The New Orleans Saints got the job done against Chicago. It was a win. It wasn't perfect, but at this point, ugly wins are just fine.
So what went right? The defense had its struggles but stood up when it was needed most -- particularly in the turnover department -- and the Saints took down the Bears 24-17.
So who stood out and who fell flat? Here are the stock up and stock down players from the Week 9 win.
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THREE UP
1. PAULSON ADEBO
This really doesn't require a ton of explanation. Three turnovers forced, all at critical moments. The Saints defense struggled to get off the field all day, and Adebo took care of that himself.
The Saints are tied for the lead in takeaways this season with 18. They had five in this game. When the defense is struggling and one player can pick them up with individual greatness, it can change games. Pete Werner pointed to those moments as momentum-swinging and they absolutely were.
But I'll also point to something more subtle: He played clean. The Saints were one of the most penalized teams in the NFL over the first half of the season. Adebo had been playing well, but he was flagged for one or more penalties in each of his first six starts. He'd feel like he got beat at the top of the route, then grab rather than just forcing the receiver and quarterback to execute. That's changed the last two weeks, and the Saints got through Week 9 with zero defensive penalties.
When you're playing across from Marshon, you're going to get opportunities to make plays on the ball. Adebo told me earlier this season, if you're playing cornerback and don't want the ball thrown your way, you're probably playing the wrong position.
Paulson Adebo is exactly where he should be. He's proving that week in, week out.
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2. TAYSOM HILL/RED ZONE OFFENSE
For the second consecutive week the Saints scored on their first three trips into the red zone. That's been due in large part to the Taysom Hill offense, in whatever way you'd like to slice it. The Saints were stopped by downs at the 17, and the end-of-game kneel downs shouldn't count against you there. It was efficient and enough to get the job done, even if there were some points left out on the field.
Taysom Hill caught the 10th touchdown pass of his career, becoming the first player since Frank Gifford to notch double digit touchdowns as a receiver, runner and passer. He also threw a touchdown pass to Juwan Johnson in the second half on a play that was actually designed for Khalen Saunders in the flat.
It was a play that should've worked, because why would the defense account for a defensive tackle out of the backfield? Well, two players went with him, and they left Juwan Johnson standing alone in the back of the end zone. Taysom found him. Chock up a win for the good guys.
It's been anything but traditional, but it's a whole lot of fun when things are working. Derek Carr has no issue -- at least if you believe him -- coming off the field in those situations. The Saints have a good thing going.
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3. LOU HEDLEY & ISAAC YIADOM
Lou Hedley gets a lot of grief. Some of it is fair, because when he misses his location and the distance isn't elite, it goes badly. But he's been better than he gets credit for.
He's kicked the ball 8 times the last two weeks. Of those kicks, 7 have landed inside the 20. Ironically, his one kick outside the red zone was one of his best of the season, a 48-yard boot from the Saints' 29 that was fair caught at the Bears 23.
None of his kicks were returned this week and he's allowed just 87 total return yards on his 43 punts (2.02 yards per punt). Hang time doesn't matter if the kick isn't returnable. For perspective, Rashid Shaheed has returned 15 punts this season for 231 yards (15.4 per return) and a touchdown.
What's happened down the field in coverage also deserves some applause, particularly when it comes to Isaac Yiadom. The guy impressed throughout camp and earned his roster spot. He impressed when called upon for spot starts with Paulson Adebo down. It's easy to take for granted when a guy is standing in perfect position to down a punt, but it can make a massive difference in the balance of a game. He was in perfect position to down at punt at the 3 in Week 8 against the Colts.
This week it was even more elite, with Yiadom diving to swat a ball out of bounds at the 2 before it bounced into the end zone for a touchback. A team getting the ball inside the 5 vs at the 20 is like a different world. The game gets played completely differently and the defense is in prime position to make things happen. Yes, Hedley needed some help ... but that's how it works. The punter and coverage have to work in tandem, and they've done that pretty well more often than not. The Saints are fine with what they've gotten from their rookie punter thus far.
