The New Orleans Saints cruised to a 33-7 win over the Carolina Panthers. The victory capped a 12-4 season and secured the #2 seed in the NFC. Things didn't quite break the Saints' way elsewhere, with the Green Bay Packers winning their game and locking up the #1 seed and a first round bye; but New Orleans finished a perfect 6-0 against the NFC South, which is nothing to scoff at.
The blowout win was all the more impressive considering the Saints running back room was out due to COVID protocols. Ty Montgomery, who had been used as a wide receiver, and Tony Jones Jr., a practice squad player, were the Saints options at running back, in addition to using Taysom Hill on the ground.
“Sean Payton has brought this up from the first day of training camp, on how to handle it,” Detillier saind. You got to have some due diligence; you have to be smart about it. Sean was the first one to bring up putting teams in a bubble once the playoffs started. But the NFL rejected that.”
The Saints still ran for 156 yards on 5.2 yards per carry with Montgomery leading the way with 105 rushing yards, the second-highest total of his career.
The ability of the Saints to keep rolling and win games without their two best offensive weapons – Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara – is a testament to the roster-building of the front office. Detillier pointed out just how important filling out the practice squad with the right players is.
“It's not a question of if; it's a question of when you're going to play them,” Detillier said. “It's important you build up as good of depth as you can. You can't have it everywhere. Financially, you just can't afford it. You got to go with younger players sometimes. And we saw it yesterday it with the receiving corps.”
Four different wide receivers who went undrafted caught passes for the Saints yesterday: Marquez Callaway, Juwan Johnson, Austin Carr, and Lil'Jordan Humphrey. They combined for 7 receptions for 83 yards with 1 touchdown.
Detillier did not stop his praise at the skill positions; he also lauded the line.
“The last couple weeks, Terron Armstead has been a monster football player,” Detillier said. “I thought, last week, he played the best game of his career against the Vikings. I'm not sure he didn't top it yesterday against the Panthers.
“The offensive line played well,” Detillier went on. “They have really been the unsung heroes of this offense with a lot of changeable parts, and they keep it rolling.”
New Orleans will look to keep rolling on Sunday against the Chicago Bears, a team they beat 26-23 in overtime in the regular season.
