hat New Orleans wideout Michael Thomas did with a flip phone. He was just having a bit of fun Robert Woods Jersey , paying homage to former Saints receiver Joe Horne's own cell-ebration 15 years ago.Just as Horne did, way back when, Thomas pulled a phone out from the padding of the goal post after scoring a TD, this one an outcome-sealing 72-yarder that made Los Angeles cornerback Marcus Peters look pretty bad in the fourth quarter of the Saints' rollicking 45-35 victory over the previously unbeaten Rams."Giving people a show," Thomas said.He was referring to his tribute to Horne, but he could have been talking about his entire performance Sunday — 12 catches for a franchise-record and NFL-season-high 211 yards — or the game as a whole.What a game it was, marking the Saints (7-1) as serious contenders and exposing the Rams (8-1) as defensively flawed, all the while offering entertainment by the minute.This season's elite teams have established themselves. These two in the NFC are joined by the AFC troika of the Kansas City Chiefs (8-1) and sudden superstar Patrick Mahomes, the New England Patriots (7-2) and the Los Angeles Chargers (6-2). Worth mentioning: KC's only loss came against the Patriots; the Chargers' two setbacks came against the conference-leading Chiefs and Rams.Let's get back to the moment that got everyone talking.Prescient as can be, Thomas said he'd prepared one old-fashioned phone of the sort Horne used in each end zone.Kind of cocky? Sure. But also justifiable, considering that Thomas is now up to 70 catches for 880 yards and five scores, quickly establishing his pairing with Drew Brees among the most dangerous QB-WR tandems in the league.Of course, Thomas drew a flag assessed on the ensuing kickoff."This is too big of a game to be risking those kinds of yards http://www.theramslockerroom.com/authentic-andrew-whitworth-jersey ," intoned announcer Troy Aikman on the Fox broadcast.Even Deion Sanders, of all people, said on the NFL Network he thought Thomas made a mistake. That's because while the rules allow — as they should — the sort of choreography the Seattle Seahawks come up with week after week, what Thomas did is penalized because he used a prop.Now THAT'S a terrible call.In case you missed it, here are other top topics after the NFL season's ninth Sunday:BRADY VS. RODGERS WITH A TWISTCount on Bill Belichick to dream up something to remind everyone that he's as creative a coach as there is. The pregame focus was entirely on Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers — and which QB is really the greatest of all time — before New England's 31-17 victory over Green Bay. So, naturally, missing Rob Gronkowski and Sony Michel to injuries, Belichick figured out ways for somebody other than TB12 to shine. Kick returner Cordarelle Patterson is suddenly a running back, gaining 61 yards on 11 carries with a TD, and the go-ahead touchdown was set up by a 37-yard completion — thrown not by Brady, but by receiver Julian Edelman .CAN HE KICK IT?Well, um, no. Not very well. Not lately Womens John Johnson Jersey , anyway. And now he's out of a job. Caleb Sturgis had a pair of errant extra points and also flubbed a 42-yard field-goal try, but none of that mattered to the outcome, because LA defeated the Seattle Seahawks 25-17. Still, not surprisingly, the Chargers released Sturgis, who blew a PAT and a FG in three consecutive games, a trio of trip-ups no NFL kicker had managed to pull off since Jim Breech of the Raiders in 1979. Overall this season, Sturgis missed 10 kicks — yes, 10! — and went 9 for 15 on extra points and 9 for 13 on field-goal attempts.JULIO'S IN THE END ZONEHard to believe, given just how good he is, but 12 games and nearly a full calendar year had passed without Falcons wideout Julio Jones scoring a TD until he took a short pass from Matt Ryan and took it 35 yards during Atlanta's 38-14 win at the Washington Redskins. If there were any questions about what Jones means to his teammates, it was clear when dozens came streaming off the sideline to surround him for congratulations in the end zone. "We were all fired up," Ryan said Josh Reynolds Jersey , "for him to get in there."AP Sports Writer Brett Martel in New Orleans contributed to this reportFollow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at ://HowardFendrich ATLANTA (AP) — Jared Goff trudged to the Los Angeles Rams‘ bench, his face betraying confusion and despair while the Patriots celebrated their interception behind him.Sean McVay left the sideline and leaned into his ear. The coach didn’t say much, but he encouraged his quarterback to learn from a disastrous night in the Super Bowl.McVay and Goff are likely to be together for many more years, and they hope they’ll remember their embarrassing 13-3 loss Sunday as a springboard to the future, not the crushing flop that it felt like immediately afterward.Goff went 19 of 38 for 229 yards with a key fourth-quarter interception , yet even those pedestrian numbers don’t reflect his full array of overlooked receivers , inaccurate throws and inability to adjust to the Patriots’ defense.