Saints look to sustain newfound mojo while the inconsistent Rams try to hang on in NFC West

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan has noticed a “mental shift” since the club's mid-season coaching change.

“When you hear from up top that you’re changing the head coach position, there’s one of two ways you go,” Jordan said this week, as the Saints (4-7) prepared to host the Los Angeles Rams (5-6) on Sunday.

Teams can either “tank,” or improve, Jordan said.

At Saints headquarters, he added: “It looks like everybody wants to be better, play better.”

The Saints have had a bizarre season. It's still salvageable, but only if they win most, if not all, of their remaining six games.

Early this season, the Saints blew out their first two opponents and were the talk of the NFL. New Orleans proceeded to lose seven straight while struggling to overcome a rash of injuries to prominent players, including starting quarterback Derek Carr.

The firing of third-year coach Dennis Allen followed the seventh loss. Since then, his interim replacement, special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi, has coached New Orleans to two straight victories.

“Their record is misleading," Rams coach Sean McVay said of the Saints. “They’ve done a good job of winning the last two games, and they’re coming off their bye. ... But I do know this: I’ve seen, especially in the last couple of weeks, a good football team.”

The Rams were starting to resemble a good football team when they won three straight from mid-October to early November, only to lose two of their last three. Last week, they were steamrolled by Philadelphia.

Los Angeles can remain in the thick of the NFC West with a victory, but a seventh loss at this juncture could undermine their playoff prospects considerably.

“It’s all about creating the understanding and the honest perspective of how we move forward and what’s in front of us,” McVay said. “All we can do is the next right thing. ... We are looking for more consistency, obviously.”

Matchup matters

The Saints running game, led by Alvin Kamara and Taysom Hill, looked strong early this season before Hill had an upper body injury that sidelined him for three games. Lately, there's been a return to form.

The Saints have rushed for 197 or more yards in two of their past three games, including 214 in their previous outing against the Browns, when Hill had a career-best 138 yards and three TDs rushing.

The Rams' defensive front will be urgently trying to shore up against the run after being gashed for 314 yards rushing by Saquon Barkley and the Eagles last week.

Pass over run

The Rams’ offense has leaned more on its passing game since receivers Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp returned from injury, while their ground game is still struggling to make significant weekly contributions. Kyren Williams is down to 4 yards per carry after posting 5 last year, and Los Angeles is one of seven teams averaging fewer than 100 yards per game on the ground. The Saints’ depleted secondary is another reason for Matthew Stafford and his crew to throw early and often.

A shot at redemption

Less than a season ago, Saints defensive back Alontae Taylor got benched during a loss to the Rams in Los Angeles.

He was defending the slot in that game, an adjustment he was asked to make after playing cornerback at Tennessee. But with the Saints having lost starting cornerback Paulson Adebo to a broken leg and having traded former top conerback Marshon Lattimore to Washington, Taylor has returned to cornerback.

While that assignment comes more naturally to him, covering Rams wide receivers Cooper Kupp or Puca Nacua is a tall order.

This week, Rizzi talked up Taylor’s improvement this season and gave him a public vote of confidence.

“He’s been a huge, huge factor for us this year,” Rizzi said. “I expect him to continue to do that. We need him to play really good football."

Sack leaders

Carr has been sacked just seven times in eight games this season, but the Rams have a couple of the NFL’s top young pass rushers.

Rookies Braden Fiske and Jared Verse, and second-year pros Byron Young and Kobie Turner have combined for 21 1/2 of Los Angeles’ 28 sacks. Keeping Carr uncomfortable in the pocket will be key with the Rams’ secondary struggling to make plays outside of rookie safeties Kam Kinchens and Jaylen McCollough, who have seven of LA’s 10 interceptions.

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AP Sports Writer Greg Beacham in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

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