The NFL’s calendar is just weeks away from flipping over to the 2020 fiscal year, meaning that free agency and the 2020 NFL Draft are on the horizon. For the New Orleans Saints, it’s time to finally shut the book on a highlight-filled 2019 season that, unfortunately, came up short. But we’re here to celebrate the year’s best moments.
Whittling down the thousands of snaps played by the Saints last year wasn’t easy, and this list may not jive with everyone’s expectations. So let us know what you think we got wrong, and which big plays deserved greater recognition in our Saints Forum.
Now, let’s get to it. Here’s our ranking of the 15 best Saints plays of 2019:
15. Teddy Bridgewater connects with Ted Ginn on 33-yard TD vs. Buccaneers
This was just a perfectly-executed play, with the route concepts opening Ginn up for a well-thrown ball from Bridgewater. It showcased everyone’s strengths — Ginn’s speed, Bridgewater’s accuracy, and Sean Payton’s clever play design against a coverage poorly-suited to defend it. It’s the sort of thing that should lead off any and all of Bridgewater’s 2019 highlight reels.
14. Dak Prescott pressured and picked on Hail Mary attempt
Too often teams play it safe on a Hail Mary attempt, dropping seven or eight players into coverage, even all the way back to the end zone. Saints defensive coordinator Dennis Allen got a favorable look from the Dallas Cowboys protection and called a clever blitz, doing just enough to pressure Prescott into tossing the ball away well short of the goal line. The result was a timely game-winning interception.
13. Janoris Jenkins forced fumble, Vonn Bell recovery vs. Vikings
It didn’t take Jackrabbit long to make his presence felt in New Orleans. While he mainly spent this wild card game erasing Stefon Diggs (a hugely-impressive feat), his first impact play came on this opening-drive fumble from Adam Thielen. And of course Vonn Bell, the NFL’s leader in fumble recoveries last year, was on the spot to recover the loose ball.
12. Alvin Kamara bobs and weaves for a 29-yard TD at Seahawks
Hopefully we can get more action from this version of Kamara again in 2020. The all-star running back put all of his best attributes on display in this early-season score against the Seahawks, evading tackles and bouncing off of defenders with ease. It was enough to impress Pete Carroll, who remarked after the game that knowing Kamara was talented was very different from seeing him knife through your defense.
11. Wil Lutz is good from 58 yards away to win Week 1 vs. Texans
The Saints didn’t waste any time with introducing theatrics in 2019. Week 1 featured multiple lead changes in the game’s closing minutes, with Drew Brees trading blows against Deshaun Watson, one of the young stars rising high in this league. But when all the chips were on the table, Lutz was able to give his team the win.
10. C.J. Gardner-Johnson snags his first interception at Falcons
Gardner-Johnson was a constant source of positive plays for the Saints lat year, and he figures to take an even bigger jump in 2020 as a starter (either at safety or nickel corner; free agency should clear that up). When injuries forced him into the lineup on Thanksgiving, Gardner-Johnson rewarded his team for giving him the opportunity right away on this prime-time interception.
9. Drew Brees lobs 38-yard touchdown pass to Jared Cook vs. 49ers
What’s more fun than Brees targeting a pass-catcher who’s bigger and faster than everyone else on the field? That same pass-catcher being talented enough to secure a touchdown-scoring throw with just one hand. Cook’s needle is trending very, very highly ahead of the 2020 season. Greater familiarity with the playbook and a full summer of training with Brees will do him a lot of good.
8. Shy Tuttle intercepts, then stiff arms Matt Ryan at Falcons
We mentioned one Matt Ryan interception already, but this one takes the cake. Here’s our salute to Tuttle, the undrafted rookie who immediately earned a place in Saints lore by not just picking off the Falcons quarterback, but making him eat dirt on the return with a righteous stiff-arm.
7. Deonte Harris 53-yard punt return touchdown at Seahawks
Here’s the moment fans knew that the Saints had someone really special. Harris gave a first glimpse at the aggression that defines his style of play by fielding a punt at midfield in the face of closing Seahawks gunners, and then navigating traffic to break into an open lane to paydirt. You know, just a rookie from a very small school doing All-Pro things.
6. Drew Brees scores 45-yard catch-and-run TD to Taysom Hill at Panthers
Is Hill’s future really at quarterback? Big-time plays like this make you wonder. His athleticism is very real, which the overmatched Carolina Panthers defense realized all too late in this beatdown. There are few players around who can cut upfield with a full head of steam like Hill, and even fewer defenders who want a part of him once he’s rolling.
5. P.J. Williams caps off the goal-line stand with a Buccaneers interception
Williams’ end-zone interception didn’t just seal a successful drive for the Saints by keeping the Buccaneers off the scoreboard: it sealed a road win for the Saints. And Williams did that while playing out of position, bumped up to the number-two spot opposite Mike Evans once injuries struck the Saints secondary. Plays like this could result in a big pay raise in free agency.
4. A.J. Klein intercepts Will Grier, scores 14-yard pick-six at Panthers
How’s that for a revenge game? Klein read the play perfectly, putting himself in position to compete on an awry pass, and had the presence of mind to flip the field after the catch for one of several Saints defensive touchdowns.
3. Drew Brees strikes Jared Cook on a 61-yard touchdown at Titans
The longest play of the year for the Saints offense was a real team effort, with Kamara throwing a huge block in space for Cook after a nice pass from Brees. Scoring here required a lot of moving parts to work in unison, and the Saints executed it just like you’d draw it up.
2. Marcus Williams intercepts Jameis Winston, runs 61 yards for defensive TD at Buccaneers
It’s not for nothing that Williams lead all Saints players in interceptions from 2010 to 2019, despite having just entered the NFL in 2017. He’s a ballhawk in the league and should compete for the interceptions crown every year thanks to his deep understanding of the playbook, his well-developed range and athleticism, and his upper-shelf ball skills. Now let’s see if he can finally tackle a little cleaner.
1. Eli Apple, Vonn Bell team up for a defensive TD deep in Seahawks territory
And here we go: the play of the year. This one has everything. The drama of a big Seahawks run, getting them out of poor starting field position, was immediately undercut by a terrific Saints defensive play. Apple had the situational awareness to swipe at the ball during his form-perfect tackle. Bell tracked the runner, putting himself in position to recover. And the Saints defense as a unit immediately pivoted to offense, forming a convoy for Bell to cruise behind into the end zone for a score that put this one away very early.
