Whew. The New Orleans Saints beat the Las Vegas Raiders so thoroughly that Derek Carr didn’t return to the game at quarterback in the closing minutes — his backup Jarrett Stidham finished the game instead. Alvin Kamara led the Saints offense with his three touchdown scores, and the pass rush woke up to sack Carr three times.
A comprehensive win like this was exactly what the Saints needed after their underwhelming start to the season, and it might be enough to keep them in the crowded NFC South division title race. Let’s explore the ramifications from the win and everything else you need to know after Week 8’s game:
Final score: Saints 24, Raiders 0
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final | |
| Las Vegas | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| New Orleans | 7 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
Injury outlook
- Running back Mark Ingram II exited the game with a knee injury, and was initially announced as questionable to return. The Saints later updated his status and said he would not return for the remainder of the game.
- Safety Justin Evans received attention in the blue medical tent on the sideline but was not announced with an injury designation.
It was over when...
Alvin Kamara’s second touchdown score signaled which way the wind was blowing. It was an impressive effort from him to bounce off of several tackles and extend his arm for the goal line while going down. And it was awful dispiriting for the Raiders defense, who seemed to deflate on the play and never really reasserted themselves. Kamara later scored again to put the game out of reach altogether, but he may as well have put this one away early.
Saints' top performers
- Passing: QB Andy Dalton completed 22 of 30 pass attempts (73.3%) to gain 229 yards and score 2 touchdowns
- Rushing: RB Alvin Kamara led the team with 18 rushing attempts, gaining 62 yards and scoring 1 touchdown … TE Taysom Hill logged 10 carries for 61 yards
- Receiving: RB Alvin Kamara led the team with 9 receptions (on 10 targets) to gain 96 receiving yards, scoring 2 touchdowns … WR Chris Olave caught 5 receptions (7 targets) to gain 52 yards, converting a first down on all 5 catches
- Defense: LB Pete Werner led the team with 11 tackles (7 solo) and a pass deflection … DE Payton Turner was credited with 2 sacks, 2 QB hits, and 2 tackles for loss … S Tyrann Mathieu had 4 tackles (3 solo), 2 pass deflections, and an interception
Team stats
- Third and fourth downs, offense: 7-of-13 (53.8%)
- Third downs and fourth, defense: 7-of-17 (41.2%)
- Total yards, offense: 367 yards gained on 63 plays (5.8 yards per play)
- Total yards, defense: 183 yards allowed on 56 plays (3.3 yards per play)
- Penalties against the Saints: 5 fouls for 27 yards, 2 first downs
- Penalties benefiting the Saints: 6 fouls for 59 yards, 1 first down
- Time of possession: 34:51 for New Orleans, 25:09 for Las Vegas
What's next?
The Saints have improved to 3-5, and they’ll be hosting the 5-3 Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night Football next week — kickoff is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. CT on Nov. 7 at the Caesars Superdome. The Ravens looked vulnerable in a close win over the reeling Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week, but they’ll have had plenty of time to rest up between that Thursday night game and this Monday evening tilt. New Orleans has a lot of momentum behind them after shutting out the Raiders, but Lamar Jackson’s team will be an entirely different challenge.
