It was too little too late, but you can’t say the New Orleans Saints didn’t try and rally back against the Minnesota Vikings in Sunday’s 27-19 loss. The defense fought hard in the second half and the offense made enough plays to cut into a huge first-half deficit. They showed some grit in the face of adversity with injuries stacking up. It just wasn’t enough to steal a win.
But who made a difference on Sunday afternoon — for good or bad? Who stood out for positive and negative reasons? Let’s break down this week’s Studs and Duds:
STUD | WR A.T. Perry
The rookie deserves some credit for stepping up when the team needed him in the wake of a knee injury for Michael Thomas. Perry caught his first pass in the NFL for a 23-yard gain, and he looked strong on a 15-yard touchdown pass later on, too. There are things he needs to work on like fighting through contact (he dropped a pass late in the game when a defender hit him at the catch point, and he slipped on the turf on another incomplete pass).
DUD | LB Pete Werner
It was a rough afternoon for Werner. He was no match for T.J. Hockenson in coverage and he struggled to keep up with Joshua Dobbs as the designated quarterback spy on some big runs in the first half. He’s got to do a better job tapping into the athleticism we know he has in his legs and lower body. The Saints defense as a whole looked slow in the first half again today, and a big part of that might be the responsibilities they’re putting on Werner’s plate.
STUD | WR Chris Olave
It took too long for the Saints to start throwing Olave’s way — his first target came midway through the third quarter on the play that saw Derek Carr get injured — but he was highly effective once they made a point to use him. Olave finished the game with 6 receptions for 94 yards and a touchdown; his 26-yard pickup was the longest play from scrimmage for New Orleans on the afternoon.
DUD | SS Marcus Maye
Maye had one nice play where he tackled Hockenson short of the goal line to save a touchdown, but on the whole this was a game to forget from him. He was fouled for defensive holding on a play the Vikings converted a first down anyway, and Hockenson wasn’t seriously challenged by Maye whenever they matched up in coverage. He continues to take poor angles to the football and get outpaced by opponents he ought to be chasing down.
STUD | CB Paulson Adebo
Adebo had another good game, though he lost an interception to an offsides penalty on defensive end Carl Granderson. He finished the day with two pass deflections and nine tackles, tying for the team lead, regularly showing up in run defense. He was active all afternoon. His best play came in coverage down the sideline where he forced the receiver into an awkward position working their way back to the ball; Adebo correctly read the ball’s flight and jumped the route to knock it away.
DUD | Pete Carmichael's plan for QB Taysom Hill
It’s frustrating to see Carmichael regress and stop using one of his best players after several strong performances, but that’s what happened here. Hill only had a single rushing attempt throughout the entire game (gaining 6 yards), and the Saints were often in situations where his services would’ve been useful. They also kept funneling passes Hill’s way despite the Vikings doing a good job defending him; he was targeted four times and finished with two receptions for 17 yards. This was a big step back, and little of it is Hill’s fault.
DUD | Dennis Allen's defense
While we’re taking a big-picture view, we’ve got to acknowledge something very unpleasant: Allen’s defense was not up to snuff against a middling offense missing its best quarterback, running back, and receiver with injured starters at left tackle and tight end. The Saints gave up six plays of 20-plus yards to Minnesota. Allen had few answers in the first half and too often his defense looked old and slow. They redeemed themselves a bit in the second half by buckling down and limiting those big plays, but it wasn’t enough to clean up their own mess.
