What went wrong for the New Orleans Saints in the wild-card round? Some puzzling personnel decisions led to botched opportunities against the Minnesota Vikings, and it ultimately cost them a shot at another Super Bowl berth, which was eluded the Saints for a decade. Here is how each position group split snap counts on Sunday.
Offensive backfield
- QB Drew Brees, 54 (96%)
- RB Alvin Kamara, 42 (75%)
- QB Taysom Hill, 23 (41%)
- RB Latavius Murray, 15 (27%)
- FB Ricky Ortiz, 3 (5%)
It’s unclear why Kamara outsnapped Murray so significantly, because Kamara’s play didn’t earn that wide of a disparity. His slump year continued into the playoffs, with Kamara’s longest play amounting to just a 9-yard catch. He averaged just 3.7 yards per touch against the Vikings. He still has a year left on his contract, but the Saints can begin negotiating with him on an extension in March. It’ll be interesting to see whether they they think he’ll be as involved in the offense over the next three years as he’s been in his past three, and if an underwhelming 2019 season was just an aberration due to injuries.
Skills positions
- WR Michael Thomas, 53 (95%)
- WR Tre’Quan Smith, 41 (73%)
- TE Jared Cook, 33 (59%)
- WR Ted Ginn Jr., 32 (57%)
- TE Josh Hill, 27 (48%)
- WR Deonte Harris, 6 (11%)
- WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey, 3 (5%)
Smith was on the field for 41 snaps and only has one stat in the box score: a drop, which bounced off both of his hands in a pass he should have caught in stride while streaking down the seam. He can’t be playing this often while contributing so little, it’s just a waste of everyone’s time. Cook at least caught all five of his targets; the question there is why the Saints forgot to utilize him until they were down by 10 points late in the game. He should be more involved in his second season with the team, and hopefully youngsters like Smith and Harris will show the team more as they get better-versed in the Saints offense. But they absolutely cannot go into training camp with this same talent-deficit group.
Offensive line
- T Ryan Ramczyk, 56 (100%)
- T Terron Armstead, 56 (100%)
- C Erik McCoy, 56 (100%)
- G Larry Warford, 56 (100%)
- G Andrus Peat, 54 (96%)
- G Nick Easton, 5 (9%)
- G Patrick Omameh, 1 (2%)
Why wasn’t Peat pulled from this game? He’s been a weak spot in the Saints offensive line for years now, and Easton proved he can play competently at worst when Peat was sidelined by an injury earlier this season. Peat was beaten over and over again by the Vikings defensive line, and it’s no coincidence that Brees immediately connected with his longest pass of the game (on a 20-yard scoring throw to Taysom Hill) when Peat stepped out to get his ankle re-taped. Easton may or may not be the answer at left guard in 2020, but there’s no question that Peat isn’t.
Special teams
- QB Taysom Hill, 27 (84%)
- CB Justin Hardee, 27 (84%)
- LB Craig Robertson, 27 (84%)
- LB Stephone Anthony, 27 (84%)
- SS J.T. Gray, 23 (72%)
- RB Dwayne Washington, 23 (72%)
- DE Carl Granderson, 21 (66%)
- CB Patrick Robinson, 21 (66%)
A handful of big play-erasing penalties and awful missed field goal aside, there isn’t much to complain about from the special teams units. They paved the way for Deonte Harris to rack up 192 return yards while limiting the Vikings to a grand total of 20 return yards. The first year of new coordinator Darren Rizzi and his staff has to be seen as a big win for the Saints. Now maybe he can figure out how to teach Wil Lutz to kick from the left hash, and maintain better discipline in the return game.
Defensive line
- DE Cameron Jordan, 74 (94%)
- DT David Onyemata, 58 (73%)
- DE Trey Hendrickson, 52 (66%)
- NT Malcom Brown, 41 (52%)
- DT Shy Tuttle, 24 (30%)
- NT Taylor Stallworth, 26 (33%)
- DE Mario Edwards Jr., 24 (30%)
- DE Carl Granderson, 8 (10%)
A lot was made of the losses of Marcus Davenport and Sheldon Rankins to injuries a few weeks ago, but the Saints defensive line handled the extra pressure put on them well. The Saints bagged 3 sacks and 5 hits as a team, as well as 9.5 tackles for loss. They held up well despite having to play so many snaps (79 is a ridiculous total, and their third-highest of the year). But some of that is on the defense’s struggles in getting off the field on third down. Something has to be said about Jordan, who didn’t come through when his team needed him to in those critical moments. Maybe they should rotate the defensive ends more effectively to keep him fresher later in games? Even the best-conditioned 280-pounder is going to slow down through what’s essentially a four-hour car crash.
Linebackers
- LB Demario Davis, 79 (100%)
- LB A.J. Klein, 74 (94%)
- LB Craig Robertson, 22 (28%)
- LB Kiko Alonso, 11 (14%)
Alonso exited the game early with a knee injury (which is separate from the quadriceps muscle issue that held him out for most of December), and Robertson played admirably in his place. But Davis and Klein were the real difference-makers in this unit, knifing through the Vikings offensive line and defending receivers surprisingly deep downfield. They accounted for a combined 15 tackles (2 of them for loss of yards), a quarterback hit, and a pair of pass deflections. Davis is the leader-by-example who kept the Saints in this game.
Defensive secondary
- SS Vonn Bell, 79 (100%)
- FS Marcus Williams, 79 (100%)
- CB Marshon Lattimore, 71 (90%)
- CB Janoris Jenkins, 70 (89%)
- SS C.J. Gardner-Johnson, 51 (65%)
- CB P.J. Williams, 13 (16%)
- CB Patrick Robinson, 3 (4%)
While Lattimore had a rough day against Adam Thielen, the other Saints defensive backs turned in an inspiring performance. Jenkins made Stefon Diggs’ most notable moment a blow-up on the sideline, restrained by teammates after he failed to beat the recently-acquired Saints corner in coverage. Gardner-Johnson was a weapon all over the field. P.J. Williams played his coverage against tight end Kyle Rudolph as well as could possibly be asked on the game-winning touchdown pass; the size mismatch (and a push-off) decided that matchup’s winner. This group shouldn’t change much in the offseason.
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