Week 18 Saints Snap Counts and Observations

The Saints finished their season on a high note by knocking off the Falcons and ending up above .500.

Author:
John Hendrix
Publish date:
Jan 11, 2022 7:52 PM EST

The Saints knew what was on the line going into Sunday's matchup with the Falcons, and they did their part in delivering a win. The 30-20 victory over Atlanta gave New Orleans a winning season at 9-8, which is pretty great for a team that lost five straight after such a hot 5-2 start. Unfortunately, they didn't get what they needed to get into the postseason, which is disappointing.

Here's a look at the team's final regular season game snap counts with some observations.

Offense

Cesar Ruiz, James Hurst, Erik McCoy - 72 (100%)
The Saints offense pieced together one of their best performances of the season, including getting their first opening touchdown drive. Trevor Siemian was sacked once, while New Orleans put together a 369-yard offensive game (195 rushing, 174 passing). They went 8-of-16 on 3rd Down, and were extremely dominant on the ground.
Calvin Throckmorton, Ryan Ramczyk - 68 (94%)
It was good to have Ryan Ramczyk out there, as he hasn't played since Week 10 against the Titans. It won't be surprising to hear about him needing some offseason surgery to clean up whatever was bothering him and keeping him out.
Alvin Kamara - 56 (78%)
Kamara had a stellar game, rushing for 146 yards on 30 carries while adding 2 catches for 16 yards. He was nearly unstoppable after being bottled up for the past few games. He'll be a huge part of what the team does offensively in 2022, and hopefully he doesn't miss any action.
Tre'Quan Smith - 52 (72%)
Smith closed out his regular season with a 5-catch, 76-yard day that included a touchdown grab on 7 targets. The catch was outstanding, and he also had a long gain of 34 yards. He's set to become a free agent, and it'll be interesting to see if the team makes an effort to keep him. It's definitely an area where New Orleans must get better.
Adam Trautman - 50 (69%)
Trautman had a lone target and catch, but it was for the game's opening score. The 18-yard hookup from Taysom Hill was perfectly executed. The second-year product out of Dayton had a very down year after some lofty expectations, but hopefully he can bounce back.
Marquez Callaway, Trevor Siemian - 46 (64%)
Callaway didn't register a catch on the day after being targeted just once. Siemian stepped in for a hurt Taysom Hill, and finished 9-of-15 for 71 yards with 2 touchdown throws (Trautman/Juwan Johnson). Give Siemian a ton of a credit for stepping in again when he was needed most. Given Hill's injury, he would have actually been starting against the Rams had the team made the playoffs.
Jordan Mills - 31 (43%)
Mills was used in jumbo set, as New Orleans used this frequently.
Ty Montgomery - 30 (42%)
Taysom Hill - 26 (36%)
Hill ended up suffering a Lisfranc injury, and Sean Payton revealed that he was going to have to have surgery on it. It's unfortunate to see Hill's season end like that, and give him a lot of props for toughing through a plantar fascia injury and finger injury. He finished 7-of-9 for 107 yards and a score while adding 5 rushes for 18 yards.
Adam Prentice - 25 (35%)
Deonte Harris - 21 (29%)
Let's just clear the air. The media asked, and Deonte would prefer to go by 'Harty' going forward. The name change will likely be reflected in the new season. Harris caught 3 of his 4 targets for 24 yards, and had a rush of 9 yards.
Nick Vannett - 20 (28%)
Tony Jones Jr. - 14 (19%)
Juwan Johnson - 11 (15%)
Johnson essentially ended the season like he started the season by grabbing one of the Saints touchdowns.
Lil'Jordan Humphrey - 7 (10%)
Will Clapp - 5 (7%)

Defense

Paulson Adebo, Malcolm Jenkins, Demario Davis, Marcus Williams - 50 (100%)
The Saints defense played lights out for most of the game, as they forced 3 turnovers. The crazy part is that they all came to open Falcons drives. Atlanta gained 257 total yards (62 rushing, 195 passing), as Matt Ryan was sacked 3 times on the day. One of the best things to appreciate is how Cordarrelle Patterson was held in check, as he torched the Saints in their last meeting for 126 yards on 6 catches.
C.J. Gardner-Johnson - 43 (86%)
Kwon Alexander - 39 (78%)
Alexander was credited with a forced fumble, fumble recovery, and a QB hit to go along with his 3 total tackles (2 solo, 1 assisted). He certainly played some of his best football with the Saints defense, and he'll absolutely be a priority free agent for the team to keep.
Cam Jordan, Marshon Lattimore - 36 (72%)
Jordan got a sack to cap off his killer stretch to end the season. He finished the year with 12.5, and now just sits 8 behind Rickey Jackson.
David Onyemata -32 (64%)
Marcus Davenport - 29 (58%)
Davenport netted 1.5 sacks on the day, finishing with 3 QB hits in addition to a forced fumble. The team was so much better with him in the lineup, and he's going into a key season playing on his fifth-year option.
Carl Granderson - 23 (46%)
Shy Tuttle - 21 (42%)
Jeff Heath - 19 (38%)
Malcolm Roach - 18 (36%)
Ken Crawley, Jalyn Holmes - 14 (28%)
Christian Ringo - 12 (24%)
Kaden Elliss, Pete Werner - 7 (14%)