Author: Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz / Source: USA TODAY
Here’s everything you need to know for Sunday’s NFC and AFC Championship Games:
Los Angeles Rams at New Orleans Saints
Kickoff time: 3:05 p.m. ET
Channel: Fox
Streaming: Fox Sports Go
Location: Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans
Line: Saints by 3
Injury report: With no players listed on the injury report, the Rams enter the game essentially at full strength.
New Orleans, however, will be without wide receiver Keith Kirkwood, who is out with a calf injury. Saints tight end Benjamin Watson is listed as questionable, but an ESPN report said he was suffering from appendicitis and is expected to miss the game.1. “Nice little bowl of gumbo”: Just as in the AFC title game, the NFC Championship features two teams that met earlier in the regular season. In Week 9, the Rams went down to New Orleans and the Saints prevailed, 45-35. New Orleans raced out to a lead in the second quarter, but the Rams eventually knotted the game up with 21 unanswered points. Still, the Saints took the victory with a 10-point fourth quarter. Adding a little juice to the matchup with his remarks after that game, Rams cornerback Marcus Peters called out Saints coach Sean Payton for trash-talking him on the field and said, “We going to see him soon … and then we going to have a nice little bowl of gumbo together.” Peters gets his wish, but will any added motivation make a difference?
2. Turning defensive: New Orleans became known for its powerful offense in the first half of the season, but over the stretch run, it has been a smothering defense that has taken over. Since Week 7, the Saints have allowed opposing offenses to score just 16.9 points a game and have sacked opposing passers 28 times – and that’s without notching one against Nick Foles and the Eagles in the divisional round. In particular, the secondary has improved its play and shut down opposing passing attacks. Los Angeles’ offense, though, is the highest-scoring outfit the Saints will face since starting this run, so the challenge the Rams present – behind a healthy Todd Gurley – is significant.
3. Matchup nightmare: One of the NFL’s toughest covers, Saints receiver Michael Thomas, decimated the Rams when both teams played in Week 9, catching 12 of 15 targets for 211 yards and one score – a 72-yard catch-and-run that finished Los Angeles off late in the fourth quarter. Not only that, but Thomas is fresh off of a dominant performance in the divisional round,…
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