Waterloo Region Record

Stylin’ Saints deliver Rams first loss of the year

- BRETT MARTEL

NEW ORLEANS — Michael Thomas caught a late 72-yard touchdown reception and then celebrated with a cellphone in a throwback to another famous New Orleans play, and the streaking Saints handed the Los Angeles Rams their first loss of the season with a 45-35 win Sunday.

Drew Brees passed for 346 yards and four touchdowns in New Orleans’ seventh straight win, and Thomas finished with a club-record 211 yards receiving. But what happened after their last connection of the day really stole the show in a wild shootout between two of the National Football League’s best offences.

Thomas’ long TD came on a pivotal third-down play with about four minutes to go, when the Rams seemed to expect the Saints to run a play closer to the first-down marker.

Thomas ran free behind Marcus Peters, caught Brees’ long throw virtually in stride and ran straight to the goalpost, where he got out an old-school flip phone — reminiscen­t of Joe Horn’s Sunday night TD celebratio­n in 2003.

Like Horn, Thomas was penalized, but the Rams never threatened after that.

P.J. Williams broke up a fourthdown pass intended for Brandin Cooks, virtually sealing the result. The former Saints receiver, who caught six passes for 114 yards and a TD, fell to his knees in frustratio­n.

Thomas, who caught 12 passes, eclipsed Wes Chandler’s club record of 205 yards receiving against Atlanta in 1979.

New Orleans running back Alvin Kamara scored three times, twice on runs and once on a 16-yard catch-and-run — all in the first half.

The Rams (8-1) very nearly pulled off an extraordin­ary comeback in the Superdome, where the crowd was revved up after New Orleans (7-1) raced to a three-touchdown lead late in the first half.

Los Angeles rallied to tie the game 35-35 with 21 unanswered points in just less than 21 minutes off the clock, starting with Greg Zuerlein’s 56-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.

Receiving the kick to start the third quarter, Los Angeles put together an 11-play touchdown drive capped by Malcolm Brown’s 18-yard catch and run in which the running back hopped over safety Marcus Williams along the sideline and kept his balance long enough to reach the ball across the goal-line.

After another field goal cut New Orleans’ lead to 35-27, the Rams forced a second straight punt and tied the game on Cooper Kupp’s 41-yard catch and run along the left sideline.

The Saints regained the lead on Wil Lutz’s 54-yard field goal, and then forced the Rams’ first punt of the game with about five minutes left.

Brees threw three touchdowns passes in the first half, when the Saints scored 35 points.

 ?? BILL FEIG THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ?? Saints running back Alvin Kamara scores a touchdown in the first half of an NFL game against the L.A. Rams in New Orleans on Sunday. Kamara scored three TDs in New Orleans’ 45-35 win.
BILL FEIG THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Saints running back Alvin Kamara scores a touchdown in the first half of an NFL game against the L.A. Rams in New Orleans on Sunday. Kamara scored three TDs in New Orleans’ 45-35 win.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Canada