Being in the NFC West, the Los Angeles Rams’ top rivals are relatively obvious. The Seahawks, 49ers and Cardinals all come to mind first – though Arizona hasn’t put up much of a fight the last two years – as these four teams face each other twice per year.
Those franchises will always be among the Rams’ biggest rivals, but for the 2019 season, in particular, it’s another team that’s near the top of the list. The Rams and Saints were featured in one of the most controversial endings in playoff history after Nickell Robey-Coleman’s hit on Tommylee Lewis wasn’t deemed pass interference, helping the Rams come back to beat the Saints in the NFC title game.
The Rams and Saints will square off once again in 2019, making it one of the best rivalry games in the NFL next season. Adam Rank of NFL.com put Rams-Saints third on his list of the top five rivalries for 2019.
As Rank writes, “You don’t really become a rivalry until you force a rule change,” which is exactly what the NFC championship game did. Pass interference is now reviewable and coaches can challenge those game-changing penalties as a result of Robey-Coleman’s hit, a rule that was pushed by Sean Payton.
The Rams and Saints met twice last season – three times if you include the preseason – and both games were phenomenal. In the regular season, the Rams dug out of a 35-14 deficit to tie it at 35 in the fourth quarter, only to come up just short by a score of 45-35. That game sparked the gumbo trash talk from Marcus Peters, foreshadowing an eventual meeting in the NFC championship.
Their matchup next season is almost sure to be in primetime, given all the storylines surrounding it – from the new pass interference rule to Peters and Payton’s spat. Regardless of when it’s played, it’s going to be must-see TV for every NFL fan.
Above Rams-Saints on Rank’s list of rivalries are Chiefs-Chargers at No. 2 and Browns-Steelers at the top.
