The Worksheet, a comprehensive fantasy football preview by Rich Hribar, breaks down everything you need to know about the Week 9 matchup between the Rams and Saints.
Find a breakdown of every Week 9 NFL game in our Worksheet Hub.
| New Orleans | Rank | @ | LA Rams | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13.5 | Spread | -13.5 | ||
| 15.75 | Implied Total | 29.25 | ||
| 16.0 | 29 | Points/Gm | 25.0 | 11 |
| 26.1 | 24 | Points All./Gm | 16.7 | 3 |
| 63.5 | 10 | Plays/Gm | 61.3 | 16 |
| 61.4 | 16 | Opp. Plays/Gm | 67.4 | 31 |
| 4.6 | 30 | Off. Yards/Play | 5.9 | 7 |
| 5.2 | 11 | Def. Yards/Play | 4.7 | 4 |
| 38.98% | 27 | Rush% | 40.79% | 21 |
| 61.02% | 6 | Pass% | 59.21% | 12 |
| 50.31% | 31 | Opp. Rush % | 40.25% | 12 |
| 49.69% | 2 | Opp. Pass % | 59.75% | 21 |
- The Saints have trailed for a league-high 86.8% of their offensive snaps.
- The Saints are last in the NFL in passing plays of 20 or more yards (13).
- Even with a bye week already, the Rams lead the NFL in passing plays of 20-plus yards (30).
- 15.9% of the Saints' plays have gained 10 or more yards, ahead of only the Browns (14.8%).
- The Rams are allowing 1.52 points per opponent possession, second in the league.
- Opponents have scored a touchdown on a league-low 13.7% of their drives against the Rams.
- Only 42.3% (11 of 26) of the New Orleans scoring plays have been touchdowns, 31st in the league.
- 41.7% (10 of 24) of the scoring plays against the Rams have been touchdowns, the lowest rate in the league.
- 81.7% of the drives against New Orleans gain at least one first down, the highest rate in the league. The league average is 69.9%.
Trust = spike production for that player
Quarterback
Matthew Stafford: Stafford comes out of the bye as a QB1 scorer in three of his past four games.
He threw 5 touchdown passes in London in Week 7.
He has thrown multiple touchdown passes in five of his past six games.
Stafford is now sixth in passing points per attempt (0.573) and leads all quarterbacks in passing points per game (19.8).
Stafford is playing a league-high 58.4% of his snaps under center this season.
On is under snaps, the Rams have used pre-snap motion on 73.7% and play action on 78.7%.
On snaps with motion and play action, Stafford has completed 45 of 60 passes (75%) for 8.8 yards per attempt with 7 touchdowns and 0 interceptions (140.1 rating).
On play action passes only, he has completed 57 of 78 passes for 73.1% for 9.0 Y/A with 8 touchdowns and 0 interceptions (134.5 rating).
On plays without motion or play action, he has completed only 56.2% of his passes for 5.9 Y/A and a 75.5 rating.
With a team total just below 30 points at home, Stafford is in play as a QB1 option in Week 9.
The Saints have been vulnerable to dropbacks with motion and play action.
On play action passes, New Orleans allows a 72.1% completion rate (24th) and 8.4 Y/A (21st).
They have allowed a first down or touchdown on 42.6% of those passes (23rd).
They are allowing 8.3 Y/A on dropbacks with pre-snap motion, 28th in the league.
They have also allowed an 8.3% touchdown rate on those passes (28th).
If there is one roadblock for Stafford, it is that he has to throw a lot of touchdowns to get over for fantasy.
His highest yardage totals this season have come chasing points in competitive game environments.
The Rams have a 50% dropback rate playing ahead on the scoreboard (23rd) and a 42.9% dropback rate playing ahead by a touchdown or more (30th).
Tyler Shough: New Orleans is making the move to Shough this week after benching Spencer Rattler on Sunday.
Entering the game last week, Shough completed 17 of 30 passes (56.7%) for 128 yards (4.3 Y/A) with no touchdowns and an interception.
With a lower-end team total on the road, Shough is a back-end QB2.
He does not get any favors in his first start on the road against a front-end pass rush.
The Rams are fourth in pressure rate (42%) while blitzing at the seventh-lowest rate in the league (20.5%).
When Shough was pressured on Sunday, he was 1 of 7 for 6 yards with 2 sacks.
This was an issue for him as a prospect.
He completed 42.3% of his passes when pressured in 2024, ahead of only Max Brosmer in this draft class.
The Rams are third in passing points allowed per attempt (0.348), allowing 6.4 yards per pass attempt (4th) and a 3.1% touchdown rate (5th) to opposing passers.
Running Back
To continue reading this article
and gain access to The Worksheet as well as all of Rich's regular fantasy content, click below to learn more about our Fantasy Package.
Learn More
More Week 9 Fantasy Breakdowns From The Worksheet:
| Matchup | Time |
|---|---|
| Ravens @ Dolphins | Thursday Night Football |
| Bears @ Bengals | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Vikings @ Lions | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Panthers @ Packers | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Chargers @ Titans | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Falcons @ Patriots | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| 49ers @ Giants | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Colts @ Steelers | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Broncos @ Texans | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Jaguars @ Raiders | Sunday -- 4:05 p.m. ET |
| Saints @ Rams | Sunday -- 4:05 p.m. ET |
| Chiefs @ Bills | Sunday -- 4:25 p.m. ET |
| Seahawks @ Commanders | Sunday Night Football |
| Cardinals @ Cowboys | Monday Night Football |
