The New Orleans Saints secured the victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday afternoon in a 13-6 defensive showcase. In a game that had a lot of hype surrounding the Jaguars being the favorites, the Saints were able to pull out the win. An all around complete performance by New Orleans was the key to victory, here are the four players that stood out against Jacksonville:
Latavius Murray
The new free agent running back was signed this offseason with the hopes that he could replace some of Mark Ingram’s production. Most of the season has seen Murray not getting in on the action as much as Ingram had become accustomed to while with the Saints. On Sunday, Alvin Kamara was banged up with an ankle injury, as well as a recently revealed knee injury. These injuries gave way to Murray in which he capitalized on the opportunity. Murray rushed for 44 yards, and added another 35 yards receiving on three receptions. Sunday against Jacksonville was easily his best performance as a Saint, and one that helped bail New Orleans out of a couple of situations.
Jared Cook
Jared Cook has not gotten a ton of praise since joining the Saints. Much of that has to do with the level of expectation of production when he was signed that has yet to have been met. Well, on Sunday when the Jaguars defense had Mike Thomas relatively locked down, the big tight end came through. Cook only had three receptions for 37 yards, but more importantly for the second consecutive week, Cook scored a touchdown. This week’s touchdown proved to be the only one scored between either team.
Cam Jordan
On just about any given week one can put defensive end Cam Jordan in the “standout players” category. However, Jordan once again came up big in helping New Orleans to the victory. Gardner Minshew has been perplexing defenses as of late in what has now been coined “Minshew Mania”. For the first time, a defense was able to figure out the rookie. Jordan recorded two sacks on Minshew, and helped supply pressure on the rookie quarterback the entire game. Jordan played a large part in keeping Minshew to 163 yards passing and one interception. New Orleans figured out how to stop “Minshew Mania” thanks to Cam Jordan’s efforts.
Marshon Lattimore
Cornerback Marshon Lattimore was once again a lockdown type of player. His interception off of Gardner Minshew to start the second half was his first of the season. However, Lattimore’s defense goes further than just the interception numbers. In three consecutive games he has held his opposing receiver to less than 50 yards receiving and has not allowed a touchdown. On Sunday, Lattimore held wide receiver DJ Chark to just 43 yards after he was coming off of an explosive Week 5 in which Chark earned 164 yards receiving and two touchdowns.