“It’s the toughest loss I ever had,” Goff said. “It kills. It’s terrible. It’s a game I wish I would have played better. I wish I could have a million plays back.”Goff played a large role in the Rams’ defeat, yet almost nothing went right for a team that has been frequently brilliant with the ball in its hands.With just 260 total yards, just six first downs in the first three quarters and a season-high nine punts, the Rams barely resembled a McVay-coached offense while matching the lowest-scoring performance in Super Bowl history.Los Angeles has led the league in points per game over the past two seasons, yet the Rams became just the second team in NFL history to fail to score a touchdown in the Super Bowl.Casual football fans getting their first looks at the Rams at a Super Bowl party probably had no idea how LA got to Atlanta after watching this tentative, inconsistent performance. All of the Rams’ recent success came to a weird anticlimax at Mercedes-Benz Stadium with their lowest-scoring performance in 36 games under the 33-year-old head coach.“I’m pretty numb right now http://www.theramslockerroom.com/authentic-samson-ebukam-jersey , but definitely I got outcoached,” McVay said. “I didn’t do nearly a good enough job for our football team. … This one is going to stick with you. It just stings in your gut.”Though Goff’s teammates and coaches refused to blame him, Los Angeles’ 24-year-old quarterback had one of the rougher performances in Super Bowl history. Along with his 19 incompletions, he was sacked four times, committed a key false start in the fourth quarter and finished with a 57.9 passer rating.The Rams all seemed to know exactly what Bill Belichick had done against them defensively. The Pats showed deceptive fronts before the snap, and they frequently retreated into zone pass defenses that forced Goff to find open receivers in a confusing coverage.Although McVay strenuously blamed his play-calling for putting his players in untenable positions, Goff realized he needed to make more consistent throws and better decisions at the line of scrimmage. Everything was capped by his underthrown pick near the New England end zone, crushing the Rams’ hopes for a tying touchdown with 4:17 to play.Goff has grown from a shaky No. 1 pick into a two-time Pro Bowl selection under McVay, and his best games have been outstanding. But his lows are frequently disheartening — and this game appeared to be among his worst.Goff had only nine completions in the first three quarters before getting 10 more in the fourth while the Rams’ rally fell short.“We were moving the ball well at times, but we just couldn’t get that one play,” Goff said. “We know what type of offense we have, and to not be able to show that, it’s tough.”The Rams’ first eight drives in the Super Bowl ended in punts and resulted in only 72 net yards. But with its defense playing brilliantly Womens C.J. Anderson Jersey , Los Angeles still could have taken the lead late in the third quarter when Brandin Cooks broke wide open on a post route.Instead, he stood waving in the end zone while Goff saw him belatedly and uncorked a throw that took far too long to get there, allowing New England to knock it down.“I was surprised he was that wide open,” Goff said. “I tried to get it to him as quickly as I could. It was too late.”Goff was in the midst of his best drive right before his interception. He hit Josh Reynolds in perfect stride for an 11-yard gain and a first down with just over five minutes left, and he found Robert Woods with another beautiful long pass on the next snap.But under pressure from blitzing Duron Harmon, Goff wound up and flung a high pass in the general direction of Cooks. The ball was underthrown, and Cooks lost a fight for the ball with Stephon Gilmore, who picked it off.Just like everyone in the Rams’ locker room, Cooks took the blame on himself.“I’m great enough to make that play,” Cooks said. “I’ve still got to make it, no matter what.”