The Saints Punked Gregg Williams

Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton have a history. In January of 2012, Williams left the team for a job with the St. Louis Rams, received an NFL suspension a couple of months later for his role in the Saints’ Bountygate, missed the 2012 season, and never actually worked for the Rams until 2014. He faced New Orleans today for the first time since the investigation, which left bad blood among the coaching staff. Payton, who was also suspended for 2012, did his best to embarrass his ex-coworker.

The New Orleans offense minced the Rams for 555 yards in a 49-21 win, the most points by a team in a game this season. Quarterback Drew Brees threw for 310 yards and four touchdowns, with eight incompletions on 36 attempts. The Saints had a seven-point lead at halftime but pulled away in the third quarter. The exclamation point was a trick play where receiver Willie Snead threw a touchdown pass to Tim Hightower with a 21-point lead in the fourth quarter:

New Orleans Advocate reporter Ramon Antonio Vargas thought he noticed the Saints’ stadium taking a jab at Williams, too:

As the Rams spoiled a decent appearance by rookie QB Jared Goff, Williams and head coach Jeff Fisher bickered:

On the other sideline, Payton was soaking it in. The coach was celebrating and strutting as his team scored over and over, although he wouldn’t explicitly admit why after the game. “I was a little excited,” Payton said. “Listen, it was an important win for us.” The Saints players were more than happy to clear any confusion, though. They aimed to send Williams and his harsh facial hair back to Los Angeles with a big fat loss: