The Los Angeles Rams say they are ready for the New Orleans Saints.
They insist the Mercedes-Benz Superdome crowd noise will be a nonfactor in their rematch with the Saints in the NFC Championship Game.
But I think otherwise. They sound like they are trying to convince themselves that everything’s going to be OK. They sound to me like a team in denial.
The Saints are in their heads. And trust me, the sellout crowd of 73,000 will be in their ears on Sunday.
Five reasons why the Saints will win:
1. The Dome-field advantage is not a myth
The Superdome atmosphere is guaranteed to be electric. With Drew Brees and Sean Payton begging Saints fans to bring the noise all week, I expect four quarters of unrelenting sound and fury.
The Saints thrive in this element. Especially quarterback Drew Brees. No one manages mayhem like No. 9. He processes chaos better than any quarterback alive. His passer rating in eight homes games this season was an extraordinary 129.1
Trust me, the Rams and Jared Goff aren’t ready for what awaits them. Few are.
Ask the Minnesota Vikings.
The last time the Saints played an NFC Championship Game in the Superdome the Vikings outplayed the Saints for four quarters. They dominated both sides of the ball and outgained the Saints 31-15 in first downs and 475-257 in total yards. And they still lost.
They lost because they hemorrhaged mistakes at crucial times and the Saints seized on each opportunity.
There’s a reason the Saints have won six consecutive home playoff games in the Payton-Brees era.
Three-plus hours of sensory bombardment takes its toll on opponents. Eventually your focus wanes, and mistakes occur.
It’s no coincidence that the Steelers fumbled twice in the fourth quarter in Week 16 and Alshon Jeffrey let a perfect pass slip through his hands in the final minutes last week.
The Superdome mystique is real.
If the Rams didn’t figure this out in Week 9, they will Sunday.
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