The Rams–Saints rivalry is an NFL rivalry between the Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints. Both teams were originally members of the NFC West prior to the 2002 league realignment. The rivalry temporarily grew dormant for multiple years following the divisional realignment until tensions regrew between both teams during the 2010s; most notably involving the controversial 2018 NFC Championship Game. The Rams lead the regular season series 45–34, both teams are tied 1–1 in the postseason.
The Rams first faced off against the Saints' during their inaugural kickoff in 1967. However; during the 1970s, the two teams would develop into fierce divisional rivals as Saints' pro-bowl quarterback Archie Manning often battled against the Rams' notorious Fearsome Foursome defenses. The two teams continued a history of fierce divisional matchups into the 1980s as the Dome Patrol era Saints teams continued to battle with the title-contending Rams led by coach John Robinson.
Because they play in different intraconference divisions, the Saints and Rams are not guaranteed to play each other every season. The two teams will play at least once every three years and at least once every six seasons at each team's home stadium due to the NFL's schedule rotation among its divisions. The two teams will also play each other if they meet in the playoffs or both finish in the same place in their respective divisions the previous year.
History 1960s/1970s The Saints entered the league as an expansion franchise in the NFC West, beginning play in 1967. Their inaugural game took place against the Rams on September 17, 1967 as the Saints scored on the opening kickoff, as rookie wide-receiver John Gilliam ran the ball 94 yards for a touchdown. Despite this, the Rams defense, led by Hall of Fame linemen Deacon Jones and Merlin Olsen, crushed the Saints as they would only manage two field goals. The Rams would go onto win the game 27–13. New Orleans' first coach was former Rams Hall of Fame receiver Tom Fears, who went 0–3 vs. his former team before being fired midway through the 1970 season; ironically, his last game was a 30–17 loss to the Rams at home, a game in which the Saints blew a 14–0 lead.
The Saints would draft future pro-bowl quarterback Archie Manning second-overall in the 1971 NFL draft, quickly becoming one of the few stars on an underwhelming team. Despite Manning's impressive play, the Rams would further torment the Saints, winning 12 of the 18 matchups against New Orleans from 1970 to 1979. Reportedly; Rams' hall-of-fame defensive end Jack Youngblood would often spare Manning from a collision after several seasons as they feared for his safety due to the poor protection from the Saints' offensive linemen. As a result of this, Manning often spoke with much praise for the Rams' defensemen, telling the Los Angeles Times on September 23, 1974, "The Rams front four is the best I ever faced ... I've got to say that Youngblood was nice enough to pick me up every time he knocked my ass off." During several recent interviews, Manning joked that Youngblood's career would not have been as successful without him.
1980s
Entering the 1980s, Manning and the Saints struggled further as they finished the 1980 season with a league-worst 1–15 record. Famously during a Monday Night Football game on November 24, 1980 at the Louisiana Superdome, the Rams blew out the Saints 27–7, continuing the Saints' 12-game loss streak (it reached 14 before a one-point win vs. the New York Jets). Saints broadcaster "Buddy D" Diliberto had jokingly advised Saints fans to attend the game with paper bags over their heads. Shortly afterwards; multiple fans arrived in attendance; adopting the trend, dubbing the team the "Aint's" as a humorous reaction to the team's poor play that season. Despite the poor 1980 campaign from the Saints, both teams would finally emerge as contenders during the decade. The San Francisco 49ers had proven to be a juggernaut of the division under Bill Walsh and Joe Montana. This left the Rams and Saints to fight for 2nd place of the division most often, the Rams stayed as a substantial competitor while the Saints had finally emerged as a contender, led by new coach Jim Mora, and their sturdy Dome Patrol defense. The Rams and Saints had finished in 2nd or 3rd in the NFC west every season from 1982 to 1989, excluding the 1985 campaign which saw the Rams top the 49ers for the division title. During the 1988 season, both teams were tied for second place after a Saints' upset victory over the Rams in Anaheim. The Saints were eager to return to the postseason following their 1987 campaign bringing the franchise to their first playoff appearance, though the strength of the defense had helped their push, the Rams stumbled following the loss to the Saints, but managed to win their final 3 consecutive games, narrowly beating out the Saints for the wild card berth. The 1989 season saw the Rams start out of the gate to a 5–1 start before they faced the Saints at home in Week 7. The Saints shockingly upset the Rams in a 40–21 blowout, the worst loss the Rams would endure that season. Despite the loss, the Rams sought vengeance when they returned to New Orleans for their Week 12 matchup on November 26. The game saw the Saints' defense take hold, as they held the Rams 17-3 going into the third quarter. The Rams' offense quickly prevailed in a potent attack as receiver Flipper Anderson finished the game with 336 yards receiving, while Jim Everett would humiliate the Saints defense, ending the game with 454 passing yards in the overtime victory, records which still stand as of 2023.
