, who threw for five touchdowns in a loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Oct. 19, completed 24 of 32 passes for 281 and extended his streak without an interception to five games.

Nacua sat out against the Jaguars with an ankle injury. But he said that in the days leading up to the match he felt “fantastic”.

He looked like it early in the game, making two catches for first downs to start a scoring drive that ended with Stafford’s touchdown pass to Higbee. The veteran tight end, in an apparent homage to the World Series champion Dodgers, celebrated by taking an imaginary swing and then celebrating after the Dodgers hit.

Adams then followed his three-touchdown performance against the Jaguars with the first of two more touchdowns in the red zone.

Early in the second quarter, Stafford and Nacua attempted the home run, connecting on a 39-yard pass that Nacua completed for a touchdown for a 20-3 lead.

Stafford’s short strike to Adams in the fourth quarter put the game out of reach, and Kyren Williams’ short touchdown run early in the fourth quarter provided the finishing touch.

Williams rushed for 114 yards and Blake Corum ran for 58 on a day when the Rams again used all four tight ends in the passing and rushing attacks.

Meanwhile, the Rams defense made it difficult for rookie quarterback Tyler Shough in his first start.

Several Rams defensive players confront Saints quarterback Tyler Shough in the second quarter of the Rams’ 34-10 victory Sunday at SoFi Stadium.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Lineman Braden Fiske got his first sack of the season, linebacker Nate Landman forced another fumble and cornerback Emmanuel Forbes Jr. got his first interception as a Ram.

The game against the Saints was the start of a stretch that includes next Sunday’s game against the 49ers in Santa Clara and then two more home games.

Only two of their remaining nine games – a late November trip to face the Carolina Panthers and a late December trip to face the Atlanta Falcons – will require the Rams to travel further east than Arizona.

A lot can happen between now and the start of the playoffs.

But the Rams look like the Super Bowl contender they were built to be.