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NEW ORLEANS – The Saints began the 9th week with a full understanding of the fact that the Los Angeles Rams were in charge of offensive qualifying positions.
One player, however, had all the attention of the Saints' defense – attacking midfielder Todd Gurley. It is not a bad strategy to not allow him to hurt the team as Gurley entered the match with an average of 143.8 total yards since the scrum.
And when the dust has fallen into the wild victory of the Saints 45-35, consider the mission accomplished. Gurley's final numbers reflect a total of 79 yards (68 yards rushing), marking the third time of the season that he has not managed to save 100 yards or more in a game.
So what did the saints do to limit the recoil of explosives? The defense, which ranked No. 1 against the race, had the simple impression of being invaded by the ball every time Gurley touched it.
"Eleven ball guys," defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins told NFL.com. "We managed to get a lot of guys to the ball.
"Do not get me wrong, as I said earlier in the week, he's a MVP player and he played his pieces when he had a chance, but overall, being able to to keep it and not to let it ruin the game really was great for us. "
The defense Alex Okafor nodded, adding that the Saints entered the match knowing that they had to shoulder their responsibilities for pits, which yielded positive results.
"Apart from about four or five points, I think we have done some hell work," he told NFL.com. "The most difficult challenge is that he's such a great player and such a great team, especially at the attack to be able to get theirs in. The key is that it does not affect you . "
Gurley started hot in the first quarter, recording 33 yards, including an 8-yard touchdown, in five races.
But the Saints did not let the tracks affect their way of playing in defense the rest of the match against Gurley.
Rankins said he and his teammates knew that the Rams were doing a lot of stretches and zone games designed to take advantage of Gurley's power and speed in the field, both of which unfolded during of the first Rams game.
"At this point, you just identify the race," said Rankins. "They smashed us, they hit us on the ground, but once we got to talk about it, we got down to it. [line]Backers and up front, we were good and we could hold for the most part. He detached several times, but we managed to catch him for the most part. "
The offensive approach on Gurley also extended to the passing game, where the attacking midfielder was only 11 yards out of a total of six catches, averaging 1.9 yards per catch. But as was often the case throughout the game, every time Gurley touched the ball on the ground, he was almost immediately met by a defensive player of the Saints.
Meanwhile, the Rams had to look elsewhere with their main weapon in check. Quarterback Jared Goff completed 28 of 40 passes for 391 yards and three touchdowns with an interception. Wide receiver Brandin Cooks led the aerial attack with six catches for 114 yards and a touchdown.
But the Saints were apparently very good with Goff and the group of recipients having their numbers as long as a player did not hurt them.
For the defense, containing Gurley offered a realistic chance to win Sunday with a win, knowing that the Saints offense totaled 141 yards on the ground while the Rams managed to hurry to form a team.
"You can not kidnap everyone, they have so many weapons," Okafor said. "If you try to take everybody, you will not take anyone in. We arrived saying that we had to limit the race, and without even watching the game, if you look at the statistics sheets, the one that The most hurried yards was going to win the match and we knew that coming in. And that's true. "
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