1990s The 1990s would not fare too kindly for the Rams, poor ownership under Georgia Frontiere saw the team regress massively after their NFC Championship appearance in 1989, the 1990 season would mark the second time in 12 seasons the Saints had beaten them for the 2nd place position in the division. The Saints had also managed their first sweep of the Rams since 1987, as their once stellar offense had devolved massively. The Saints had now taken control of the series while the Rams struggled largely due to declining fan interest and budgetary issues blamed on Frontiere. The Saints would manage a six game win streak over the Rams during their final four seasons in Los Angeles before relocating to St. Louis in 1995. The Saints' playoff aspirations would also dwindle as they failed to appear in the postseason from 1993 to 1999. Despite the decline in St. Louis, the Rams quickly resurged into contention during the 1999 season under head coach Dick Vermeil and quarterback Kurt Warner. During the Week 12 matchup in St. Louis, the Rams would obliterate the Saints 43–12, eventually sweeping the Saints after being swept by New Orleans the season prior, on their way to win Super Bowl XXXIV.
2000s The decade opened with the Rams riding high on their legendary offense dubbed The Greatest Show on Turf, despite this; their defense had fallen to the worst in the league for the 2000 season. Dick Vermeil had retired, promoting Mike Martz as head coach while the Saints hired Jim Haslett as their new head coach. Despite splitting the season matchups with the Saints, and both finishing with a 10–6 record; the Saints managed to beat out the Rams for the division title based on their divisional record. The Rams were set to face the Saints at the superdome in the 2000 NFC Wild Card game. Despite being heavy favorites to win; the Rams offense had struggled, failing to score in two consecutive quarters. Kurt Warner would turn the ball over four times as the Saints managed to edge past the Rams in the upset victory.
Despite the victory, the Saints would fall to the Vikings in the Divisional round. The Saints never managed to return to the postseason under Haslett as they declined during the middle of the decade, bottoming out during a chaotic 2005 season when they were displaced from their home by Hurricane Katrina and went 3–13. The Rams had also begun a decline as Martz' questionable leadership had begun to tear the team apart following their loss in Super Bowl XXXVI (coincidentally, in the Superdome) the season prior. The NFL had sought to realign the divisions as the introduction of the Houston Texans franchise in 2002 had warranted the creation of eight divisions across the league, relegating the Saints to the newly formed NFC South with fellow rivals the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Rams would make their final postseason appearance in St. Louis following the 2004 season. The Saints had begun a return to form under new head coach Sean Payton and quarterback Drew Brees in 2006, hiring former Rams' assistant coach Joe Vitt in the process. Under Payton, the team managed to win Super Bowl XLIV in 2009. Meanwhile the Rams had sunken to a franchise-low 1–15 record during the 2009 season as they were shuffling coaches and enduring multiple ownership issues following the death of Georgia Frontiere in January 2008.
2010s Entering the new decade, the Rams were deep into a rebuild while the Saints remained a formidable playoff contender under Payton. The Rams; impressed by the Saints' defense, had sought to hire Gregg Williams from New Orleans as their Defensive Coordinator in 2012. Meanwhile; the Saints were under investigation from the league after suspicion had grown over the Saints allegedly bribing players to target opponents in violent hits on-field. Less than a month after his hiring with the Rams, Williams and Payton were implicated in the New Orleans Saints bounty scandal after it was revealed the team had paid multiple defensive players to target opposing teams with the intent of injuring the opposition. As a result, Payton was suspended for the entirety of the 2012 season while Williams was suspended indefinitely and fired by the Rams on January 2, 2013. Despite this; former colleague Jeff Fisher sought to rehire Williams on the Rams prior to the 2014 season. The Rams had grown increasingly dissatisfied with their accommodations in St. Louis as their stadium had grown increasingly outdated and attendance had sunk to new lows, prompting owner Stan Kroenke to return the team to Los Angeles in 2016.
Prior to the 2016 season, the Rams had traded up to draft quarterback Jared Goff first overall. The Saints, holding only five picks in that year's draft; had drafted wide receiver Michael Thomas during the second round of the draft. The Rams returned to Los Angeles for the 2016 season, though Fisher's coaching staff proved unable to steer the team towards much success as they went on to finish 4–12. In the midst of the team's struggles, they endured a brutal loss to the Saints in New Orleans during week 12. Fisher had grown an increasingly strained relationship with his players, including Goff who had seen little time on-field since being drafted. Fisher finally made the decision to start Goff over Case Keenum after a terrible 4-interception game against the New York Giants in London. Spurred by his teammates, Goff managed to score his first touchdown against the Saints in only his third pass. Despite Goff's individual performance; the Saints would blow out the Rams 49–21, tying for the largest victory in the series. Payton reportedly had sought retribution against Williams for their involvement in the Bountygate scandal as multiple players reported he was cheering festively on the Saints' sideline. The Rams fired Jeff Fisher and his staff (including Williams) two weeks later, as they finished 4-12 to a rough return to Los Angeles. During the 2016 offseason, several media outlets reported that the Rams were possibly looking to hire Payton from the Saints as their new head coach. However; Payton declined to accept their offer as he had chosen to remain under his new five-year contract extension as head coach of the Saints, signed a year prior.