Will the Saints Go Marching Out of Levi's with a Win?

The Saints defense was supposed to be one the best this season. Their offense was supposed to have one of the better groups of weapons as well. Jameis Winston was ultra-efficient in 2021, prior to tearing his ACL. It was widely assumed, by many Saints fans at least, that he would pick up right where he left off this season. Coming out of week 11, none of these things appear to be the case.

Their defense has been heavily injured. Star cornerback Marshawn Lattimore has missed 5 games this season, but we was back at practice on Wednesday.

A stepped in the right direction for the #Saints. Lattimore was dealing with a lacerated kidney, among other injuries. https://t.co/s0YEkGEE4y
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 23, 2022

Lattimore is widely regarded as once the best cornerbacks in the NFL. Despite having a questionable designation, my Saints inside source, Sports Illustrated writer Bob Rose, told me that he doesn't believe Lattimore will be ready to play this week at Levi's.

Unfortunately, Lattimore won't be back this week 😕
— Bob Rose (@bobbyr2613) November 24, 2022

Also, star edges Cam Jordan (eye) and Marcus Davenport (calf) are both injured. Jordan has only missed one game this season. That was the just his second missed game of his illustrious 12 year career, so if I was a betting man, then I'd wager on Jordan playing this week.

This is just the second time in Cam Jordan's career that he'll miss a game. He's been in the NFL since 2011. Legitimate iron man.
— Chris Rosvoglou (@RosvoglouReport) November 18, 2022

He has 5.5 sacks, 8 tackles for a loss and 10 quarterback hits, to go along with a massive 42 tackles. Jordan's and Davenport's absences were a big reason for the Rams being able rack up 148 rushing yards last week vs the Saints, despite the Rams being able to average only 68 rushing yards per game, in their other nine games this season.

Demario Davis is one of the best linebackers in football, but he doesn't have much help in the second level. Speaking of second, Saints second year cornerback Paulson Adebo is a rising star to watch. Cornerback Bradley Roby might return off of Injured Reserve, which could be big if Lattimore really doesn't play. Safety Tyrann Mathieu has been a huge disappointment this season. I told Chiefs fans that they would miss him, but it looks like I was mistaken, so far.

Star wide receiver Michael Thomas has been hampered by injuries for the third season in row, with just three games played in 2022. Jarvis Landry is a solid receiver, but he's questionable to play on Sunday. Rookie phenom Chris Olave has made a seamless transition to the NFL from being a super star receiver at Ohio State. He already has 51 catches for 760 yards and 3 touchdowns. Alvin Kamara is listed as a running back, but he is really a "run-ceiver," just like Christian McCaffery. The Saints can and do line him up anywhere. He has 896 combined yards and 3 touchdowns. If it seems like the touchdowns totals are low, then that's due to Swiss Army Knife and touchdown vulture Taysom Hill, who plays quarterback, running back, wide receiver and tight end too. The Saints have been using him frequently in goal line and short yardage situations this season. Hill has 5 rushing touchdowns, a receiving touchdown and also threw for a touchdown as well. Another touchdown vulture is tight end Juwan Johnson, who has 5 touchdowns and 347 receiving yards.

Speaking of throwing, Jameis Winston hasn't been doing much of that. Just three starts for 858 passing yards, 4 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. I tried to warn Saints fans this offseason that ACLs can be tricky for quarterbacks. Especially that first season back, but most of them just laughed me off.

Andy Dalton a.k.a. the Red Rifle has been QB1 for most of 2022 -- eight games for 1819 yards with 14 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. He doesn't exactly strike fear into the heart of defensive coordinators, but Dalton is efficient and tends not to make costly mistakes.

The Saints offensive line is pretty banged up. Star center Erik McCoy and 2022 first round draft pick left tackle Trevor Penning are both out on the Injured Reserve list. Left tackle James Hurst and left guard Andrus Peat are both questionable. This could explain a lot the the Saints offensive struggles. Offensive line is often overlooked, but it's so crucial to a team's success.

The Saints special teams unit is pretty far from special.

Saints' DVOA profile...

#23 offense
#15 defense
#25 special teams

#23 overall

There's a reason that the 49ers are favored by 9.5 points. They've been a lot better than New Orleans
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) November 23, 2022

As of now, I'm not picking the Saints to to marching out with a W, but I do think it will be closer than the current 9.5 point spread would indicate. As always, I'll reply to this article with my official score prediction about an hour before kickoff, once we know exactly who will play and who won't. If the Saints get most or all of their questionable players back, then I might even pick them to win.