NFC Championship Game: Los Angeles Rams v New Orleans Saints – live!

Rams 10-20 Saints, 7:25, 3^rd quarter

Anderson picks up four yards. Huge 3^rd & 2 here, and the Rams convert. Goff throws short to Cooks for a another four. That’s a new first down.

Rams 10-20 Saints, 8:04, 3^rd quarter

Lutz’s kickoff is yet another touchback, they’ll be on their own 25. Goff finds Woods for a four-yard gain to start their possession.

Rams 10-20 Saints, 8:37, 3^rd quarter

They’re rolling now. On 2^nd & 1, the Saints pick up a first down and it’s 1^st and goal. On his first attempt, Brees throws incomplete, underthrown to Thomas. 2^nd & goal, Taysom Hill gets the ball for some reason, his throw to Kamara is complete. 3^rd & goal, Hill decides to go back to being a receiver, which works out rather well. Brees connects with him for a touchdown. Lutz’s extra point is good.

Rams 10-13 Saints, 11:08, 3^rd quarter

Saints are going super-fast now. Brees finds Kamara again, why go away with what’s working, he gets 8 yards here. They’re in the red zone now.

Rams 10-13 Saints, 11:55, 3^rd quarter

And Kamara gets the ball again and picks up 9 this time around. 2^nd & 1… yep that’s Kamara again, this time for a seven-yard run. That’s another first down and on the next, Ingram runs it again and they’re already on the LA 26.

Rams 10-13 Saints, 13:03, 3^rd quarter

On 1^st & 10, Ingram gets about six yards. 2nd & 4, Brees targets Kamara, their MVP of the game so far, who easily gets a first down.

Rams 10-13 Saints, 14:16, 3^rd quarter

Woods gets the ball to start the first half, who gets taken for a four-yard loss. On 2^nd & 13, Goff throws incomplete to Woods who can’t make the catch. 3^rd & 14, Goff throws incomplete yet again. Let’s see if they fake punt again

And nope. Just a real punt, one that puts the Saints at the own 29 after a bit of rolling.

And we begin the second half with a touchback. The Rams will start at their own 25.

The Ying Yang Twins apparently are doing the halftime performance, which makes more sense for New Orleans than Jimmy Buffett who should legally be forced to root for the Dolphins.

Donald Buchnowski:

I am here in the Dominican Republic keeping up and my family in Buffalo are all for the Saints!!!

Well, they’re ahead for now but that was a brutal way to end the half. Still, we knew 13 points wasn’t going to be a comfortable cushion in this game.

From Pranjal Tiwari:

I’m still confused by “love will tear us apart” making an appearance today. Do you know if that’s a Saints anthem or something, or was it the broadcaster that used it? Very strange.

And now “She Sells Sanctuary” by The Cult! Goth / New wave production manager perhaps?

I’m hoping for Gene Loves Jezebel next. I guarantee that there is no NFL team that has a Joy Division song as an anthem but if there did it would probably be the Browns.

Roger Kirkby:

To The comment about headphones, up in the rafters sit a bunch of guys relaying what is going on, on the field to the coordinators on the ground. Either that or they podcast the game.

I knew someone in the audience would know the full answer. I guess the way to tell is if they start advertising SeatGeeks.com midway through their conversations.

Well this was looking like a one-sided affair until the last minute of the half. That huge completion by Goff changed everything and the Rams will have the ball to start the half. This is definitely looking different from most of the snoozers last weekend.

Rams 10-13 Saints, end of the first half

That will quiet down the crowd. What an absolute game-changer for the Rams. Kamara returns the Rams punt to the 20. Drew Brees decides to kneel here and take things to the half.

Rams 10-13 Saints, :23, 2nd quarter

There’s a flag on the punt, on the receiving team it turns out. It’s a 10-yard penalty on the Rams, which will mean that they will be starting at their 19. Goff throws to Reynolds who gets 9 yards. 2^nd & 1. They connect again for a 13 yard gain that brings them to their own 41. The clock is now a factor here as well. 1^st & 10, Goff throws in complete. On 2^nd & 10, Goff’s pass is tipped, and is also incomplete. So it’s 3^rd & 10, less than a minute to go in the half… and Goff finds Cooks for a 17 yard gain into New Orleans territory. Rams used their second timeout.

Holy heck, Goff throws to Cooks for 36 yards! They’re at the Saints 6… for a split second! Gurley runs in for a touchdown. The extra point is good! It’s a three-point game!

