Rams' Late-Season Transformation Continues With Clutch Win Over Saints

The Los Angeles Rams further solidified their playoff chances with a clutch win on Thursday night over the New Orleans Saints.

It takes about four weeks for a caterpillar to turn into a butterfly. It took a little longer for the Los Angeles Rams to bloom into something beautiful in the 2023 season, but they have officially arrived at that juncture.

For the first time since Week 1, the Rams have moved above the .500 mark after a 30-22 win over the New Orleans Saints on "Thursday Night Football" this week, further strengthening their chances at securing a spot in the NFC Wild Card. 

Quarterback Matthew Stafford continued to be sensational, Kyren Williams scored and gave the ball to his mother in the stands, and overall, it was a night with plenty to cheer about in Los Angeles for the fans in attendance.

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After a 3-6 start to the season, it was more than fair to wonder if the Rams would ever go through this metamorphosis, but they have now gone 5-1 over the last six weeks (with the lone loss coming on the road in overtime against a certified contender in the Baltimore Ravens), and it is evident that this is not the same team from the first half of the year.

There are a lot of contributing factors to this turnaround. Matthew Stafford and Kyren Williams are healthy again, but even their return can't fully account for this newfound spark that is evident when the Rams take the field.

Maybe it's a credit to an energetic young coach in Sean McVay and an impressive defensive mind in Raheem Morris. That certainly can't hurt, but whatever it is, it's caused the Rams to only be in the playoff conversation, but to be a likely contender for one of the wild card seeds in the NFC.

Los Angeles now holds the tiebreaker over the also-playoff-hopeful Saints, and with two games remaining on the schedule, each passing day makes it more and more likely that the Rams will be in the postseason field. 

WATCH: Williams TD Extends Rams Lead Over Saints

It's not always a guarantee that a team will transform like the Rams have this year, but when it happens, it's a thing of beauty. It just takes a little time to unfold, but if nature's transformations teach us anything, it's that the change is always worth the wait. 

Now we'll see if the Rams can turn this change into a playoff run. As of Thursday night, they certainly look dangerous enough to do just that.