Los Angeles Rams vs New Orleans Saints Preview

The Los Angeles Rams and the New Orleans Saints wrap up their preseason with a Week 4 matchup at the Mercedes Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana on Thursday August 29, 2018.

Both teams are 2-1 in the 2018 NFL Preseason after convincing wins last week. The Rams edged the Houston Texans 21-20 last week while the Saints buried the San Diego Chargers 36-7 in their third preseason game.

Rams Have Momentum

The Rams have plenty of momentum going for them as they won their second straight preseason game last week. Los Angeles dropped its preseason opener 7-33 to the Baltimore Ravens but they’ve since bounced back with two straight victories. They look to win their third straight on Thursday.

Starting quarterback Jared Goff was once again benched last week. But backups Sean Mannion and Brandon Allen played well for the Rams as they combined to complete 21 out of 30 passes for a total of 131 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

Todd Gurley also didn’t see action last week and like Goff, he hasn’t seen any time on the field this preseason. Without Gurley, John Kelly led the Rams with 64 yards on 15 carries including two touchdowns. Nick Holley also ran for 40 yards on 11 carries to help the Rams win their second game of the preseason.

On Defense, Ndamukong Suh had a quarterback hit that led to an interception of a DeShaun Watson pass.Taurean Nixon led the Rams with eight tackles while McKay Murphy had one sack and Micah Kiser had one tackle for loss.

Los Angeles Rams vs New Orleans Saints 8/30/18

Odds: Rams +190, Saints -240
Odds from Betway as of 8/28/18

The Saints beat the Chargers last week 36-7 on the strength of excellent quarterback play. New Orleans already has a starter in Drew Brees but when it comes to his back-up, it is still a toss-up as their reserve play callers have been up to the task in the preseason.

Last week, Brees threw for 59 yards on 7 out of 9 passing but he threw the Saints’ only interception in the game. Tom Savage went 7-10 for 99 passing yards while Taysom Hill went 7-8 for 66 yards with one touchdown pass. New Orleans got excellent quarterback play again from their reserves and it will be interesting who will get the back-up quarterback job.

Taysom Hill also led the Saints with 35 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown. Tommy Lee Lewis and Tre’Quan Smith combined for 84 receiving yards on six receptions with one touchdown. Saints coach Sean Payton opted to go for the two point conversion after each of their four touchdowns but he said it won’t necessarily be their game plan once the regular season begins.

Marshon Lattimore led the Saints with five tackles against the Chargers while George Johnson had one sack and Manti Te’O had one tackle for loss. New Orleans’ first round draft pick Marcus Davenport also played well last week. Davenport, who missed the first two preseason games with an undisclosed injury, recorded 1.5 sacks against the Chargers.

Who Wins?

The Rams have won six of the last 10 head to head meetings between these teams, including two of the last three. Los Angeles has won just half of their last six preseason games while New Orleans has won four out of their last preseason outings.

With the way Rams head coach Sean McVay has played out his preseason, it appears that neither Jared Goff and Todd Gurley are going to see any preseason action at all. Without their top two offensive drivers, it’s hard to see how the Rams can beat a New Orleans team whose quarterbacks in the preseason have delivered the goods.

Betting Prediction

Taysom Hill continues to prove that he can move the ball whether it’s via air or ground. The former BYU star will most likely be the focal point of the Saints offense in this contest. Drew Brees has played less than one quarter in total preseason action but the Saints have managed to average 25 points per game in preseason and have scored at least 8 points in the four out of the last five quarters they’ve played. This is a game where I think both teams are going to rest their starters and given how their second and/or third units have played so far, I’m giving the edge to the Saints.

We’re picking the New Orleans Saints to defeat the Los Angeles Rams on 8/30/18..

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