It’s certainly a factor.

Rams 3-13 Saints, 2:00, 2nd quarter

That’s a better showing for LA, Ndamukong Suh sacks Brees for a six yard loss, and then gets a half-sack on the next play, by pushing Brees back on first yard. The Rams get another stop on the next play, a play that brings us to the two-minute warning.

Rams 3-13 Saints, 3:50, 2nd quarter

Kamara gets two yards on 1^st down. Ginn picks up 6 yards on 2^nd & 8. A big 3^rd & 2 here for the Rams defense.

And they do not pass the test, Brees finds Kamara for a first down.

Rams 3-13 Saints, 5:27, 2nd quarter

2^nd & 10, Anderson picks up 6 yards, to the Rams 40. He’s having another big night. On 3^rd & 4, Goff throws incomplete and that will stall things out. Hekker’s punt will put the Saints at their own 17.

Rams 3-13 Saints, 6:18, 2nd quarter

Goff throws incomplete and the Saints take a timeout.

Rams 3-13 Saints, 6:18, 2nd quarter

Anderson picks up 3 yards for the Rams on first down. On 2^nd & 7, Woods makes a great catch of Goff’s throw for a 6 yard gain. A big 3^rd & 1 for Los Angeles here. Anderson just gets it.

Email from Ezra Finkelstein:

Do all players have headsets in their helmets? Because otherwise why are all the coordinators talking into their headsets?

I believe just the quarterback and an additional player on the defense.

Rams 3-13 Saints, 8:15, 2nd quarter

On 2^nd & 12, a pressured Brees throws on the run for a seven yard gain. Not sure how exactly he did it, but it’s still a 3^rd & 5 and his throw to Kamara goes incomplete. The Saints punt and JoJo Natson makes a fair catch on the Rams 22.

Rams 3-13 Saints, 9:45, 2nd quarter

Zuerlein’s kickoff ends up being a touchback. On first down, Kamara gets stuffed for a two yard loss back to the Saints 23.

Rams 3-13 Saints, 9:49, 2nd quarter

Goff finds Brandin Cooks for a four-yard gain on first down. On second down, they hand off to CJ Anderson who can’t quite get anywhere. It’s 3^rd & 6 at the Saints 18, Gurley gets the ball and drops it but there’s a flag on the play… but there’s no penalty. It’s 4^th down for the Rams. Greg Zuerlein makes his debut for a 36 yard field goal that’s down the middle and the Rams are on the board.

Rams 0-13 Saints, 11:47, 2nd quarter

The Rams are at the Saints 26 in their first real scoring chance of the game. Anderson gets the ball the next carry for a four yard gain and another first down.

Rams 0-13 Saints, 12:09, 2nd quarter

The Rams allow Goff to return as quarterback. On 1^st & 10 at the Saints 45, he throw incomplete. On 2^nd & 10, Goff finds Gerald Everett for 11 yards and another 1^st down. CJ Anderson picks up 8 yards on the next down. The Saints’ AJ Klein gets medical attention as we head into an injury break.

Rams 0-13 Saints, 13:31, 2nd quarter

Woods gets a gain of a single yard on 3^rd down… and the Rams decide to let punter Johnny Hekker find Sam Shields for a 12 yards gain on a fake punt! Now that is some creative offense! Their first 1^st down!

Roger Kirkby:

No imagination from either team so far, and that’s why it’s low scoring. Maybe they are just too scared of both offences. Remember the Rams were way down against the Saints earlier this season.

Well, the Saints offense seems to have picked up. The Rams… not so much.

Rams 0-13 Saints, end of the 1^st quarter

2^nd & 10. The crowd has not gotten louder, CJ Anderson picks up 5 yards again… for the last play of the quarter. The Rams have a total of 15 yards and have had zero first downs.

Rams 0-13 Saints, :32, 1^st quarter

CJ Anderson gets his first carry of the game, for 5 yards. On 2^nd & 5, the Rams pick up another penalty, this time a false start that negates their gain. The Rams take a timeout. The announcers speculate that the crowd noise is a factor here.

Rams 0-13 Saints, 1:40, 1^st quarter

Another Lutz kick, another touchback. Now would be a good time for the Rams to get their first 1^st down.

And “The Masked Singer” episodes, apparently.