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HONORABLE MENTIONS
We've been waiting all year for Juwan Johnson to get involved. Well, that was the case today. Not a massive day by any stretch, but he had 5 catches for 29 yards and a touchdown. They were hard catches and set up the Saints in good situations. Juwan is still getting his legs under him. He's just another weapon in this offense. ... Chris Olave didn't have a massive day, but he did have a nice touchdown in the red zone and got the job done. It wasn't a massive day, but I like how he bounced back after a tough week. ... Demario Davis is eternal. He had the putaway turnover at the end of the game, and it was beautiful.
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THREE DOWN
1. BLAKE GRUPE
I'm a fan of Blake Grupe. He's a fun story, and he's got the leg to get it done at the NFL level. Still, at a certain point the inconsistency is a problem, and I think we've reached that territory.
He missed a potential go-ahead kick in Green Bay -- whatever. First real pressure kick. First long kick outdoors. He didn't hit it, mistakes happen, you move on.
The two misses in Houston? One came from 50-plus, understandable. The other came from 29. Inexcusable.
Grupe followed that up with a miss from 50-plus again against the Jags, but he hit from closer in twice and made his PAT, though it did clang off the upright.
Fast-forward to Week 9 and Grupe finally got on track from long range, cashing in from 55 yards out. That's great. Long range kicks are a weapon. But the more important things is consistency from 49 and in. The Saints were up 7 and had a chance to effectively ice the game in the 4th quarter. He clanged it off the upright.
A lot of fans will call for Grupe to be replaced, and they have a reasonable argument. But the question is: Will you actually get better by bringing in someone off the couch? Grupe hasn't been great, but he's at least a known commodity. We saw in 2021 how things can go with the revolving door. Remember the Aldrick Rosas experience? How about Brett Maher? Cody Parkey? Brian Johnson? You get the idea.
In my opinion the Saints have to look at their options, maybe even bring in some players for tryouts. You aren't making a change just to make a change, though. The kicking game simply hasn't been good enough and that has to be different up in Minnesota before you head into the bye week. The kicking game can, has and will cost you games if you can't figure it out.
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2. PASS RUSH/CONTAIN
Another week, another athletic QB doing basically whatever he wanted when it came to scrambles in the first half.
The Saints did a better job as the game wore on and forced five total turnovers. In the end a rookie looked like a rookie. But he looked as impressive as any QB the Saints have faced in the first half, rolling out time after time after time and running for first down after first down. He finished the game with 70 yards rushing, including a conversion on 3rd and 12 in the red zone. He also had two beautiful touchdown throws to Cole Kmet.
The Saints finished the game with 2 sacks and 4 QB hits. In the end the pressure numbers were such that it won't look like there was as much of a struggle as there clearly was. That's the benefit of playing with a lead.
But still, we all saw it happen. Not all matchups will be as winnable as a game against a UDFA who probably shouldn't be on the field in the first place. The Saints have to figure that out. They need to rush with consistency and sense. They need to maintain their lanes and keep leverage. If the Saints can't get that sorted out, there will be a lot of frustrating games in the second half.
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3. THE NFC SOUTH
The Saints beat a bad Bears team. The Bucs lost to the Texans. The Falcons lost to a team led by a quarterback who showed up earlier in the week. The Panthers, well they're the Panthers.
The 2-0 starts for Atlanta, Carolina and New Orleans were fun, but we've now settled into the reality of the division. The Saints are the only team over .500, and if they can take care of business the division should be theirs without much difficulty.
New Orleans will hope to keep things rolling against the Vikings next week. If they can do that and beat the Falcons after the bye, they'll be the prohibitive favorites to win it. All that will mean is the Saints are the best of the bad, but at this point, I don't care. Win the games you should win and worry about the rest when you get there. I'm just happy that the home fans had a reason to cheer for a change.