This year’s NFC South division championship belongs to the New Orleans Saints, just as it did last year, and the year before that. The Saints still haven’t played a complete game with penalty-free, clean execution in all three phases, but they’re still 10-2 and have clinched a playoff berth in November. They have time to improve before the postseason kicks off.
Snap counts got weird in this game, particularly on defense. They ran a season-high 93 plays when Atlanta had the ball, which is a huge disparity against the 50 plays the Saints ran on offense. When the Saints go 2-for-10 on third down while the Falcons go 6-for-16 (and get helped out by a number of dubious penalties against the Saints defense), that’s going to happen. Here’s our snap count analysis:
Offensive backfield
- QB Drew Brees, 48 (96%)
- RB Alvin Kamara, 41 (82%)
- QB Taysom Hill, 13 (26%)
- RB Latavius Murray, 13 (26%)
- FS Marcus Williams, 1 (2%)
Hill didn’t see a huge jump in playing-time on offense (he’s averaged 11.4 snaps per game this year) but this game was easily his biggest day of the year so far. He scored both of the Saints’ two touchdowns (one through the air, another on the ground) and consistently gave the team a spark when they needed it on critical downs.
Skills positions
- WR Michael Thomas, 40 (80%)
- WR Tre’Quan Smith, 37 (74%)
- TE Josh Hill, 29 (58%)
- TE Jared Cook, 29 (58%)
- WR Ted Ginn Jr., 27 (54%)
- WR Krishawn Hogan, 11 (22%)
- TE Jason Vander Laan, 5 (10%)
Smith ran a lot of routes but didn’t get open often against Atlanta, catching two targets for 14 yards. Cook was frustratingly inconsistent. The veteran tight end has clear playmaking ability — just look at his latest 40-yard catch-and-run — but he’s dropped three would-be touchdown passes in the last two weeks, and went 3-for-6 as a receiver on Thursday. At least Brees is still giving him chances to make an impact.
Offensive line
- C Erik McCoy, 50 (100%)
- T/G Patrick Omameh, 50 (100%)
- G Larry Warford, 50 (100%)
- T Ryan Ramczyk, 50 (100%)
- G Nick Easton, 50 (100%)
- G/C Will Clapp, 6 (12%)
New Orleans had to start two new faces at left tackle (Omameh) and left guard (Easton), and they both responded well when called up. The Saints gave up six sacks in their last game with the Falcons but rebounded to keep Brees clean and upright in this meeting. Their success in a pinch was a huge reason for the Saints’ success.
Special teams
- LB Craig Robertson, 23 (77%)
- QB Taysom Hill, 23 (77%)
- LB Stephone Anthony, 20 (67%)
- CB Justin Hardee, 20 (67%)
- RB Dwayne Washington, 19 (63%)
- SS J.T. Gray, 19 (63%)
- CB Johnson Bademosi, 16 (53%)
- TE Josh Hill, 16 (53%)
We’re only listing the players who played at least half of the Saints’ special teams snaps; more than 30 different players were on the field for at least one snap in the game’s third phase. The group who passed that cut-off make up the core New Orleans builds around in the kicking game. While he never panned out as a first-round draft pick, it’s good to see Anthony has found a role to play in the NFL. Now can somebody stop an onside kick?
Defensive line
- DE Cameron Jordan, 65 (70%)
- DT Sheldon Rankins, 50 (54%)
- DE Marcus Davenport, 47 (51%)
- DE Trey Hendrickson, 42 (45%)
- DT David Onyemata, 42 (45%)
- NT Malcom Brown, 37 (40%)
- DT Mario Edwards Jr., 32 (34%)
- NT Shy Tuttle, 24 (26%)
This game was long and drawn-out for the Saints defense, and they did a great job of rotating the big men up front to keep everyone fresh. It paid off in the end, allowing Jordan to make the game-winning sack on fourth down against an exhausted and overmatched Falcons offensive line. But nearly everyone along the defensive line seemed to make an impactful play at some point, ranging from Davenport’s sack on the first play to Tuttle insane interception (and the stiff-arm jab to Matt Ryan that followed it).
Linebackers corps
- LB Demario Davis, 90 (97%)
- LB Craig Robertson, 50 (54%)
- LB A.J. Klein, 33 (35%)
- LB Kiko Alonso, 30 (32%)
- LB Stephone Anthony, 10 (11%)
Injuries struck the Saints here hard, forcing both Klein and Alonso to seek attention from medical staff on the sidelines. It also forced Robertson into his first extended action of the year (he logged just 21 combined defensive snaps in his previous 10 games, having sat out the season-opener with an injury). Credit to Robertson and Anthony for stepping up when the Saints needed them, and to Davis for nearly going the distance at such a physically-demanding position.
Defensive secondary
- SS Vonn Bell, 93 (100%)
- FS Marcus Williams, 93 (100%)
- CB Eli Apple, 93 (100%)
- CB Marshon Lattimore, 81 (87%)
- SS C.J. Gardner-Johnson, 38 (41%)
- CB Johnson Bademosi, 1 (1%)
This game set a new season-high in snaps played by the defense, surpassing their previous high-water mark (83 plays in Week 2 against the Seattle Seahawks) by what must have felt like a mile. but the work wasn’t over yet for two-way players like Bell, who also logged 11 snaps on special teams — putting him at an insane 104 total snaps played. Both Lattimore and Gardner-Johnson missed time with in-game injury issues, forcing the Saints to get creative on the back end with veteran backup Patrick Robinson a healthy scratch.
