The New Orleans Saints delivered again for a second straight win to open the Rizzi Ball era, and they did it at the expense of Jameis Winston and the Browns.
In the end it was a 35-14 result in a game that felt much closer. Taysom Hill dominated, the Saints defense closed things out.
With all that in mind, here are my stock up and stock down players after a win to send the Saints into the bye week on a high.
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THREE UP
1. Taysom Hill (duh)
What do you even say? Taysom Hill is one of one. There aren't many non-starting QBs who can almost single-handedly will you to a win, but Taysom is one of those players. His stat line in this game is absurd, so let's break it down:
- 1-2 passing, 18 yards, INT
- 7 carries, 138 yards (19.7 YPC), 3 TDs
- 8 catches (10 targets), 50 yards, fumble
- Kick return for 42 yards
Taysom's three rushing touchdowns went for 10, 33 and 75 yards. Basically the only thing he didn't do was block a punt.
One of my big complaints coming out of Week 10 was that I thought Klint Kubiak let the Taysom playbook get away from him. I don't need 17 touches, but I can't go the better part of three quarters without getting the dude the ball.
Darren Rizzi made it clear that it was an emphasis in this game to get the ball in Taysom's hands. On the Saints opening possession the final three plays went Taysom pass, Taysom catch, Taysom run. You can understand why. Give me more. I always want more.
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2. Derek Carr
The Saints' starting quarterback gets a lot of grief. There are reasonable criticisms, but some are just ridiculous. In every game Derek Carr has played the Saints have had a chance to win. The three games he was absent the Saints never had a chance. Anyone who watched those games should be able to agree on that.
At the end of the day you should believe the guy when he tells you he doesn't care about anything but winning. Ceding as many touches as he did to Taysom Hill in this game should be evidence enough. There was even one play where he went in motion, though Derek certainly doesn't mind showing off his wheels.
There was another third down play where Kubiak called a designed Carr run and not only did he get the first down, he cut back into the field for a few extra yards (though I can't imagine the coaches were thrilled about that).
But it's the decision-making that has really shined the last two weeks. Demario Davis went as far to compare Carr to former NBA point guard Rajon Rondo due to the way he distributes the ball to his playmakers. That was particularly evident on the 3rd and 1 snap where Carr seemed to have a first down rush available, but instead he spotted Marquez Valdes-Scantling popping free and found him with a short pass for what ended up being a 71-yard touchdown. No one would've complained about a first down, but a good point guard always finds the best option.
Over the past two weeks Carr has gone 37-52 (71%) passing for 517 yards, 4 touchdowns and no interceptions. He's been sacked just one time, and that's not for lack of pressure. He's made good decisions. He's distributed the ball well, and he's done it without WR1 Chris Olave and WR2 Rashid Shaheed, both of whom are on IR. It's a run that resembles what we saw at the end of the 2023 season when the Saints finished with four wins in their final five games.
Where will this Saints team end up? It's tough to say. But Carr isn't what's been holding this team back. I'm tired of having to explain that.
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3. Walker, Texas Werner
Honestly this wasn't even Pete Werner's best game. But the way he did it deserves praise.
The Saints linebacker broke his hand late during the win over the Falcons in Week 10. He underwent surgery and had some form of metal equipment inserted. Those details were revealed by Demario Davis after the game as he praised his teammate's grit.
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Werner didn't practice on Wednesday or Thursday, but he wanted to be there for his team. He got a club put on that hand and participated on Friday, telling Davis that when the hand got impacted it felt like he was "punching a brick wall." Werner didn't care, he found a way to play, and play he did, finishing the game with six tackles. There was only one play where I thought the hand was an issue as he tried to wrap up on the sideline but the Browns player escaped.
All I know is that I had someone tell me the other day that Werner was "soft." Werner is not soft. He proved that today. In my opinion he's the best defensive player on this Saints roster -- especially when he has two working hands. When he's down to one, I'll settle for the guy with the most heart on this defense, and one who will undoubtedly be pointed to as an example of the level commitment this team needs up and down the roster if it wants to turn this season into one worth remembering.
Demario Davis put it best: "That's some Walker, Texas Ranger toughness right there."