Rams 0-13 Saints, 1:40, 1^st quarter

On 1^st & 10, Brees throws to Ginn who can’t quite make the completion. 2^nd & 10, Kamara gains about 6 yards. 3^rd & 4 at the Los Angeles 12… and Kamara can only pick up another two yards. On 4^th and 2, the Saints, who are aggressive, put the offense back on the field… an they draw a defensive encroachment penalty for a first down.

And on the next play, Brees finds Garrett Griffin for the first touchdown of the game and the extra point is good. That was Griffin’s first catch of the year.

Rams 0-6 Saints, 3:08, 1^st quarter

The Saints pick up two yards on first down. On 2^nd & 8, Thomas catches a Brees pass and gets tackled immediately. It’ll be 3^rd & 2, and another chance for the Rams to shut down a promising drive by New Orleans.

Instead, Brees finds an open Thomas who picks up a first down at the Rams 18.

Rams 0-6 Saints, 5:05, 1^st quarter

It really feels like the Saints should already be up by two touchdowns considering their first two possessions. Wow, Josh Hill picks up 24 yards to get to the LA 44. He comes off a little dazed, however. That’s not a good sign.

Rams 0-6 Saints, 5:35, 1^st quarter

The Rams’ punt puts the Saints at their own 34, decent starting position. Wait, I’m pretty sure the broadcast just went out with “Love Will Tear Us Apart.” Kind of a downbeat choice there, guys.

Rams 0-6 Saints, 5:35, 1^st quarter

And the Saints hold the Rams to a 3-0. Might be a decent defensive battle brewing here.

Rams 0-6 Saints, 7:10, 1^st quarter

Lutz’s kickoff goes to the end zone again for a second straight touchback.

Email from Ezra Finkelstein

Pretty dull game so far,with the run game of both teams not working.Wonder if Bill Belichick is watching…

Good question, I would think he’s still getting the Patriots prepared.

Rams 0-6 Saints, 7:10, 1^st quarter

So, the Saints take over at the Rams 15. The Rams defense steps up though, limiting Brees and the Saints to a 3-0. Lutz kicks a 29 yard field goal right through the uprights. Again, could be worse for the Rams.

Rams 0-3 Saints, 8:42, 1^st quarter

On 2^nd & 3, Gurley gets stuffed for a loss. It’ll be 3^rd & 7, Goff’s pass gets deflected and then intercepted by Demario Davis! Oof!

Rams 0-3 Saints, 9:26, 1^st quarter

Well, that could have gone worse for the Rams. It looked like Brees had thrown a sure touchdown pass at the end of that Saints drive. There’s a flag on the kickoff, an illegal block on the Rams, who will start on their own 10. On 1^st & 10, Jared Goff throws to Robert Woods, who picks up about seven yards.

Rams 0-3 Saints, 10:07, 1^st quarter

On 3^rd & 7, Brees throws to Dan Arnold who can’t quite hold on for the touchdown. Big drop. The Saints have to settle for a field goal here. Wil Lutz’s 37 yard field goal is good and New Orleans is on the board first.

Email by Roger Kirkby:

Hi Hunter, watching the game in a pub in London, definitely not the same as watching it in a bar in California. I’d like to see the Rams win. It would make coming back to LA the right decision.

They have to fight for the honor of LA football after the Chargers laid an egg last Sunday.

Rams 0-0 Saints, 10:12, 1^st quarter

And on the next throw, Drews and Kamara connect again and get to the 22 yard mark. 1^st & 10, Brees throws incomplete. On 2^nd & 10, Brees finds Thomas for a three yard gain before Aqib Talib stops him. The Saints take a very early timeout.

Rams 0-0 Saints, 11:53, 1^st quarter

Mark Ingram picks up 9 yards on 1^st down but then gets stuffed for a two yard loss. 3^rd & 3, Rams could make a big stop here. Instead Brees throws long to Kamara. A beautiful 21 yard pass to get the Saints to the Rams 36.

Rams 0-0 Saints, 14:16, 1^st quarter

The Saints are starting at their own 25. Brees throws to Michael Thomas on 1^st & 10, but it’s incomplete. On 2^nd down, Alvin Kamara picks up about two yards. On 3^rd and long, Brees finds Ted Ginn for a nine yard completion and a first down.

Rams 0-0 Saints, 15:00, 1^st quarter

Rams win the toss and they will (rightfully) defer. That’s my one NFL strategy: always defer on the opening coin toss. That means the Saints will receive to start the first half while the Rams will start off the second half. The Ram’s kickoff goes to the end zone for a touchback.

