Saints and Raiders Find Their Mojo on ‘NFL Sunday’

The New Orleans Saints and Las Vegas Raiders both entered their NFL Sunday games with purpose. They wanted to stop their recent skids, and they both pulled it off.

New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara escapes from L.A. Rams linebacker Ernest Jones. The Saints beat the Rams on Sunday to stop their skid. (Images: Getty Images)

Andy Dalton threw for three touchdowns for the Saints, completing 21 of his 25 passes for 260 yards as New Orleans (4-7) beat the L.A. Rams (3-7) 27-20. The QB made up for some of his recent bad performances, although the offense still has some tweaking to do.

The game was fairly even in the first half, with the Rams taking a four-point lead going into the break. When they returned, the Saints took control and didn’t let go.

The Saints Find Their Magic

On the Saints’ first possession of the third quarter, they attacked and picked up a TD off Jarvis Landry. It was the culmination of a solid effort that saw New Orleans control the field from the kickoff.

The Rams tried to respond, but only managed to put up three points. The Saints continued to find success, scoring another TD following a 53-yard pass to Chris Olave. The rookie wide receiver is proving himself already this season, picking up 760 yards and three TDs.

The Rams showed moments of the team that won the Super Bowl last year, but star QB Mathew Stafford left with an apparent concussion in the second half. That came just two days after he had been cleared out of the NFL’s concussion protocol.

Stafford did well in the first two quarters, giving the Rams their 14-10 lead, before the third-quarter exit. He had completed 11 of his 18 passes for 159 yards, adding two TDs along the way. One was a 62-yard rocket to wide receiver Tutu Atwell.

The veteran QB went down and apparently hit his head on the Superdome’s artificial turf. Later, he was sacked by linebacker Demario Davis and defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon. That was enough to send him to the locker room. Bryce Perkins came in as his replacement, but was only good enough to take the Rams forward for a couple of field goals.

The Rams have lost four straight this season. It’s the first time in the six-year history of head coach Sean McVay that he has lost more than three in a row.

The sportsbooks thought the Saints would win, and they didn’t disappoint. The over/under was around 39 points heading into the game, which didn’t prove to be a problem, despite recent performances by both the Saints and the Rams.

Raiders Sweep the Broncos

At the beginning of October, the Raiders (3-7) beat the Denver Broncos (3-7), one of the very few highlights of their season. The two met again yesterday, and Las Vegas almost blew it. However, they held on and took a 22-16 win.

The Raiders were always behind in regulation, but saved themselves following an error by Broncos QB Russell Wilson. That mistake led to a Daniel Carlson 25-yard field goal and, ultimately, the victory.

The Broncos were up 16-13 and had the ball with two minutes to go. Then, Wilson threw the ball out of bounds on third-and-10 instead of taking a knee, which would have stopped the clock.

The Raiders, with no timeouts, now had extra time to get something done. The clock read 1:43, and QB Derek Carr made the most of it. He pushed the chains before connecting with running back Josh Jacobs on a huge 43-yard gain. Then, with seconds left, the Raiders kicked a chip-shot field goal to send the game into overtime.

Two huge passes were all the Raiders needed. Las Vegas controlled the field and picked up a TD, sweeping the Broncos this season, as well as the third consecutive season.

Oddsmakers had expected the Broncos to win, although the lines were very tight. Chalk up another underdog win for on the season. The underdogs, heading into Sunday’s games, were 81-61-5 against the spread, according to ESPN. In addition, the under is 86-62-2.

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