The typical solid defense plus excellent special teams play added up to
another Saints win, as New Orleans extended their Anaheim Stadium winning
streak to 7 games.

After starting the game by forcing a punt, the Saints drove down the field 
for a touchdown, as Derek Brown scampered to a nifty 15 yard score after
catching a Wade Wilson pass.  Another Ram punt was followed by a 48
yard Morten Andersen FG.  The Rams answered with a 53 yard FG of their
own.  The Saints indirectly moved down the field by exchanging punts
with the Rams, then downing a Barnhardt punt at the LA 1, then returning a
Los Angeles punt to the Ram 26, leading to a 25 yard FG.  The Saints
thwarted a Ram threat late in the first half when consecutive sacks
by Renaldo Turnbull and Vaughn Johnson moved LA out of field goal range.

After stopping the Saints offense, the Rams kicked a 38 yard FG to cut 
the lead to 13-6.  Fred McAfee returned the ensuing kickoff to the NO 40.
Facing a 4th & 1 at midfield, Tommy Barnhardt faked a punt and ran for
first down yardage.  Morten eventually kicked a 43 yarder to make it 16-6.
The Saints defense made yet another big play when Jim Everett had the
ball slapped loose from his grasp.  Wayne Martin recovered, and the Saints
converted the turnover into a 30 yard TD pass to Pat Newman.

From this point on, things got sloppy.  Reginald Jones intercepted an Everett
pass and returned it to the LA 33, but Morten missed a 41 yard FG.  The
insertion of Pagel as QB didn't help the Rams, who went 3 & punt.  The punt
was returned for a 74 yard TD by Tyrone Hughes on a nice runback.  On LA's
next possession, Vince Buck intercepted Pagel and returned the ball to the
eleven yardline of the Rams.  However, Ram penetration into the Saints
backfield screwed up a handoff, resulting in a fumble.  The Rams picked up
the ball and returned it to the NO 18, where Irv Smith made the tackle.
Anyway, the Rams got no points off the turnover, as they failed to convert 
on 4th and 15.  In the process of running out the clock, Derrick Ned broke
loose and scored on a super 35 yard TD run.

NOTES:

* Jerome Bettis was the lone bright spot for the Rams, as he rumbled 
  through the Saints defense and limited the pass rush felt by LA.

* Fred McAfee saw his first extended action at RB this year.  Derek
  Brown played too and did a good job.  I guess they just wanted to rest him.

* The fake punt call was excellent.  It came at just the right time and
  caught the Rams off guard.  At that point in the game LA was starting
  to gain a little momentum.  The run by Barnhardt was just what the Saints
  needed.

* Hoby Brenner appeared to hurt his ankle late in the game.

* Where did Pagel amass all those stats?  I wasn't aware that he had seen
  so much NFL action.  Did he used to play in Cleveland?


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Frank Serpas III