Jimmy Buffett is singing the national anthem (?). Okay I’ve definitely taken something. I’m giving it a 3/10 and I’m being super-generous.

And the lights go out and the fire display goes off (I hope that’s what I’m seeing) as the players start taking the field.

We are getting closer to kickoff and more importantly, we’re getting closer to the end of the pregame show. Something just happened involving Rob Riggle and puppets. Or I have accidentally ingested something psychoactive. This liveblog could get dicey shortly if the latter.

I’ve already made my prediction, I’ve got the Saints just outlasting the Rams. I am pretty much putting all my faith in the venerable Drew Brees making the Super Bowl for the first time since his 2009 victory. Your thoughts? Send them here and we’ll include them on in the liveblog, either by emailing them to [email protected] or tweeting them to @HunterFelt.

The FOX NFL pregame show has like three more people on it than necessary, this is like a scene from a Marx Brothers movie. The set is about to topple over thanks to the combined weight.

AFC Championship Game

Later in the day, 6:40pm EST to be precise, the Guardian will be liveblogging the AFC Championship Game between the New England Patriots and the Kansas City Chiefs. It should be a great match between the top quarterback in the league in Tom Brady and his possible successor in Patrick Mahomes. The Patriots ran all over the Los Angeles Chargers while the Chiefs handled the Indianapolis Colts with ease. This one should be a much closer game, at least if their regular season matchup is anything to go by.

For a good chunk of the season, the Los Angeles Rams and the New Orleans Saints were fighting for the best record in the NFL, and they both managed to secure it, ending the season at 13-3. The Saints, however, owned the tiebreaker, so they’ll be hosting today’s game. So, it’s pretty fitting that the two of them will face each other in the NFC Championship Game with a Super Bowl appearance on the line.

The Rams had a slightly easier time getting to the penultimate round of the playoffs. While the final score of their win over the Dallas Cowboys was 30-22, the Cowboys were coming from behind the entire way. Led by the running back duo of Todd Gurley and CJ Anderson, they managed to end the Cowboys without much fuss.

Unfortunately for them, Drew Brees and the Saints will prove to be a somewhat more difficult task, particularly since they will have home field advantage today (not that the Coliseum makes for the most daunting place to play for opponents, but still). The Saints 20-14 comeback victory against the Philadelphia Eagles finally ended Nick Foles’s magical postseason run. Now there’s one more victory away from giving their Hall-of-Fame quarterback an attempt to pick up his second Super Bowl ring.

This should be a good game, unlike most of the ones we had last weekend. You can contribute to our liveblog by emailing us (to [email protected]) or tweeting at us (@HunterFelt) with your question, analysis, freewheeling commentary or what have you. It’s the LA Rams vs the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superbowl. We’re about a half-hour away from kickoff, but your humble host will be returning beforehand.

Hunter will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s his preview of today’s game:

What the Rams need to do: The Rams need to keep relying on their running game. Everyone was expecting Todd Gurley to have a big game against the Dallas Cowboys last weekend but nobody was expecting CJ Anderson to outdo him, or for both running backs to pick up more than 100 yards each. Now the Saints defense will have to game plan for both men.

What the Saints need to do: Get in front early. The Saints had to crawl out of a 14-0 hole against the Philadelphia Eagles last week. That’s not going to work against a much tougher opponent in the Rams, who dominated in the first half against Dallas, going up 20-3 on their way to a 30-22 victory.

Key player for the Rams: Aaron Donald, DT. Donald led the league in sacks during the regular season with 20.5, and is favorite to be named defensive player of the year. He’s going to have his work cut out against Drew Brees, however. Donald managed a few tackles on the future hall of famer in their last meeting, but no sacks.

Key player for the Saints: Michael Thomas, WR. Last time these two teams faced each other, Thomas accumulated 211 yards and scored a key touchdown late on. Last weekend, Thomas went off for 171 yards and yet another touchdown against the Eagles. He will be a factor again.

Unheralded players to watch: The kickers. It doesn’t get much more unheralded than being a kicker, but we’ve already seen how important they can be in a winner-takes-all scenario. Just ask poor Cody Parkey, whose blocked field-goal ended the Chicago Bears’ season. So, watch Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein and Saints kicker Wil Lutz. If casual football fans know one of their names after the game ends, that probably means something bad has happened. The usually reliable Lutz, in fact, nearly found himself the Saints’ fall guy with his fourth-quarter miss against the Eagles, but the Saints were able to hold on to win 20-14.

Prediction: Rams 24-28 Saints