When the Rams have the ball ...
—The average yards after contact per attempt by C.J. Anderson with the Rams this season. The veteran running back has surpassed Todd Gurley’s 3.2 postcontact average this season, giving Los Angeles a formidable two-headed monster. Of course, the common thread here is the highest-graded run-blocking offensive line in the NFL. The Rams’ rushing attack will be tested, however, against a stout Saints run defense that finished with the third-highest run-defense grade in the league.
— Yards gained by Rams running backs before contact against the Cowboys last week. That averaged out to a ridiculous 2.55 yards before contact per carry. If they can fire off the ball and block defenders that well again in New Orleans, the running game will succeed.
—The percent of dropbacks quarterback Jared Goff used play-action this season - the highest rate in NFL. In preparing for the Rams, stopping the playaction game must be priority number one. Goff gained 350 more yards off play-action than any other quarterback this year. The Saints had trouble stopping it this season, allowing a passer rating of 123.5 on play-action throws this year, the fifth-highest in the league.
— Passer rating when targeting Marshon Lattimore in three career playoff games. Lattimore’s 86.3 overall grade last week was the highest of any corner in the divisional round, as he pulled down two critical interceptions and did a good job of tracking Eagles wide receiver Alshon Jeffery. It goes without saying that the Rams have a potent passing attack, but Lattimore’s 46.1 passer rating allowed in the playoffs is just barely above what a quarterback gets for throwing an incomplete pass on every play.
— Rams left tackle Andrew Whitworth’s passblocking grade this season (on a scale of 0 to 100). That’s the lowest he’s earned since turning 30 toward the end of the 2011 season. It suggests he may no longer be the elite blind-side pass protector he once was, but he might be just fine in this matchup. Saints edge defender Alex Okafor rushes from the right side of the defensive line almost exclusively, meaning he’ll primarily match up with Whitworth. His pass-rush productivity from the right side of the defensive line ranked only 42nd among all edge defenders in the regular season.