Goof, Goff lift Rams past Saints to Super Bowl

NEW ORLEANS – The stage was set.

The Mercedes-Benz Superdome has never been as loud. Many Super Bowl XLIV heroes were on hand, as were Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees Morten Andersen and Rickey Jackson. The Saints jumped out to 13-0 lead. It should have been larger but they would hold the lead until there were 15 seconds left in the game. The Saints never trailed until the final play of the game.

The Los Angeles Rams refused to cooperate and got huge help from an egregious missed call which helped decide the game.

In a season where the Saints were very good and lucky at times. They were not good enough on this day. It was an outstanding season but, like the 2017 season, it will always be remembered for how it ended.

The Rams are Super Bowl-bound by virtue of a 26-23 overtime win Sunday. Here are my Quick Takes:

**The Rams won the toss and deferred, giving the Saints the ball first.

**New Orleans drove 56 yards in 11 plays, taking 4:56 off the clock with Wil Lutz kicking a 37-yard field goal to make it 3-0 with 10:04 to play in the opening quart. On the drive, Drew Brees converted a third-and-eight with a nine-yard completion to Ted Ginn, Jr. and hit Alvin Kamara on completions of 21 and 14 yards.

**On third-and-seven from the 19-line, Brees dropped a perfect pass into Dan Arnold, who was tightly covered in the end zone. Arnold had it but dropped it going to the ground. It was not an easy catch but one that has to be made.

**On the Rams first possession, Goff threw short over the middle for Todd Gurley. The ball caromed off of his hands and Demario Davis, who had tackled Gurley for a four-yard loss on the previous play, interception it at the Los Angeles 16-yard line.

**New Orleans could not take full advantage and Lutz had to kick a 29-yard field goal to make it 6-0 with 7:06 to play in the opening quarter.

**The Saints defense got another stop and the offense got rolling, driving 68 yards in eight plays, taking 3:51 off the clock. Brees hit Garrett Griffin on a five-yard touchdown pass to make it 13-0 with 1:35 to play in the opening quarter.

**The noise, which was deafening from the crowd, forced a false start, followed by a timeout by the Los Angeles offense.

**Griffin had one career catch prior to the touchdown reception, a 4-yard catch in 2017 in the regular season finale against Tampa Bay.

**On the drive, Brees hit Josh Hill on a 24-yard screen pass and hit Michael Thomas on a 19-yard completion against Marcus Peters.

**The Saints had a fourth-and-two at the Los Angels 10-yard line. Sean Payton had his offense line up as if to go for it and Brees drew Michael Brockers offside for a first-and-goal at the five, setting up the touchdown pass.

**The Saints had 125 yards to just 15 for the Rams in the opening quarter. New Orleans had the ball for 10:16 of the first quarter.

**It appeared that the Saints got another three-and-out on defense but the Rams faked a punt and punter Johnny Hekker completed a seven-yard pass to Sam Shields for a first down.

**The Rams went on to drive 57 yards in 14 plays, taking 6:50 off the clock but the Saints stiffened and Greg Zuerlein booted a 36-yard field goal to make it 13-3 with 9:45 to play in the half.

**The Los Angeles defense finally got a very good pass rush on Brees, sacking him on consecutive plays late in the second quarter. Ndamukong Suh was in on both while Dante Fowler, Jr. assisted on one.

**Los Angeles got it going on its final possession of the half, driving 81 yards in seven plays, taking just 1:29 off the clock with Todd Gurley scoring on a six-yard run to cut the deficit to 13-10 with 23 seconds left in the half. On the drive Jared Goff connected with former Saint Brandin Cooks on consecutive completions of 17 and 36 yards.

**After the Saints dominated the Rams in the first quarter, the Rams dominated the Saints in the second quarter, gaining 151 yards to just 13 yards for New Orleans to take a 166-138 lead in yardage in the game.

**New Orleans forced a three-and-out on the first Los Angeles possession of the second half and the offense awakened, driving 71 yards in 12 plays, taking 5:31 off the clock with Brees hitting Taysom Hill on a two-yard touchdown pass to make it 20-10 with 8:34 to play in the third quarter. On the drive, Mark Ingram had a 15-yard run as the Saints rushed five times for 37 yards on the drive.

**Vonn Bell went out with an injury midway through the third quarter.

**The Rams answered with an important scoring drive, going 75 yards in 10 plays, taking 5:28 off the clock with Goff hitting a wide open Tyler Higbee on an easy one-yard touchdown to make it 20-17 with 3:06 to play in the third quarter.

**On the drive, former Saint Brandin Cooks caught three passes for 43 yards to set up the score.

**New Orleans got a sack from Cam Jordan and a big stop and got the ball back at the Los Angeles 46-yard line with 12:22 to play but a holding call on Terron Armstead on first down killed the possession and the Saints had to punt.

