It wasn’t always pretty, but the New Orleans Saints pulled off another road victory to improve their record to 5-1 on the year. The Jacksonville Jaguars defense was rarely challenged by a Saints offense slowed by a hobbled Alvin Kamara and off-the-mark Teddy Bridgewater, but the New Orleans defense made even more of an impact in a 13-6 win.
Cornerback Marshon Lattimore produced the game’s only interception, taking advantage of a rare miscue by rookie Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew II to snag a turnover. Defensive end Cameron Jordan picked up two sacks on the day and frequent rushed Minshew through his reads. Linebacker Demario Davis was effective in defending the middle of the field, helping limit Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette to 72 yards on 20 attempts (3.6 yards per carry).
The Saints offense clearly has things to clean up (left guard Andrus Peat was bullied throughout the game, creating several negative plays before taking over for left tackle Terron Armstead on a drive while Armstead had his ankle re-taped), and Kamara’s status is worth monitoring. He had difficulty absorbing contact and accelerating into the open field, and turned his 11 rushing attempts into just 31 yards (2.8 yards per carry) while gaining only 35 receiving yards on seven catches.
For now, at least, the defense was strong enough to keep the Saints in the game long enough for the offense to make a difference. They’ve allowed an average of 245 yards per game over their last three games; Lattimore’s resurgence to playing like a top-five cornerback in this league has done a lot to open up defensive coordinator Dennis Allen’s playbook. Next up: the Chicago Bears.
