The New Orleans Saints' offense has been criticized often throughout a conservatively called first month of the season.
There was nothing conservative about how they went after a 33-22 victory against the Washington Football Team. The win sends the Saints into their bye week at 3-2, an encouraging start with hopes of a return to health by the time they're back in action in Week 7.
With that in mind, here are my top three takeaways after a gut-check victory over Washington.
━━━━
1. OPENING IT UP
Is it about trust? Or is it about the personnel?
Regardless, we finally got a glimpse of a more aggressive Saints offensive attack, even in a game that saw speedster Deonte Harris and do-it-all QB Taysom Hill leave with injuries in the first half.
The results were mixed. The game started with two turnovers and a 72-yard touchdown bomb on the Saints' first three possessions. Winston was throwing darts when he had time and protection, but that was often not the case against Washington's loaded pass rush. Still, he navigated the pressure well and avoided any more turnovers the rest of the way.
Related
In Week 1 Winston set an NFL record for the lowest passing yardage in a game with five TD passes. He went three games before breaking the the 150-yard mark through the air. He saw his most productive day through the air despite a loss in Week 4. In Washington he finished with 279 yards and four TDs, but completed just 50% of his attempts (15-30).
The Saints have a bye, and will be hopeful to get some of their playmakers back in Week 7. Until that happens, the sensible thing has been to keep the offensive attack conservative. But if head coach Sean Payton didn't trust Winston, would he have kept dialing up the pass with the Saints clinging to a lead throughout the second half?
The trust will come -- I'd argue that it's clearly developing in front of our eyes -- but there's more to a gameplan than believing in your players, sometimes you just have to do what makes the most sense. The Saints have done that, and they go into the bye week with a winning record.
━━━━
2. GILLIKIN ... MORE LIKE GILLIKING
You can go weeks without thinking about the punter's role on a team, and even then it's usually because of a mistake or a block.
In this case I'm talking about the punter because there's a very reasonable argument to be made that Blake Gillikin was the Saints' best player in a Week 5 victory in Washington. And they needed every bit of an edge they could get, with both Taysom Hill and Deonte Harris leaving the game with injury.
Gillikin sent three punts from near midfield that forced Washington to start possessions from within their own 3-yard line.
The first came shortly before halftime, with the ball skirting out of bounds just outside the pylon.
The Saints forced a Washington punt, which left 8 seconds to work with before halftime. They did this:
The next coffin-corner punt went out at the 3, and again forced Washington to operate from their end zone. A bad snap nearly resulted in a safety, but Taylor Heinicke managed to pick the ball up and get it out. Washington avoided disaster and eventually punted from their 20.
But the most impactful kick came early in the fourth quarter. The Saints had a decision to make on a 4th and 2 near the 50-yard line. The Saints lined up to bluff a play, but when the punter is dealing like Gillikin was ... kicking it is the only option. He responded by taking out the pitching wedge for this one. His moonshot bounced inside the 10 and Washington opted not to field it. The ball was downed at the 2-yard line. Two plays later PJ Williams picked off Heinecke's pass, ending a possession that could've seen Washington drive for a go-ahead score. A few plays later it was Winston to Callaway again to put the Saints back in control.
It was a difficult decision for the Saints to move on from longtime punter Thomas Morstead, and there were questions about an untested punter's potential impact. As we've seen through Week 5, Gillikin isn't just a punter -- he's a weapon.
━━━━
3. GETTING GASHED BY THE BACKS
Last week it was Saquon Barkley slapping the Saints defense with big plays that swung the momentum in a difficult loss. This week it was Antonio Gibson the Saints defense struggled to stop.
In fairness, the defense had a very solid day overall. It was a classic example of bend-but-don't-break, with the Saints coming up with stop after stop after stop in the red zone. Marshon Lattimore broke up a pass on one drive, Paulson Adebo snagged an interception just short of the goal line, even Pete Werner got in on the action with excellent coverage to force a Washington chip shot.
Related
But part of the Saints' identity the past few seasons has been limiting the opposing run game. They went three seasons without allowing an opposing rusher to go over 100 yards on the ground. It might be matchup related, it could be a product of missing pieces on the defensive side of the ball, it could be a sign of potential issues in matchups down the road.
Gibson didn’t break the game, but finished with a hard 60 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Taylor Heinicke scrambled for 40 yards of his own. They did limit the backs in the passing game, with Gibson and pass-catching back JD McKissic combining for just 20 yards on 3 catches. McKissic had the second-most receptions at the RB position last year, behind only Kamara.
Regardless, it'll be an area to watch as the season rolls on. There are dynamic, star running backs across most of the contending teams. The Saints will have to go through Christian McCaffrey (once he's back healthy) and the Panthers, and Leonard Fournette/Ronald Jones and the Bucs if they hope to win their 5th consecutive NFC South title. That'll be difficult to do if opponents are able to extend drives on the ground and pick up chunk plays without putting the ball in the air.