What We Learned From the Saints In Week 18
NEW ORLEANS -- The Saints entered Week 18 needing to take care of business before worrying about anything else, and they overcame some early struggles defensively to pulverize the Falcons 48-17 to close out the season. New Orleans finishes the year with a winning record at 9-8 and will have to wait to see what happens in the afternoon slate of games to know whether or not they will play more. Here's a good bit of things we learned from Dennis Allen and company on Sunday.
IT BECAME MORE ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED AT THE END
The Saints got a late touchdown while in victory formation, as Jamaal Williams got his first of the season. The play call was changed apparently, and instead of taking a knee they ran a running play. Most of the players sounded like they were in favor of it, but the end result was Arthur Smith being extremely upset at Dennis Allen before their midfield exchange, which produced quite the scene.
Smith had some choice expletives for Allen, and Dennis Allen apologized to him and the Falcons in his opening statement during his post-game press conference. Allen said, "That's not who we are," and that the team was supposed to take a knee. It looks like there's more in favor of the decision versus the other side of the coin, but it boils down to a coach called something and the players didn't run it, but the players took ownership of it.
THE FUTURE LOOKS REALLY BRIGHT IN SOME AREAS
The Saints had a lot of their youth step up in this game, and that could not be more evident than it was with Kendre Miller. He stepped in and did a great job, finishing with 73 yards on 13 carries (5.6 yards/carry). He also got into the end zone. It was a very strong performance for someone who hasn't seen the field since exiting in Week 9 and gives fans some encouragement going into next season. Oh by the way, this was done without Alvin Kamara. Miller simply looked like the player we saw early on.
However, things didn't stop there, as A.T. Perry caught two touchdowns on the day and finished with 3 receptions for 53 yards. Second-year receivers Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed also stepped up in a big way, while New Orleans got some help defensively some Alontae Taylor and many others. There's a lot to evaluate in the offseason, but some of these building blocks bring encouragement.
THE DEFENSE WAS BROKEN TO START THE GAME
The Saints defense from last week was missing in action to start the game, giving up two enormous plays in the air due to busted coverage. Alontae Taylor looked like he got benched early on but came back in a way. Still, the damage was done with a big hookup to Scotty Miller and a 71-yard touchdown to Bijan Robinson. In the first half, Desmond Ridder posted a perfect quarterback rating. Thankfully, the defense rallied and settled in to be completely different in the second half.
DEREK CARR WAS DEALING
Carr had some of his best throws of the season and looked outstanding out there. He finished 22/28 for 264 yards and had 4 touchdown passes. He finished with a 145.5 rating and has been putting up some strong performances down the stretch. He's a big reason why New Orleans finished the season 4-1. A lot of it could be attributed to his health, but either way it's a good thing. With all of the reports of Dennis Allen coming back in 2024, they hopefully can unlock more from Carr next season.
