The National Football League (NFL) is the most watched sports league in America and draws in over one hundred million viewers for the Super Bowl—the NFL’s championship game—every year. The New England Patriots have made the SuperBowl for the last two years in a row, and have been considered one of the best teams of all time. Teams such as the Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers have been known to be explosive teams as well. However, a new team is dominating the NFL this year—the Los Angeles Rams.

The Los Angeles, or LA, Rams, is a franchise that used to be located in St. Louis until the team moved to LA in 2016. In its first year, the team was unsuccessful, ending the season with a measly four wins. In 2017, the team improved, with breakout players such as Todd Gurley II and Jared Goff playing well, but it didn’t do gel overall and lost in the wildcard (first round) against the Atlanta Falcons. This year, the team is currently undefeated, and no team has looked nearly as good.

The team’s success this year can be attributed to several factors. First of all, it has one of the most explosive offenses in the league. Todd Gurley II is an MVP-contending running back who already has fifteen total touchdowns, and Jared Goff is having a successful year at quarterback with seventeen touchdowns. Both players were drafted within the last four years, and have been some for the best pickups the Rams made. With an already amazing offense, the Rams knew that in order to improve even more, a strong defense was necessary. The team already had a star defensive tackle in Aaron Donald, so the team added Aquib Talib to help its passing defense improve. Now, with both an excellent defense and offense, the Rams seemed to be favorites to win this year’s Super Bowl.

This all changed Sunday night as the Rams traveled to New Orleans to take on the Saints. The Saints, a team led by veteran quarterback Drew Brees, went into this game six and one, with its only loss coming during the first week. The Saints also received help from star running back Alvin Kamara, who is one of the newest up-and-coming players in the NFL. With the best run defense in the league and a great pass defense, the Saints were confident going into this game.

The Saints struck first, with an eleven-yard rushing touchdown for Kamara. Todd Gurley and the Rams rushed for a touchdown three minutes after. Drew Brees threw a touchdown at the end of the quarter, and then Jared Goff threw a touchdown to Brandin Cooks to tie the game. However, before the end of the half, the Saints scored two more touchdowns due to Jared Goff throwing an interception. With a thirty-five to seventeen lead at halftime, the Saints looked as though they were running away with the game.

The Rams quickly struck back and scored eighteen unanswered points to tie the game. These points came to no avail, as the Saints scored ten more points, which put the game out of reach for the Rams, who ended up turning the ball over again. This win now leaves no undefeated teams in the NFL, and it is sure to boost the confidence of the Saints. Both teams are playoff-bound, so another meeting between them would make for a great playoff game. The winner of that game would then be the clear favorites for winning the Super Bowl.