The New Orleans Saints are leaving Week 16 with a win, but it wasn’t easy. And many of their struggles are their own fault. But there are positives to highlight too, especially after a win on the road in which many outside observers wrote them off against the Cleveland Browns.
So let’s take a quick look at Sunday’s game. As always, we’ll consider three critical questions: what went right, what went wrong, and what’s the bottom line?
What went right?
Let’s start with what they did well. The Saints avoided penalties in this game, drawing just two fouls for a loss of 15 yards — yielding a single first down by penalty to Cleveland. They were also effective on third downs offensively, converting 7 of their 15 tries (46.7%, well above their season average at 40.0%). The Saints were efficient, they cut down on the mistakes, and they got the job done.
Defensively, the Saints sacked Deshaun Watson twice, intercepted him at a critical juncture, and broke up four of his passes into their coverage. Points were limited by strong winds in this one, but they still deserve some credit for holding the Browns to just 10 points on the afternoon. New Orleans has held opponents to scoring outputs of 10, 18, 17, and 13 points over their last four games. They haven’t allowed another team to score more than 20 points on them since the Baltimore Ravens did it on Nov. 7, back in Week 9.
What went wrong?
So this was a rough game for the Saints run defense, even if they limited the Browns run game to just 3.6 yards per carry. Cleveland nearly converted a 3rd-and-16 on a short pass to Kareem Hunt, who did his damage after the catch, but a penalty gave the Saints a do-over facing 3rd and 11. Then Nick Chubb rumbled for 11 yards to convert it anyway. The Saints were too leaky in this phase and it gave the Browns enough chances to rally back. A better team would have gotten more out of those opportunities.
Offensively, the bizarre usage of Taysom Hill is hard to overlook. Hill’s first rushing attempt came with 3:24 left in the first half, and it only took him two carries to lead the team in rushing yards. He was clearly their best option on the ground in this game but the Saints stubbornly refused to get him involved until they were already trailing by 10 points. It’s the sort of thing more-competent opponents have taken advantage of this year. Pete Carmichael Jr. needs to do a better job getting his players in a position to win earlier in games. Dialing up multiple jump balls to Keith Kirkwood down the seam amid strong winds isn’t the best move.
And what's the bottom line?
This win is kind of miraculous because of all the hurdles the Saints overcame — many of which they set out for themselves. Taysom Hill didn’t log a single rushing attempt until late in the second quarter. Alvin Kamara wasn’t weaponized enough on third downs until the second half. Direct snaps to Kamara should have been going to Hill, and an ill-advised pass from Andy Dalton was intercepted to give the Browns great starting field position, setting them up for their first touchdown.
Dennis Allen’s coaching staff hasn’t gotten enough out of the talent available to them. We can talk about injuries and absences but at the end of the day they just haven’t met expectations. That’s as true here as it’s been all year. This win was much-needed for morale, but there are so many warts still on display that we’ve seen for months. A win here shouldn’t change the team’s offseason plans and discussions on Allen’s future with the team. He and his staff are holding the Saints back. Enjoy this win for what it is, but don’t read too deeply into it.
