Week 12 Saints Snap Counts and Observations

A closer look at the snap counts from Thursday's Saints loss to the Bills, as well as some observations from a lackluster performance.

Author:
John Hendrix
Publish date:
Nov 27, 2021 11:01 AM EST

It's time to hit the panic button for the Saints. They've lost four straight now after Thursday's complete domination by the Bills. All areas of the game were not good, and now there's only six games left in the season to try to make a bid for a Wild Card spot. It's going to be tough, and the team needs to go back to the drawing board and evaluate several spots. Here's a closer look at the snap counts from the 31-6 loss with some observations from a disappointing performance.

Being down your starters is never ideal, and it was complete struggle bus for the Saints.
Nov 25, 2021; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Trevor Siemian (15) hands off to New Orleans Saints running back Tony Jones Jr. (34) in the first quarter against the Buffalo Bills at the Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

Offense

Calvin Throckmorton, Cesar Ruiz, Erik McCoy, James Hurst, Terron Armstead, Trevor Siemian - 57 (100%)
There's really no sugarcoating things here, but the offense sucked. 3rd Downs were a struggle, the ground game couldn't generate anything on a Bills team who let Jonathan Taylor run wild, the passing game was atrocious, and the Saints only mustered 12 first downs and came up with less than 200 total yards on offense. Trevor Siemian was sacked twice on the night, and finished 17-of-29 for 163 yards with a touchdown and interception. New Orleans needs another answer at quarterback.
Tre'Quan Smith - 45 (79%)
Smith caught 4 passes for 31 yards on 5 targets, as he put together another decent game. He's arguably been one the team's best receiver for weeks. Perhaps a quarterback change would help him even more.
Marquez Callaway - 34 (60%)
Callaway caught 2 balls for 24 yards on 4 targets. He had a drop in the game, and it's been tough to watch after the promise he had at the beginning of the season.
Ty Montgomery - 29 (51%)
Montgomery returned from a wild pinky injury and ended up seeing more action in this one with injuries to Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram. He had 6 carries for 14 yards and had 5 receptions for 31 yards on 7 targets.
Lil'Jordan Humphrey - 27 (47%)
Humphrey led the way with 47 yards receiving on 3 catches and 5 targets. He's known more for his run-blocking traits, but it's good seeing him finding some success, even if the game is out of hand.
Juwan Johnson - 24 (42%)
Johnson saw zero targets despite leading the Saints tight ends in reps. New Orleans may not see Adam Trautman back this season, and he's a player who can create clear mismatches.
Deonte Harris - 23 (40%)
Harris was targeted 5 times and only caught one pass for 9 yards. The return game was not good for the Saints, as it looked to be a combination of bad blocking and questionable returns. Now, Harris is about to deal with a three-game suspension. Anything and everything that has gone wrong for the Saints has just about happened.
Nick Vannett, Kenny Stills, Tony Jones Jr. - 21 (37%)
Vannett caught the lone touchdown for the Saints to help avoid a shutout, and it was his only target. Jones Jr. couldn't get anything going running the ball, totaling 27 yards on 16 carries.
Garrett Griffin - 18 (32%)
Adam Prentice - 15 (26%)
Prentice was called up from the practice squad and got the nod over Alex Armah, which was a bit surprising. He had a lone catch and target for 10 yards.
Will Clapp - 6 (11%)
Kevin White - 1 (2%)

Defense

Marcus Williams, Malcolm Jenkins, Marshon Lattimore, Demario Davis - 66 (100%)
Overall, the Saints defense struggled heavily, as the Bills went 8-of-13 on 3rd Down and netted 361 total yards (113 rushing, 248 passing). Demario Davis had a strong game, all things considering, leading the way with 10 total tackles (6 solo, 4 assisted, tackle for loss). Lattimore had 5 total tackles (4 solo, 1 assisted) and a pass defense, and his night could be summed up slipping on a route where Dawson Knox got into the end zone with ease. Defensively, the Saints got two turnovers and it felt like they did enough to at least keep things close in the first half, but the offense wasn't able to get anything going.
P.J. Williams - 60 (91%)
Kwon Alexander - 50 (76%)
Alexander shut the door on a potential Bills score before the half by getting an interception. He finished with 4 total tackles (3 solo, 1 assisted) and a pass defense.
Carl Granderson - 44 (67%)
Granderson saw a lot more action at defensive end with injuries to Tanoh Kpassagnon and Marcus Davenport. He notched a sack and had 3 tackles (2 solo, 1 assisted) to go along with a QB hit. On a night that saw a lot of bad stuff defensively, Granderson was certainly a bright spot.
Paulson Adebo - 44 (67%)
Adebo had 4 solo tackles, which included one for a loss. He got hurt near the end of the game, which looked like it might have been concussion territory. We'll see how this gets impacted as the Saints play on Thursday.
Cam Jordan - 43 (65%)
Jordan only had an assisted tackle and pass defense, but came up big on the pass rush at the end of the first half to help Kwon Alexander get an interception.
Jalyn Holmes - 36 (55%)
David Onyemata, Josiah Bronson - 33 (50%)
Onyemata didn't register on the stat sheet, while Bronson had 4 total tackles (3 solo, 1 assisted) with a loss.
Bradley Roby - 32 (48%)
Roby had the other Saints interception, making a good play on the ball and giving the team some life in the first half. He ended up finishing third on the team with 8 tackles (7 solo, 1 assisted) with a pass defense.
Christian Ringo - 28 (42%)
Shy Tuttle - 27 (41%)
Pete Werner - 16 (24%)
Werner had just 3 total tackles (1 solo, 2 assisted), but continues to do some good things in run defense each week.
Kaden Elliss - 9 (14%)
Elliss was used as a defensive end in this game due to injury, and he had the other Saints sack. Unfortunately, he would be lost due to a hamstring issue and would not return.
Zack Baun - 6 (9%)
Ken Crawley - 1 (2%)

Special Teams (Top Reps)

You can applaud the aggressive approach on special teams, but the execution has to be there. Overall, there were problems on kickoffs, and it's an area that has to be better.