Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Davante Adams (17) pulls in a touchdown reception in the second half of an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Gregory Bull
The New Orleans Saints lost to the Los Angeles Rams 34-10 Sunday at SoFi Stadium. Here are three things we learned as the Saints fell to 1-8.
### Debut review
Rookie Tyler Shough didn’t wow you in in his debut as the Saints starting quarterback. He completed 15 of 24 passes for 176 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. His brightest moment came at the end of the first half when he led a scoring drive capped off with his first TD pass to Juwan Johnson. He showed some poise on that drive, especially after taking a tough shot from Rams linebacker Byron Young The good news for Shough is he won’t face a defense again this season as good as the one he saw Sunday. Things should get easier for him.
### Defense shredded
Remember how well the Saints’ defense played most of last week in the loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? New Orleans needed that to spill over to this week. But the Rams, as we knew going into this game, proved to be in a totally different weight class than the Saints. Quarterback Matthew Stafford and the Rams did whatever they wanted to do, and the Saints defense had no answers. The Rams racked up 415 yards of offense. They did it both through the air (268 yards) and on the ground (147 yards), making it a day of misery for Saints defensive coordinator Brandon Staley.
### What’s next?
The Saints are just past the midway point of the season and have just one win to show for it. It's their worst start since the 1980 season. Sunday’s loss came against a team that very well could be in the Super Bowl in February. It was also a reminder of just how far the Saints have to go to be among the NFC elite. This season is over. But with the NFL trade deadline Tuesday, perhaps the Saints make some moves to help with the rebuild. The Saints travel to Carolina next week to face the Panthers (5-4), who upset the Packers on Sunday. After that, the Saints get a bye to reset for the final stretch that includes games against struggling teams like the Dolphins, Jets and Titans.