3 Reasons The New Orleans Saints Will Beat The Los Angeles Rams In 2019 NFC Championship Game

The New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams will meet in the 2019 NFC Championship Game after being the conference’s two best teams all season long. The Saints held off the Philadelphia Eagles 20-14 in the divisional round, and the Rams defeated the Dallas Cowboys 30-22.

Both teams have a chance to win, but the Saints are the clear favorites at home. Here are three reasons why New Orleans will beat Los Angeles Sunday afternoon with a trip to Super Bowl LIII on the line:

The Running Game

The Rams beat the Cowboys in the divisional round because of the way they dominated the running game, out-gaining Dallas by 223 yards on the ground. You can bet that won’t be the case Sunday in New Orleans.

The Saints were second in both rushing yards allowed and opponents’ yards per carry in the regular season. They bottled up stars like Ezekiel Elliott and Saquon Barkley and brought that dominance into the playoffs by holding the Eagles to 49 yards on 16 attempts. Los Angeles was held to 75 rushing yards or fewer in all three of their losses, and New Orleans has a great chance to take care of business if they can prevent Todd Gurley or C.J. Anderson from putting up big numbers.

Drew Brees vs. Jared Goff

The NFL is a passing league, so, of course, the play of the quarterbacks will likely be the biggest factor in the NFC Championship Game. New Orleans has a distinct advantage at the game’s most important position.

Jared Goff didn’t have to do much in the divisional round because the Rams were able to run the ball at will. L.A. will probably have to rely on their signal caller a lot more in the conference title game, and it could result in him making some big mistakes. Goff had 186 passing yards and a 74.4 passer rating Saturday. He posted a 77.9 rating in his only other playoff game last year and threw no touchdowns and five interceptions in his final two regular-season games against playoff teams. Drew Brees has the league’s highest passer rating and has put up incredible numbers at home. He can be the clear difference-maker Sunday.

The Superdome

New Orleans’ divisional playoff game was just another example of why the Saints are so hard to beat at home. The Saints are favored by more than a field over the Rams because of how difficult it is for opposing teams to win in the Superdome.

The Saints would have been in big trouble if they allowed the Eagles to start the game with two straight touchdowns in Philadelphia, but New Orleans was able to come back from a 14-0 deficit in part because of their home crowd. The momentum quickly shifted when the Saints got their first score, and they dominated the final three quarters of their 20-14 victory. New Orleans is 5-0 in home playoff games with Brees under center. It’s been six years since any road team won a conference title game.