Week 11 Saints Snap Counts and Observations

Taysom Hill won the first start of his NFL career, as the Saints beat down the Falcons and captured an important division win.

Author:
John Hendrix
Publish date:
Nov 23, 2020 2:04 PM EST

The New Orleans Saints are sitting pretty in the driver's seat right now after beating the Falcons 24-9 on Sunday. It was the team's seventh straight win after starting 1-2, as Sean Payton's squad is now 4-0 against the NFC South and 7-1 against the NFC. Here's a look at how Week 11's snap counts went done, with playing time percentages and some observations.

Offense

Ryan Ramczyk, Erik McCoy, Taysom Hill, Terron Armstead - 66 (100%)
Taysom Hill finished as the leading rusher (10-51-2 TDs) for New Orleans, and went 18-of-23 for 233 yards (108.9 rating). It wasn't perfect, but it was a good outing for Hill in his first start. He had a touchdown wiped off the board due to penalty, but looked comfortable overall. New Orleans went 4-of-11 on 3rd down, while Hill was sacked three times on the day. He'll get better, and was much better in the second half for the Saints.
Cesar Ruiz - 60 (91%)
Ruiz and Nick Easton looked like they were rotating again up until Andrus Peat got hurt. He looked pretty comfortable and had a much better game overall.
Michael Thomas - 57 (86%)
Thomas had his best performance of the season, and it came at a great time. Thomas was targeted 12 times, hauling in 9 receptions for 104 yards. The only play he wanted to have back was the fastball Hill sent to him, which he called an 'ugly drop'. Life without Drew Brees is easier when you lean on big playmakers like Thomas.
Nick Easton - 54 (82%)
Tre'Quan Smith - 45 (68%)
Smith didn't tally anything in the stat sheet, but showed a lot in the blocking area. For a player who had such a nasty looking injury the week before, he sure surprised many by playing in this game.
Emmanuel Sanders - 39 (59%)
Sanders made a great adjustment on a deep ball from Hill that looked off to begin with. Upon further review, it looks like a Falcons defender make some slight contact with his leg that affected the pass. Regardless, Sanders got the pass, and was also fortunate that he was ruled down by contact. He had a big touchdown wiped off the board too, finishing with 4 receptions for 66 yards on 5 targets.
Latavius Murray - 33 (50%)
Murray had 12 carries for 49 yards while adding 2 receptions for 36 yards on 2 targets. He had a long catch of 25 yards, a play which saw him essentially doing it all by himself. There was a point where he was running on a drive that ended in the Saints going for it and converting on a 4th-and-Goal where Terron Armstead motioned to the sidelines to keep feeding and let Murray eat.
Adam Trautman, Alvin Kamara - 32 (48%)
Trautman caught just one pass on his lone target for 19 yards, but boy was it memorable. His route was well executed, but perhaps the bigger story here is him getting the bulk of the tight end snaps over Cook. Not having Josh Hill hurt, but Trautman stepped up in a big way. As for Kamara, he went without a single catch in the game (1 target), finishing with 13 carries for 45 yards and a score. It was a relatively quiet game for Kamara, but he still made his presence felt.
Jared Cook - 25 (38%)
Cook caught his only target for 6 yards. He's officially in a slump right now, but perhaps he's also not 100 percent either. Hopefully, Cook puts it together. This New Orleans team will really need him down the stretch and in the playoffs.
Garrett Griffin - 19 (29%)
James Hurst, Andrus Peat - 18 (27%)
Hurst continues to be the primary jumbo set guy, and overall has done a pretty good job for the Saints. Peat exited the game due to a concussion, and did not return. He'll undoubtedly go into the protocol, and we'll see if he gets in for the Broncos game.
Michael Burton - 13 (20%)
Marquez Callaway - 8 (12%)
Callaway ended up being the team's primary returner after Deonte Harris (stinger) left the game. He had five total returns (2 kickoffs, 3 punts).
Deonte Harris - 7 (11%)
Harris had a big 23-yard run on a jet sweep, while catching his single target for 2 yards and returning 3 kicks (1 punt, 2 kickoffs). He left the game due to a stinger, giving return duties to Callaway.
Ty Montgomery - 2 (3%)

Defense

Malcolm Jenkins, Patrick Robinson, Janoris Jenkins, Marcus Williams - 62 (100%)
Janoris Jenkins was credited with 5 total pass defenses to go along with 5 total tackles (4 solo, 1 assisted) and an interception. Williams had his 13th career interception, which moved him into the Top 10 in Saints franchise history. All things considered, Patrick Robinson played great without the team having Marshon Lattimore.
C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Demario Davis - 57 (92%)
Demario Davis had another killer game, leading the Saints with 7 total tackles (4 solo, 3 assisted), a sack, 2 QB hits, tackle for loss, and a pass defense. Ceedy Duce had 4 total tackles (2 solo, 2 assisted) and 2 pass defenses - one in an early end zone attempt for Atlanta.
Cam Jordan, Kwon Alexander - 46 (74%)
Jordan continued his dominance against the Falcons, getting 3 sacks on the day to bring his total to 21 against Atlanta in 19 games. Cam Jordan joined Bruce Smith, Reggie White, Kevin Greene, Michael Strahan, Jason Taylor, Lawrence Taylor, Derrick Thomas, Bryant Young, John Randle, Leslie O'Neal, and Derrick Thomas by having 20+ takedowns against a single team. As for Alexander, he had 3 total tackles (all solo) and a pass defense. He has been electrifying so far, and nearly had a pick.
P.J. Williams - 34 (55%)
Trey Hendrickson, David Onyemata - 33 (53%)
Both Hendrickson and Onyemata finished with a 2-piece, as New Orleans had 8 total sacks on Matt Ryan. At 9.5 sacks, Hendrickson is tied for the league lead. He's on his way to a big contract.
Malcom Brown - 31 (50%)
Marcus Davenport - 30 (48%)
Carl Granderson, Alex Anzalone - 15 (24%)
Ryan Glasgow - 14 (23%)
After being elevated from the team's practice squad, Glasgow finished with 3 total tackles (2 solo, 1 assisted).
Shy Tuttle - 13 (21%)
No Matt Ryan stiff arm this time around, sadly. Tuttle had a pass defense.
Craig Robertson - 5 (8%)
Zack Baun - 3 (5%)
D.J. Swearinger, Ken Crawley - 1 (2%)