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Honorable mention
Dante Pettis didn't find out until late in the week that he'd be the primary punt returner. He took full advantage. With the game still in doubt he ripped off a 53-yard return that was a toe on the sideline away from being a putaway score. Instead he had to settle for setting up the putaway store. Big time. ... Shane Lemieux hasn't played since Week 4 against the Falcons when he started for the first time in his career at center. Today he was thrown back in at center after Erik McCoy went down with a groin issue that has to be at least somewhat concerning. I didn't hear Lemieux's name once and the Saints scored on every possession he was in the game, excluding the kneeldowns to close out the game. Gold star. ... The tight ends haven't been world beaters this season, but without the top WR options they needed to step up in the passing game. They did just that in this game. Foster Moreau and Juwan Johnson combined for 7 catches on 8 targets for 80 yards and a touchdown. It seemed like every catch was in a big moment for a key first down. Juwan also had a key block on MVS' long TD. Good job, guys, let's keep it rolling. ... I don't know who put the hex on opposing kickers, but I want to send them a bouquet of flowers. Dustin Hopkins missed both of his kicks in this game, and another that didn't count. One of them was from 27 yards out. That comes a week after Younghoe Koo missed three times. I'll take it. ... MVS! The dude did it again. This time it was a 71-yard TD. That signing just keeps looking better and better.
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THREE DOWN
1. The coverage
The final score shows a 21-point margin, but this game definitely didn't feel comfortable for the Saints until the very end. That was true for a few reasons. One of them was that I felt this was a struggle day for the coverage.
Alontae Taylor will get the most grief because he's the CB1 at this point, but all three of Alontae, Kool-Aid McKinstry and Ugo Amadi had their struggles. They just seemed to be out of position too much of the time.
That was the case for Taylor when Jerry Jeudy got behind him and outran EVERYBODY for an 89-yard touchdown that kept the Browns in touch despite getting outplayed early on.
Taylor got victimized again on the next Browns TD, this time losing touch with Elijah Moore for a 30-yard TD. In both instances the big plays came after Jameis Winston broke containment.
The Browns then converted the 2-point try on another busted coverage, though that one looked like a miscommunication between Pete Werner and Demario Davis with David Njoku standing alone in the back of the end zone.
It wasn't all bad. I thought Taylor had some really nice reps in coverage and he finished with 8 tackles and a pair of passes defensed. Amadi finished with 9 tackles. The Saints asked a lot of their DBs in terms of covering in space as they stacked the box to take away the run, and they did it well with Cleveland only managing 66 yards on their 20 rush attempts.
Regardless, if the Saints want to keep this winning thing going, the DBs have to be better.
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2. The pass rush (quarters 1-3)
Am I being too hard on the defense in a game where they only surrendered 14 points? Possibly. But I didn't think this was a good day for them by any stretch.
That was true of the DBs, as noted above, and it was true of the pass rush. The Saints finished this game with 3 sacks, which isn't terrible, but they saved it for the end of the game. For three quarters Jameis Winston was WAYYYY too comfortable standing in the pocket and picked apart the defense.
Winston threw the ball 46 times, completing 30 of those passes for 395 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He did put the ball in danger a handful of times but the Saints couldn't take advantage. Demario Davis joked after the game that he'd be shopping on Amazon for a "new set of hands," because he's missed three potential interceptions over the past two games.
But getting back to the pass rush. Did you know that the Browns played a good stretch of this game with their third-string left tackle? I'm asking because you probably would never have guessed based on the pass protection.
Now, don't get me wrong. I absolutely love the way the Saints defense finished this game. It's the second consecutive game they blanked the opponent in the 4th quarter and they put the QB on the ground in the process. You're going to win a lot of games with that recipe. Still, I need more from Chase Young and Co. the rest of the way -- early and often.
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3. The substitutions
This is going to be a quick note because it's hard to pinpoint examples in real time, but I don't think the Saints handled their substitutions well in this game.
There was confusion. There was at least one burned timeout. On one play in the 4th quarter Chase Young ran onto the field so late that it actually worked to his advantage. He ran in from the edge of the field and never even came to a complete stop. It looked like the offense never ID'd where he was and it ended up being a TFL.
I'm not sure I want to make a habit out of that strategy, even if it worked. The Saints are going to more of a rotation at defensive end, and maybe that was a part of the confusion, but I also saw issues with linebackers and defensive backs running onto the field late.
One of Darren Rizzi's coaching points ahead of the Falcons game was ironing out substitution issues. It's been a problem all year. I expect more practice time dedicated to getting all that right coming out of the bye.