The New Orleans Saints walked out of their season-opener with the Tennessee Titans with a win for the fifth year in a row, triumphing by the closest of margins. The 16-15 victory was much closer than you’d like, but a win is a win. There are certain aspects of the game that need to continue and certain concerns that need to be stopped to continue winning.
It’s only the first game, so this matchup doesn’t fully encapsulate who this Saints team will be moving forward. To get a better understanding of who the team is, we ask questions. The answers to these three questions will determine a lot about the team in the short and long term future:
Will the Saints offensive line be a problem?
The biggest impediment to the Saints offense in Week 1 was protection. Trevor Penning may have had the most obvious struggles, but he wasn’t the only one. The Titans defensive line is extremely talented, but the Saints will need to step up their performance going forward. The run game had nowhere to go oftentimes.
Carr showed good mobility in the pocket, but was under pressure on 17 of his 38 drop backs according to Pro Football Focus charting. A lot of credit has to go to the opponent, but this can’t be a recurring theme going through the season.
Can the Saints keep up their pressure rate?
On the flip side of that argument, the Saints defensive line looked amazing as well. The Saints ended the 2022 season with the 5th most sacks in the NFL. They didn’t get much pressure outside of the sacks and also they struggled generating pressure along the defensive line. That’s why they revamped their interior defensive line.
In Week 1, the retained strong sack numbers while adding in a lot of pressure specifically from defensive linemen. They were also facing a completely new offensive line. If the Saints continue the momentum through the year, they just added a new element to an already strong defense.
Will Taysom Hill be more involved in the running game?
Jamaal Williams is expected to carry the load during the Alvin Kamara suspension. With Kendre Miller out with injury, the running game was expected to heavily feature Williams and Hill. Instead, Hill had the same amount of rushes as Derek Carr.
Hill didn’t have many snaps at quarterback either running or handing it off. It’ll be interesting to see how the Saints divide the rushing attempts between Williams, Hill, and possibly a returning Kendre Miller until Kamara returns.
