INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Matthew Stafford threw for 281 yards and hit Davante Adams with two of his four touchdown passes in the Los Angeles Rams' 34-10 victory over the struggling New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
Puka Nacua had seven catches for 95 yards and a touchdown in his return from an ankle injury, and the star receiver came back to the Rams' sideline after briefly leaving with a chest injury in the second half.
Tyler Higbee also had a TD catch
and Kyren Williams rushed for 114 yards and another score for the Rams (6-2), who returned from their bye with 438 yards in their third consecutive win.
Los Angeles also had another strong defensive effort, allowing only 224 yards. The Rams' past three opponents have combined for only 20 points.
Tyler Shough passed for 176 yards in his first NFL start for the Saints (1-8), who are on their second four-game skid of the season. The second-round pick out of Louisville went 15 of 24, and he threw his first career TD pass to Juwan Johnson 7 seconds before halftime.
Stafford added another prolific performance to his standout 17th NFL season in his 230th start, going 24 of 32 while throwing at least four TD passes for the 19th time in his career. He has passed for 1,408 yards and 16 TDs with no interceptions in the Rams' past five games.
Nacua missed the Rams' blowout win over Jacksonville in London, but he returned with another series of big receptions — none prettier than his 39-yard TD grab in tight coverage on a spectacular throw by Stafford in the second quarter.
Nacua also passed former Saints star Michael Thomas for the most catches in a player's first 35 regular-season games in NFL history.
Adams' two TD catches gave him 111 in his career, pulling him even with Tony Gonzalez for eighth in league history.
Williams had the Rams' first 100-yard rushing performance of the season, and he dived in for a score with 12:40 to play.
After Higbee caught his 26th career TD pass to cap an opening drive on which Stafford went 8 for 8, the Rams' veteran tight end swung a phantom bat and did the Dragon Ball-inspired celebration used all season after big hits by the Los Angeles Dodgers, who secured their second straight World Series title Saturday.
Adams caught a 3-yard slant for his seventh TD of the season on the Rams' third drive.
Los Angeles led 20-3 when Joshua Karty badly missed a 39-yard field goal, his fifth miss or blocked kick of the season to go with three unsuccessful extra points. Shough finally got the Saints going, driving 71 yards in 47 seconds for Johnson's 11-yard TD catch.
But the Rams responded with a long TD drive after halftime ending in Adams' second TD catch. Nacua got hurt on a jet sweep one play before Adams scored.
Saints: At Panthers on Sunday.
Rams: At 49ers on Sunday.
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