**The Rams then drove 85 yards in nine plays and got the ball inside the New Orleans one-yard line. On fourth down, Sean McVay opted to take a delay of game penalty and then had Zuerlein kick a 24-yard field goal to tie the game 20-20 with 5:03 to play in the game.

**Needing a drive, the Saints got the ball in good shape at the 30-yard line on a good kickoff return by Kamara.

**On third-and-two, Brees found Kamara, who released late, for eight yards and a first down. The offensive line gave Brees an enormous amount of time on the play.

**Two plays later, Brees hit Ted Ginn Jr. on a 43-yard completion to the Los Angeles 13-yard line with two minutes left.

**Unfortunately, the Saints threw the ball on first down and it was incomplete, stopping the clock. Kamara gained nothing on second down and the Rams took their second timeout.

**On third down, Brees threw for Tommylee Lewis in the right flat. Nickell Robey-Coleman clearly hit him before the ball arrived and it was incomplete. There was no flag. It was a horrendous no-call by the officiating crew, just horrendous. To make matters worse, it looked like Robey-Coleman hit Lewis helmet-to-helmet and there was no call.

**The Rams took advantage, driving 45 yards in nine plays, taking 1:26 off the clock. With 15 seconds left in the game, Zuerlein calmly nailed a 48-yard field goal to tie the game 23-23.

**New Orleans had just 297 yards in regulation.

**This became the fifth NFC championship game to go to overtime.

**The Saints won the toss in overtime and got the ball first.

**It did not work out well.

**On the fourth snap offensively, Brees was hit by Dante Fowler, his pass went straight up in the air and John Johnson, III intercepted it at the Los Angeles 46-yard line.

**The Rams then got a first down on a 12-yard completion from Goff to Higbee to the New Orleans 42-yard line and eventually reached the 39.

**On fourth down, Zuerlein came in and nailed a 57-yard field goal. It was dead-center and had many more yards on it to where it may have been good from 65 yards.

**Goff completed 25 of 40 passes for 297 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Cooks hurt his former team with seven catches for 107 yards.

**Brees was 26 of 40 for 249 yards and two touchdowns with the one critical interception. Kamara had 11 catches for 96 yards. Michael Thomas was held to just four catches for 36 yards.

It is a terrible way to have a season end. The Saints can appreciate how the Vikings felt in 2010. It is the second straight year the Saints have seen their season end in that fashion. It is tough, particularly considering where Brees is in his career.

The fact of the matter is that the Saints had the ball in the red zone five times and scored just two touchdowns. They have all of the chances to distance themselves from the Rams in the first half and did not do so.

The Rams were very good defensively, holding New Orleans to just 290 yards in the game, including just 48 yards rushing. It was a far cry from the 45-35 win on Nov. 4.

The Saints offense was brilliant for its first 11 games and then slowed down the rest of the way. In the final seven games of the season, the offense averaged just 19.7 points per game. Of course, they played many reserves in the regular season finale against Carolina but the decline in production was evident.

The Saints defense held as long as possible. This loss was on the offense and on a terrible missed call.

You hate that there is controversy but it is undeniable. If the call is made, the Saints have a first-and-goal and can make the Rams burn both timeouts, kick a field goal or score a touchdown and give the Rams the ball back with virtually no time remaining and no timeouts.

Could the Saints have approached the final plays of their final possession of regulation differently? Certainly, but you know that Sean Payton always goes for it. The incomplete pass on first down for Thomas really hurt and set in motion what followed.

Still, the Saints got the ball first in overtime and had the ball in the hands of a Hall of Fame quarterback. You had to like their chances. The Rams had a different plan. They are on to the Super Bowl.

The moral to the story is that when you have a chance to step on the gas against a very good team, you have to do it. The Saints did not, left it in the hands of officials and you know the rest of the story.

Now, with a decimated draft next year, one wonders where help will come from to improve a good roster. What will Brees like next year? Can Cam Meredith help this team? Can Terron Armstead remain healthy? Will young players like Marcus Davenport and Marcus Williams improve?

The questions begin. The Saints did not have enough answers on this day.

LOS ANGELES RAMS VS. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

SUNDAY, JANUARY 20, 2019 ● MERCEDES-BENZ SUPERDOME

NFL OFFICIALS POOL REPORT FROM REFEREE BILL VINOVICH

Pool Reporter Interview with Referee Bill Vinovich
Conducted by Amie Just, New Orleans Times-Picayune/Nola.com

Amie Just: What was the reason that there was no penalty flag called on the Drew Brees pass to Tommylee Lewis?

Bill Vinovich: It was a judgment call by the covering official. I personally have not seen the play.

Amie Just: Did the timing in the game have any impact on the no-call there?

Bill Vinovich: Absolutely not.

Amie Just: In this situation, is the play subject to an instant replay review?

Bill Vinovich: It is not a reviewable play.