After earning a tight win in the divisional playoff game, the New Orleans Saints (14-3) on Sunday host the Los Angeles Rams (14-3) at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in the NFC Championship. The Saints enter the game as the favorite, while the Rams are coming off a solid victory. The Saints edged the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, 20-14, after Eagles wide receiver Alshon Jeffery dropped a crucial pass in the fourth quarter. The Rams relied on an effective running game to outlast the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday, 30-22. According to ESPN's Football Power Index's matchup predictor, the Saints have a 63.2 percent chance of winning, while the Rams have a 36.8 percent chance. Oddsmakers list the Saints as the 3-point favorite, with the over/under at 56.5 points. The Rams and Saints met in Week 9 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Rams overcame a 35-14 deficit to tie the game in the fourth quarter, 35-35. But the Saints prevailed by scoring 10 unanswered points, 45-35. Sunday's winner will advance to the Super Bowl in Atlanta to face the winner of the AFC Championship, which features the Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots. Experts are somewhat split on the Rams-Saints matchup. Predictions Tim Cowlishaw, Dallas Morning News: Saints Mike Florio, Pro Football Talk: Saints Nate Davis, USA Today: Saints Benjamin Hoffman, New York Times: Rams Max Kellerman, ESPN: Rams Stephen A. Smith, ESPN: Saints Anthony Riccobono, International Business Times: Saints Bobby Ilich, International Business Times: Rams Photo: Wesley Hitt/Getty Images<doc-sep>The rotation began seven plays into the Rams’ divisional-round playoff victory over the Dallas Cowboys. Star running back Todd Gurley, on the field for the first time in nearly a month, had carried the ball four times when backup C.J. Anderson came off the sideline and carried three times before an eventual field goal. The rotation continued throughout the game. “There was times he wanted to come in, and I tell him I was in a rhythm, and there was times he felt like he was in a rhythm and I’m going to let him go,” Anderson said. By the end of the 30-22 victory, Anderson had rushed for 123 yards and two touchdowns in 23 carries. Gurley rushed for 115 yards and a touchdown in 16 carries . It had been two decades since two backs from the same team each ran for more than 100 yards in a playoff game. Advertisement And all of a sudden, the Rams’ high-powered offense had another dynamic. “Kind of that perfect balance,” coach Sean McVay said Friday. Sign up for our daily sports newsletter » The 1-2 punch gives the Rams a different look going into Sunday’s NFC championship game at New Orleans. The winner advances to play Kansas City or New England in the Feb. 3 Super Bowl at Atlanta. The 6-foot-1, 224-pound Gurley appears recovered from a knee injury and back to the form that enabled him to score a league-leading 21 touchdowns this season. On a 35-yard touchdown run against the Cowboys, he got through the line of scrimmage, cut to his left and blazed to the end zone. The 5-8, 225-pound Anderson, released by Carolina and Oakland in a one-month span, appears back to the form that helped Denver reach the 2016 Super Bowl. Since joining the Rams in mid-December, the sixth-year pro has rushed for more than 100 yards in three consecutive games. “It’s good to have him,” Gurley said. “I got hurt for a reason and it seems like that was one of the missing pieces.” :: Advertisement Gurley traveled a familiar path to stardom: He was a top-50 player nationally in high school in North Carolina, played in the Southeastern Conference at Georgia and was selected 10th in the 2015 draft. He was the offensive rookie of the year, the 2017 offensive player of the year, and signed a $60-million extension before this season. Anderson’s road was far different. He grew up in Northern California in Vallejo and played quarterback in a veer-option offense his sophomore and junior seasons at Jesse Bethel High. Early in his first varsity season, with his team at its own one-yard line, the play call was for a quarterback sneak. “He takes a jab step to the left, comes back to the right, goes 99 yards for a touchdown,” Bethel coach Jeff Turner said. “At that point we knew we had a guy who could make plays.” Advertisement Anderson also could think — “his football IQ is 10 of 10,” Turner said — and play and practice with a physical style, pushing linemen 70 pounds heavier out of the “pit” during one-on-one drills. As a sophomore, Anderson told Bethel assistant James Brooks that he didn’t want a job. He wanted to play in the NFL. “I said, ‘Well, you know what you need to do if you want to get to the league,’ ” Brooks said. “He would call me and say, ‘Let’s work out. Let’s do seven on seven. Can we get in the weight room?’ “He was already owning his craft.” Anderson starred on offense and defense and was scouted by major college programs mainly as a defensive back. But academic issues prevented him from signing, so he enrolled at Laney College in Oakland. Advertisement Laney coach John Beam asked Anderson what position he wanted to play. Beam said Anderson wasn’t sure if he should play offense or defense. “Where’s your heart at?” Beam asked. Anderson was a running back. For two years, he commuted by bus and train to Oakland, waking before dawn to be on time for early-morning weightlifting sessions. Advertisement × The New Orleans Saints feature a future Hall of Fame quarterback, the NFL’s best wide receiver and an unrelenting running game. Stopping the explosive Saints is objective No. 1 for the Rams in Sunday’s NFC championship game. Beam benched him for fumbling during a bowl game, but Anderson did not sulk or transfer. He came back as a sophomore and produced several 200-yard performances. He also continued to demonstrate “phenomenal” football smarts, Beam said, calling snap counts from the backfield if the quarterback struggled. Anderson accepted a late offer from California after the junior college season, but could not immediately enroll because he needed to complete a class. That did not stop him from attending spring practices in Berkeley as an observer and making an impression on coach Jeff Tedford. “He’s a bright guy,” said Tedford, now coach at Fresno State. “He wasn’t the guy that stands on the sideline BS-ing. He wanted to be out on the field and wanted to know every play call.” Advertisement Anderson played a rotational role in Tedford’s two-back system. In two seasons, he rushed for 1,135 yards and scored 14 touchdowns but was not selected in the 2013 draft. He signed with the Broncos, played in two Super Bowls — starting and scoring a touchdown in a Super Bowl 50 victory over the Panthers — and rushed for 1,007 yards in 2017. The Panthers said they released him Nov. 12 because second-year pro Christian McCaffrey had emerged as an every-down back. Anderson signed with the Raiders, but was released without playing a game because the team needed roster space to replace injured offensive linemen. The timing could not have been better for the Rams. With Gurley sidelined, Anderson rushed for 167 yards against Arizona and 132 yards against San Francisco. “He understood our offense after four days,” offensive lineman Rodger Saffold said. “And not just any offense: McVay’s offense, that’s got more words and terms than anything I’ve ever been around. Advertisement “So that guy is playing out of his mind right now.” :: Broncos Hall of Famer Terrell Davis and Derek Loville were the last running backs from the same team to rush for more than 100 yards in a playoff game, in a 1997 wild-card victory over Jacksonville. Davis rushed for 184 yards and two touchdowns in 31 carries. Loville ran for 103 yards and two touchdowns in 11 carries. “You see him on the field and he’s gashing them, and then I go in and I’m gashing them,” said Davis, an analyst for NFL Network. “We just fed off each other. … It was a perfect scenario.” Advertisement That’s how Davis views the Rams’ combination. “Todd is Todd, an unbelievable back when it comes to the combination of size … and that top-end speed, that ability to break away,” he said. “He’s very fluid and agile. He can jump over players, run around them, so he’s got everything.” And because of his pass-catching ability, “Sean McVay can put Todd anywhere,” Davis said. “He’s an X-factor out wide or in the slot.” Davis watched and admired Anderson during his first five seasons with the Broncos. Advertisement “I always called C.J. a mudder, like this horse that you can put him in with sloppy conditions,” Davis said. “Snow, mud. C.J., he likes that kind of rugged environment.” The Saints also boast a potent running back combination with young and speedy Alvin Kamara and veteran power runner Mark Ingram. Kamara rushed for 883 yards and 14 touchdowns this season and caught 81 passes, four for touchdowns. Ingram rushed for 645 yards and six touchdowns. “Kamara can take over a game. He’s got that elusiveness and scatback mentality and does it all,” Davis said. “Ingram’s your hammer. He’s going to come hammer you and wear you down.” The combinations at running back give the Rams and the Saints incredible flexibility, Davis said. Advertisement “There is no one-dimensional with these teams,” he said. “They can morph into what they need to be.” :: This will be the Rams’ third trip to New Orleans.