Shutout loss to Rams was Saints' worst preseason defeat in 30 years

We knew the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams weren't exactly on the same level. Matthew Stafford has had the kind of career Tyler Shough should be dreaming of, as a Super Bowl champion and league MVP. L.A.'s roster is stacked with talent, especially in the trenches, and they've picked up real difference-makers like Davante Adams and Myles Garrett. But on a day where all of those big names were watching a preseason game in sweatpants, there was some hope -- maybe even some expectations -- that the Saints could hang with the Rams on a level playing field. That notion went away quickly in what became a 34-0 shutout loss.

Just how bad was it? It tied the Saints' 1971 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles for fourth-worst in team history, and their lowest scoring output since a 42-6 defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs back in 1996. But the franchise's worst exhibition performance remains a 1972 blowout loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 56-7. That one outdid an earlier team-low in 1969's loss to the Detroit Lions (42-7). Obviously "it's been worse before" isn't a winning message. A 34-0 shutout doesn't feel any better just because you can find wider margins of defeat in the record books.

Saints coach Kellen Moore acknowledged as much in his postgame press conference ("Regular season, preseason, does not matter. Those are not the ones you want"). That this loss extended his career record in the preseason to 0-4-1 is more than a little unsettling. The preseason isn't about wins and losses, or ties, but at some point you need to be able to line up and outplay an opponent.

So where do the Saints go from here? They'll return home to New Orleans and have a couple of practices this week before their final preseason game with the Dallas Cowboys on Friday night, and then it's a long weekend of difficult roster cuts before the NFL deadline on Sunday (at 5 p.m. CT). Hopefully the game tape from this loss to the Rams, as unpleasant to study as we all know it will be, does a lot to help separate the wheat from the chaff.

This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Shutout loss to Rams was Saints' worst preseason defeat in 30 years

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