January 16th, 2019 
Matt Loede 
Posted in 
If the Los Angeles Rams are going to advance to the Super Bowl in a couple weeks, they are going to have to exercise the demons of earlier in the season when they lost on the road to the New Orleans Saints, the team they must beat to reach the promise land.
There’s a number of things that the Rams will have to do better in round two between these two teams, but today we take a quick look at three things the Rams will have to do in order to walk out of New Orleans with a win and advance to the ‘big game’ in Atlanta in a couple of weeks.
1. Have the Ground Game Working Like Last Week
The Rams 1-2 punch of C.J. Anderson and Todd Gurley combined for 238 rushing yards and three touchdowns as the Rams powered past the league’s No. 5-ranked rushing defense last week in their NFC Divisional playoff win over the Cowboys.
The O-line stepped up with a huge game, and both Anderson and Gurley looked fresh coming off a few weeks off. Look for the Rams line to try and dominate up front, and therefore set the tone which also will keep the Saints offense off the field.
2. Make Kamara and Ingram Pay
Saturday night the Rams solid run defnese stifled Dallas’ rushing attack, holding Ezekiel Elliott to 47 yards on 20 carries. The group will need a repeat performance on Sunday against the 1-2 Saints attack of Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram.
The two can make it a long day for the Rams if they allow them to get off to a quick start. Last week the Eagles early stopped the pair, but by midway through the second quarter it was apparent that the Saints would keep running the ball, and eventually it paid off for them in the six-point win over the Eagles to advance.
3. Cover Thomas
Saints leading wide out Michael Thomas goes by ‘cantguardmike’ on Twitter, and for good reason. Last week he was dominant in the win over the Eagles, and was the best player on the field after the Eagles got up on the Saints 14-0 in the first quarter.
The Rams secondary has done a decent job all season making sure to not allow the big plays, but look for Drew Brees early to try and stretch the Rams D and get the ball downfield to Thomas. It would behoove the Rams to get pressure on Brees and not allow him to get the ball downfield.
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