Happy Halloween to those who celebrate (the worst holiday on the calendar that encroaches on the entire month of October).

As someone who doesn't like chocolate or scary content of any kind, I can't wait to get to Saturday.

Hold up – that's All Saints Day. And New Orleans is coming to town.

I mean Sunday, then. We get an extra hour of sleep and our Rams back from the bye?

Perfect. Let's all show up early to SoFi Stadium.

Public service announcement: Please take your decorations down before Monday.

The Space Between

As great as 5-2 felt at the bye, the Rams unfortunately won the "wrong" games on the front half of their schedule – sweeping the AFC while faltering against Philadelphia and San Francisco.

This week is about starting to set things right in NFC.

Next week in Santa Clara (and the one thereafter) will be about whether the Rams can defend their crown in the West.

We went into all that, plus a full Saints preview, with D'Marco Farr and Maurice Jones-Drew, on a fresh Between the Horns.

Receiver Room For One More

Getting the most complete win of the season without the NFL's top receiver was very enjoyable, but it will be nice to have Puka Nacua back in the mix.

Unfortunately, Tutu Atwell heads to injured reserve this week. That could create more opportunity for rookie Konata Mumpfield – aka "Young Tae" – who was our guest on Rams Revealed this week.

Looking back at his college career, he played all over the formation and with a bevy of quarterbacks and offensive coordinators. That's helped shorten his learning curve in the NFL.

We asked him about Davante Adams' praise, absorbing Sean McVay's playbook, and what future touchdown celebrations he might inspire.

Trick or Treat

Let's see what other tidbits we can hand out.

According to NFL Research, Stafford is the third player in NFL history to have 17-or-more passing scores and two-or-fewer interceptions in his team's first seven games of a season. He joins Aaron Rodgers (2020 and 2014 MVP seasons) and Tom Brady (2007 MVP season, as well as 2015).

How dominant were Puka Nacua's first five games? He still ranks third in the NFL in catches (54) and fourth in yards (616) despite missing half of the win in Baltimore, all of London, and the Rams having a Week 8 bye.

As for the LA defense, the Rams held the Ravens and Jaguars to 10 total points. If they can limit the Saints to single digits, it would tie the longest streak of allowing fewer than 10 points in the McVay Era, a mark set waaaay back in… December of 2024. New Orleans has mustered only 12 points per game during its current three-game losing streak.

Record-setting running back Alvin Kamara is suffering, restricted to a season-low 21 rushing yards against Tampa Bay last week. ESPN notes he's failed to reach 40 rushing yards in each of his last four games (107 total rushing yards across that span) – that hasn't happened since his rookie season of 2017.

The Rams lead the league in defensive expected points added (EPA) with -68.4, according to Next Gen Stats (h/t Wyatt Miller). They've allowed just 1.6 touchdowns per game, the fewest in the NFL.

This one's a doozy: According to the league, the Saints have not had a rookie starter win a game since Week 10, 1981 when Dave Wilson defeated the Rams 21-13. Tyler Shough will become the Saints' ninth starting QB since 2021 (Drew Brees retired following the 2020 season). Only the Browns have had more, deploying 12 starting quarterbacks in that window. Shough has 42 snaps of NFL experience as he steps into SoFi Stadium.

Watching the West

Last weekend, the NFC playoff bubble softened considerably, with the Vikings, Cowboys, Panthers, Bears, Falcons, and Commanders all losing.

If things go well this weekend, the Rams could have a two-game buffer in the loss column with respect to the NFC playoff picture.

But forget the Wild Card standings. Let's stay focused on winning the division.

Before hosting the Rams in Week 10, the 49ers (5-3) go to the Meadowlands to contend with the Giants. That game kicks before our game at SoFi Stadium.

Like LA, Seattle is coming off a bye. The Seahawks (5-2) go to Washington for Sunday Night Football.

And then the West has another prime-time appointment Monday, when the Cardinals (2-5) try to save their season in Dallas.

That's a pretty cool rooting interest setup for NFC West watching – Niners in the early window, followed by Rams, and then Seahawks and Cardinals on island games.