Week 10 Saints Snap Counts and Observations

Sean Payton's Saints overcame a weird first quarter to knock off the 49ers and improve to 7-2 on the year. We take a closer look at the game with snap counts and playing time percentages.

Author:
John Hendrix
Publish date:
Nov 17, 2020 9:07 AM EST

The Saints improved to 7-2 on the year after knocking off the 49ers on Sunday, but it came with a cost. Many key players got injured throughout the game, with some returning and some not. Most notably, Drew Brees was the biggest absence for New Orleans in the second half. It'll be an interesting road to recovery for Brees, who has to overcome a collapsed lung and several fractured ribs. Regardless, the Saints must press on. Here's a look at how Week 10's snap counts and playing time percentages shaped out.

Offense

Ryan Ramczyk, Cesar Ruiz, Terron Armstead, Erik McCoy - 59 (100%)
Ruiz and the interior line had a tough job controlling the 49ers defensive line at times, which led to three total sacks on the day. Of course, the big thing was the shots on Drew Brees, which eventually forced him out of action in the second half.
Andrus Peat - 52 (88%)
Michael Thomas - 46 (78%)
Thomas was targeted 7 times on Sunday, hauling in 2 catches for 27 yards. When Jameis Winston came in, they just couldn't connect on a few tries. This will have to get better as the Saints prepare for life without Brees again.
Alvin Kamara - 39 (66%)
Kamara was essentially shut down in the rushing department all of the first half, not getting out of negative yardage until later in the second half. Despite that, he was active in the passing game, hauling in 7 catches for 83 yards and a score on 8 targets. Despite the bad rushing day, Kamara did have two touchdowns on the ground to finish with 8 rushes for 15 yards.
Jameis Winston, Emmanuel Sanders - 34 (58%)
Winston entered the second half as the starter in relief of Brees, going 6-of-10 for 63 yards (78.3 rating). In all fairness, he probably wasn't expecting to play in this game. It was reminiscent of last year's game against the Rams when Teddy Bridgewater went in. Winston will be better going forward, and looks to start a few games for New Orleans, if Payton does indeed name him the starter.
Adam Trautman - 27 (46%)
After a big game against the Bucs, Trautman was shut out on the stat sheet. Some of that could have been due to Josh hill being lost from a concussion.
Latavius Murray - 24 (41%)
Murray came in mainly for cleanup duty, but finished with 9 carries for 57 yards, including a long of 18. Perhaps the next several games will see a healthy mix of both him and Kamara, but Winston is capable of throwing it and moving the Saints down the field.
Taysom Hill - 22 (37%)
Hill had 8 carries for 45 yards, but also coughed the ball up once and fumbled twice. Ball security is obviously crucial to the Saints, and he'll have to be better in that area. Still, it was a pretty good outing for him.
Deonte Harris, Jared Cook - 21 (36%)
Harris had the bad muffed punt early, but recovered well. He had 4 catches for 24 yards, while adding 3 kick returns for 122 yards that including that long one of 75. As for Cook, he's in a slump right now. He failed to register a catch on his 2 targets. Hopefully, he gets it turned around.
James Hurst, Drew Brees - 20 (34%)
Hurst had a ton of utilization in jumbo sets, with the Saints finishing with 114 yards on the ground after an abysmal start. Brees finished 8-of-13 for 76 yards and a score (103.4 rating) before being forced out of the game due to cracked ribs and a collapsed lung. The craziest part is that he piloted scoring drives while being hurt. He's absolutely one tough ombre, but will miss time.
Tre'Quan Smith - 16 (27%)
Smith took a vicious hit on his lone target that didn't draw a penalty. That's really all you need to know. It'll undoubtedly warrant a fine from the league, and Smith is fortunate to only come out of this with a concussion.
Michael Burton - 15 (25%)
Josh Hill - 9 (15%)
Nick Easton - 7 (12%)
Easton appeared when Peat went out due to injury. His value to the team's offensive line this season is an understatement.
Marquez Callaway - 6 (10%)
Callaway didn't do anything offensively, but made two huge plays on special teams in place of Justin Hardee Sr. to recover a couple of muffed punts.

Defense

Malcolm Jenkins, Janoris Jenkins, Demario Davis, Marcus Williams - 71 (100%)
Malcolm Jenkins had a big pick when the 49ers were threatening, and finished with 5 total tackles (3 solo, 2 assisted). He nearly had another pick prior to that. Demario Davis went Super Sayain on the field, turning in a 12-tackle (8 solo, 4 assisted) performance on the day with a sack.
C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Cam Jordan - 61 (86%)
Ceedy Duce plays like he's shot out of a cannon, and his energy is hard to match. He had 8 total tackles (6 solo, 2 assisted) and a sack. He had 3 QB hits, 2 tackles for loss, and a pass defense. He did get injured and did not return, but said during post game that he was fine. We'll see on the injury report. Cam Jordan was once again quiet on the stat sheet.
David Onyemata - 53 (75%)
Onyemata had 4 total tackles, all solo, on the day. He had 2 QB hits, 2 tackles for loss, and a pass defense. He's consistently proving why the Saints locked him for the next several years.
Trey Hendrickson - 49 (69%)
Hendrickson had a pass defense and a QB hit, is dropped to being tied for 6th in the league with his 7.5 sacks.
Marshon Lattimore - 48 (68%)
Lattimore had 5 total tackles (4 solo, 1 assisted), but left the game early due to an oblique issue. Hopefully, it's nothing serious. The Saints need him with the Falcons on deck two out of the next three weeks.
Marcus Davenport - 44 (62%)
Davenport had 3 total tackles, one of them being a tackle for loss. There were some rushes that he just looked like a man possessed, bullying the 49ers offensive line. He's absolutely on the rise.
Kwon Alexander - 43 (61%)
Alexander's first game did not disappoint, as he was used alongside Demario Davis a lot. He finished with 4 total tackles (2 solo, 2 assisted) in his debut.
Malcolm Roach - 31 (44%)
P.J. Williams - 27 (38%)
Malcom Brown - 24 (34%)
Brown exited early due to a calf issue, as the Saints lost a lot of players throughout the course of the game. The team is already without Sheldon Rankins, so it'll be interesting to see if Brown misses any time.
Patrick Robinson - 23 (32%)
Robinson came in for Lattimore, and made a big interception in the end zone to turn the 49ers away, also adding 2 pass defenses. For a player who took a pay cut to stay with the Saints, he's certainly been very valuable for New Orleans.
Shy Tuttle - 22 (31%)
D.J. Swearinger - 9 (13%)
Zack Baun, Alex Anzalone - 1 (1%)
Baun made a killer special teams tackle, and has been getting better there in his role. Anzalone went from being a starter on defense to special teams after Kwon Alexander took all his snaps.