Week 5 of the NFL season is here. The Saints enter Monday night’s showdown with the Los Angeles Chargers 2-2. The Chargers come to New Orleans 1-3, but playing well despite their record. I am going on record that I do NOT like this matchup. This will be no walk in the park for the Saints. Let’s go inside the matchups for the Saints and Chargers.
SAINTS OFFENSE vs CHARGERS DEFENSE: The Saints offense finally put it all together last week against Detroit. New Orleans scored on five straight possessions in their win over the Lions. The Saints are 17th in the NFL in total offense averaging 371 yards per game. The Chargers have the 19th ranked defense in the league in total yards allowed, with an average of 373.8 yards per game allowed. Los Angeles is really good in points allowed per game. Teams are scoring an average of 23.8 points per game. That’s the 11th best scoring defense in the NFL. The Chargers have two premier pass rushers in Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram. Those two guys can wreck a game plan. That’s the matchup that will decide this game. The Saints hold a slight advantage.
CHARGERS OFFENSE vs SAINTS DEFENSE: The Saints have some issues on defense, in particular, in the secondary. They lead the league in pass interference calls! With that said, the defense isn’t as bad as we might think. New Orleans is 6th in the NFL in total yards allowed with 334. Not bad, not bad at all.
Ironically, the Chargers have the 6th ranked offense in total yards averaging 400 yards a game. The Saints defense gives up an average of 30 points per game (gross). Los Angeles churns out the yards, but struggles to score, averaging just 20 points per game. What gives in this matchup? I’m going to give the Chargers the edge here against a Saints defense that is frustrating to watch at times.
SAINTS SPECIAL TEAMS vs CHARGERS SPECIAL TEAMS. Let’s make this quick. The Saints clearly hold the advantage in this category.
COACHING: Sean Payton vs Anthony Lynn. The Chargers are coached well by Lynn, he’s very respected around the league. With that said, Coach Sean Payton is one of the best ever in the game. The Saints hold the advantage here.
