The reviews are in, and they aren’t pretty: we didn’t see the New Orleans Saints’ best work in their Week 13 loss to the Detroit Lions.
But how do you grade this performance? Let’s break it down by position groups to judge whether each unit pulled its weight on Sunday:
Quarterback: D
Credit where it’s due: Derek Carr recovered from a gnarly first quarter to get the Saints back in this game, completing 15 consecutive passes and hitting multiple throws off of play action (which has been missing from Pete Carmichael’s offense from far too long). But we can’t overlook his rough start that helped give the Lions a 21-point lead right out of the gate. And the offense didn’t improve when Jameis Winston got into the game. He threw a pass that should have been intercepted and saw his last three throws fall incomplete one after the next.
Running back: B
Alvin Kamara was the player of the day for New Orleans; he gained 51 rushing yards and 58 receiving yards, and his two touchdown runs kept the game close late in regulation. But it wasn’t much of a revenge game for Jamaal Williams against his old Lions squad. The veteran back totaled 16 yards from scrimmage on six touches. He hasn’t met expectations this year.
Tight end: C
Jimmy Graham played two snaps and caught his second pass of the year, scoring his second touchdown of the season, and that was the most you could say about the tight ends from Sunday. Foster Moreau caught two passes for 28 yards. Juwan Johnson didn’t reel in any of his three targets. This was a position group that built a ton of momentum over the summer, but we haven’t seen any of that hype continue late into the season.
Offensive line: D
Carr and Winston were each sacked once and Carr left the game after a big hit, but they weren’t pressured very often. The Lions defense just did a good job finishing plays. The bigger problem for the Saints offensive line was their run blocking. As a team, New Orleans averaged just half a yard per carry before contact with a defender. They weren’t winning at the line of scrimmage which forced the runners to do a ton of work on their own. Erik McCoy was penalized twice for false starts and Ryan Ramczyk had a holding foul declined on a negative play.
Wide receiver: C
It’s really the Chris Olave show at wide receiver this week: he led the team with 119 receiving yards (on 5 receptions) and consistently made huge plays on off-target or contested throws. Outside Olave, the Saints’ receivers didn’t quite cut the mustard. A.T. Perry had a single 30-yard reception on three targets and Lynn Bowden Jr. gained 5 yards on his lone catch. Keith Kirkwood and Marquez Callaway were not targeted. Those non-Olave receivers must step up with Michael Thomas and Rashid Shaheed on the mend.
Taysom Hill: B
He’s his own position. Hill made plays all over the place — except as a passer, going 0-for-2 when the Saints asked him to drop back and throw. But he caught the ball fine (gaining 15 yards on a pair of receptions, converting a first down), and he did his best work as a runner. Hill led the team with 59 rushing yards at an impressive 4.5 yards per carry. He also scored a critical touchdown run to fuel the comeback effort. Connecting on one or two of those passes would’ve put him over the top.
Special teams: C
Not much really noteworthy here one way or another. Blake Grupe made all four of his extra-point attempts but he wasn’t asked to try a single field goal. Lou Hedley’s experience left something to be desired. He didn’t stick any of his four punts inside the opposing 20-yard line and one of them resulted in a touchback after he kicked it away from midfield, essentially gifting Detroit 28 yards of field position.
Defensive line: D
This was a bad day up front. The Saints didn’t have a single defender log more than two pressures on Jared Goff; their pass rush was a non-factor outside one nice rep from linebacker Zack Baun who beat Pro Bowl right tackle Penei Sewell for a sack, a play that left you wondering why he hasn’t been allowed to rush the quarterback more often in his four-year career. But the Lions controlled the line of scrimmage for most of this game and ran at will on New Orleans. The defensive line needs a lot of help this offseason.
Linebackers: B
Nephi Sewell didn’t give up a first down or touchdown in coverage, and he blew up several Lions run plays with quick reactions at the line of scrimmage; his average depth of tackle against the run was 1.7 yards. For context, Pete Werner’s is 3.1 on the season so far. Demario Davis did miss two costly tackles to allow big pickups. And Baun had that nice rush against the Lions’ Sewell for a sack. They’re a good group, but not great.
Safeties: D
This game isn’t going to help Jordan Howden’s argument to supplant Marcus Maye in the starting lineup. Lions tight end Sam LaPorta was targeted 3 times against him and caught all 3 targets for 25 yards, picking up a pair of first downs. Tyrann Mathieu was running behind receivers far too often and he finished with just one tackle on 58 snaps, an uncharacteristic ratio.
Cornerback: D
Alontae Taylor had a rough day at the office. He was targeted 7 times and allowed 4 receptions for 32 yards, 2 first downs, and a touchdown. He also missed on several open-field tackles. Paulson Adebo fell back to Earth a bit this week by yielding 4 receptions for 91 yards and 3 first downs, though he did have a clutch pass breakup. Isaac Yiadom was quiet, which is almost what you want to see from a backup stepping into the starting lineup.