<doc-sep>The 2018 NFC championship game between the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams is studded with stars, and will decide which team advances to Super Bowl LIII. Each team’s long season has been building up this penultimate challenge, and someone will be left walking away disappointed. Here’s the matchups that will decide the course of the game, and the year to-date. Michael Thomas vs. Marcus Peters This one almost goes without saying. Thomas was just too much for Peters in their first outing, cooking him at every turn: Peters remembers gumbo best, but he was barbecued, boiled, broiled, baked, sauteed, kabobed, seasoned creole, thrown in gumbo, pan-fried, deep-fried, stir-fried. Served with pineapple, lemon, coconut, peppered, in soup and in stew, in a salad, with potatoes, on a burger, or even just in a sandwich. There’s no understating Thomas’s 12-catch, 211-yard performance topped by the game-winning 72-yard touchdown reception. Peters has not gotten better since that meeting, he’s just been given more help by Rams defensive coordinator Wade Phillips and faced lesser opponents. While the Saints do move their receivers all over the field, Thomas runs a majority of his routes (42-percent) on the same side of the field defended by Peters (60-percent), per Mike Clay of ESPN. These two will square off again, early and often.<doc-sep>
The magical season continues with the biggest game of the year coming on Sunday as the Los Angeles Rams travel to face the New Orleans Saints for the third time this year. The two prior meetings were a preseason thrashing 28-0 favoring the Saints, and a week nine 45-35 victory for the Saints. The Rams will look to avenge the earlier regular season loss as it was a tightly contested game that went down to the wire. Let’s take a look at the matchups to watch: CB’s Aqib Talib / Marcus Peters vs WR Michael Thomas The Rams’ cornerbacks are going to have their hands full this week as they face one of the most unique and dominant wide receivers in the league. Thomas’ 2018 campaign was one for the books as he pulled in 125 receptions for 1,405 yards and nine touchdowns on an unprecedented 85% catch rate (147 targets). As we all know, Thomas abused the Rams in their first encounter with 12 receptions for 211 yards and a touchdown. The major positive for the Rams this time around is that CB Aqib Talib is healthy and playing, and his body style/game matches up well with a player similar to Thomas’ play style. Notably, Marcus Peters had an awful game, so look for the matchup between these two and Mike Thomas to be a back-and-forth one. WR Brandin Cooks vs CB Marshon Lattimore Former Saint Brandin Cooks also had himself a nice return to the Superdome as he reeled in six receptions for 112 yards and a touchdown in week nine. This week he’ll likely see a ton of Marshon Lattimore in coverage as Lattimore can be seen travelling with teams’ #1 receivers at times, and the Saints will likely view Cooks as that after the first matchup. Cooks (as well as running mate WR Robert Woods) will need to create as much separation as possible to create open throwing lanes for QB Jared Goff. RB’s Todd Gurley / C.J. Anderson vs Saints’ front-seven The duo of Todd Gurley and C.J. Anderson combined for 39 carries, 238 rushing yards, and three touchdowns on the ground last week against the best rushing defense remaining in the playoffs (Dallas Cowboys). This week, they’ll get another solid defense, but one that is absolutely a step down from the Cowboys’ caliber. The rushing attack for the Rams’ offense has thrown a wrench into what everyone thought they knew about the Rams, keeping defenses off-kilter. Good luck to the Saints’ defense, as they’ll need to prepare to stop everything from an explosive passing game with multiple weapons, to a backfield with multiple runners who spell each other creating freshness and a full compliment of varying skill-sets. Rams’ OL vs Saints’ DL The Rams’ offensive line is simply one of the best (if not the best) units in the league. Their ability to perform at an elite level both in pass pro and in the run game is what makes the offense click. When Jared Goff is given a clean pocket, he can look unstoppable. As well as the run game, which we all seen the capabilities of last week. In the first contest, Jared Goff went un-sacked and the rushing attack gained just over 100 yards on the ground. The Saints’ key weapon on the defensive line will be DE Cameron Jordan, who’ll require extra attention. The recent loss of DT Sheldon Rankins will prove to be a large feat to overcome for New Orleans, though rookie DE Marcus Davenport can still be an impact second defensive lineman. ILB’s Cory Littleton / Mark Barron vs RB Alvin Kamara Alvin Kamara is a massive issue, and the Rams will need to find a way to at least limit him out of the backfield. In the week nine contest, Kamara had 19 rushes for 82 yards and two touchdowns, though he also chipped in with four receptions for 34 yards and a touchdown. Everything the Rams tried failed. From covering with Cory Littleton or Mark Barron, to moving FS Lamarcus Joyner down in man coverage, or even bracket coverage, nothing worked. It might be best to take a page out of the Cowboys’ playbook and allow a secondary member (Joyner, Nickell Robey-Coleman, Marqui Christian, Blake Countess) to come down and man cover Kamara one-on-one.