Well, this game went about how I expected it too. The New Orleans Saints jumped up to 6-7 on the year after a 30-9 win over the lowly New York Jets. It was their first win in six games after struggling mightily since the loss of Jameis Winston. Despite playing a bad opponent, I was proud of this Saints team who is still dealing with so many injuries and now a suspension to their top weapon in the pass game.
Taysom Hill was decent passing the football but nothing incredible. It was clear that his finger injury really affected the way that he was throwing the football down the field. He had 175 passing yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. Alvin Kamara unsurprisingly carried the offensive load the whole night. He had 27 carries for 120 yards and a touchdown on the day. Hill had 11 carries for 73 yards and two touchdowns himself, though a 40-yard touchdown in garbage time definitely inflated those numbers a bit. Nick Vannett was their leading receiver as well if that doesn’t give you a clear image of how bad their offensive talent is at the moment.
Defensively, I was incredibly proud. Cameron Jordan was forced ot miss his first game in years after being placed on the COVID list, but they managed fine without him here. Kwon Alexander nabbed two sacks and Carl Granderson picked up another. They didn’t force any turnovers but players like Demario Davis, Marshon Lattimore and C.J. Gardner-Johnson were all making a crazy impact on that side of the ball.
Zach Wilson looked alright, but it’s clear that the talent is not around him at the moment like everybody really expected. Corey Davis, Michael Carter and Elijah Moore are all out right now, leaving Braxton Berrios and D.J. Montgomery as the top wideout weapons. Wilson threw for 202 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions himself. He also managed to be their leading rusher with four carries for 33 yards. La’Mical Perine didn’t get going much, taking seven carries for 28 yards yet being their best rusher. Defensively they did well up until the end when they allowed a few late game touchdowns when the game was started to get decided. All in all, it wasn’t a bad performance for a team hoping to get another top selection in the upcoming NFL draft.
New Orleans now sits in a tough tie with the Atlanta Falcons in the division. Atlanta moved up to 6-7 on the year as well after a big win over the Carolina Panthers and knocked them down to 5-8. Carolina is in the basement of the division at the moment, one game behind both Atlanta and New Orleans. Then all three teams are behind the surging Tampa Bay Buccaneers who sit at 10-3 on the season. They just got a huge win in overtime against the Buffalo Bills to be proud of. It’s a longshot for any team besides Tampa Bay to win this division, the only chance that happens is if the Saints can win their upcoming game against them. Even then it’s a longshot. Still, anything is possible in this lead and it’s never a good idea to feel complacent with your positioning.