The Rams seemed to be on their way to a 2-5 start, but a fourth quarter burst blazed the way to a 28-17 win over the Saints at the dome. The proverbial nail in the coffin came when defensive back Mike Furrey, a converted wide receiver, picked off Aaron Brooks pass with just over two minutes to go and raced 67 yards to the end zone. The extra point gave the Rams the 28-17 lead.
Backup quarterback Jamie Martin helped lead touchdown drives of 58 and 42 yards in the fourth quarter. In each of those drives wide receiver Kevin Curtis had big plays. In the first scoring drive, Curtis reached up and came down with a 42 yard pass which gave St. Louis the ball at the New Orleans’ six yard line. On fourth and goal from the one, Steven Jackson bullied his way into the end zone for his second touchdown of the day. He finished with 97 yards rushing.
On the second scoring drive, Curtis scored on a reverse from the six yard line to cap five-play drive. The previous four play all involved Steven Jackson, who ran three times for 29 yards and caught an eight-yard pass.
Curtis caught four passes for 90 yards, with Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt both on the sidelines with injuries. Jamie Martin, who was filling in for Marc Bulger, was 18-of29 for 198 yards passing on the day.
Former Ram wide receiver Az-Zahir Hakim caught six passes for 100 yards and a touchdown for New Orleans.
On defense, the Rams were able to come away with four sacks on the day, two of which came from Adam Archuleta on the same drive. John Carney’s 22 yard field goal early in the fourth quarter proved to be New Orleans’ only points of the second half.