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Biggest Winners: Saints D, Estimé - Biggest Losers: Turnovers, Uniforms (yuck)

The Saints claim an OT win over the Browns. Here is who we picked as the winners & losers.
Doug Joubert|
Nov 8, 2026; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints running back Audric Estime (30) is tackled by Cleveland Browns linebacker Quincy Williams (5) during the first quarter at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images
Nov 8, 2026; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints running back Audric Estime (30) is tackled by Cleveland Browns linebacker Quincy Williams (5) during the first quarter at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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For the second time this year, the New Orleans Saints were taken into overtime, but unlike the first week of the season, the Saints were able to endure over the Cleveland Browns, 23-22, stopping the visitors on a two-point conversion with one minute left on the overtime clock.

Biggest Winners

Saints Defense

Another day, another game where the Saints can't seem to get their offense moving (until they had to). So it was up to the Saints defense to make a difference, and they did. In the first half, faced with a fourth and goal to defend, the Saints D made a huge stop.

Then, in overtime with the Browns electing to go for the win and not the tie, the Saints pass rush put the pressure on Cleveland quarterback Shedeur Sanders to force an errant throw on a two-point conversion.

The Saints sacked Sanders five times in the game and pressured him on most of his throws. There were a couple of big plays they gave up, but they held the Browns to under 100-yards rushing as a team, a gigantic step for this Saints D.

Audric Estimé

After bouncing around among three different teams this season alone, Audric Estimé made his second go-round with the Saints the one that counts.

The Saints released their leading rusher this year, Kendre Miller, one day before playing the Browns, deciding to utilize a pair of journeymen running backs instead: Zamir White and Estimé. White had a slight hand in making a difference in this one, but it was all Estimé in this one.

The third-year back out of Notre Dame ran the ball 15-times for 72-yards and his second touchdown as a Saint. His first came last December on a 32-yard jaunt against the Titans.

Saints Offensive Front - Part 1

Today, the Saints were able to claim 396-yards as an offense, 160 of that on the ground. Just two weeks ago, this same Saints offense claimed 18-yards rushing. That's almost nine times more yardage running the ball game-to-game.

There were no huge runs by those mentioned earlier or veteran Alvin Kamara, but there were large enough holes for the Saints running backs to find creases, which led to that 160-yards rushing.

Biggest Losers

Turnovers

The New Orleans offense gave up two turnovers, both by rookie wide receivers. That's fifteen turnovers on the year, nine of those fumbles which leads the NFL, surpassing, of all teams, the Cleveland Browns this weekend.

Meanwhile, the Saints defense, for the second week running, did not force one after taking the ball away from the New York Giants 4-times. New Orleans has forced nine total turnovers this season.

Saints Offensive Front - Part 2

As well as the O-line blocked at times for the run game, it left a lot to be desired in the passing side of things. Quarterback Tyler Shough was sacked five times and was hit or hurried seven additional times. We have said this so many times, we're starting to sound like a broken record, but if the line doesn't do a better job of protecting their QB, he's going to break more than a couple of fingers on his left hand.

Saints Uniforms

Saints WR Barion Brown
Nov 8, 2026; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints wide receiver Barion Brown (19) runs away from Cleveland Browns defensive end Sam Williams (54) during the third quarter at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Call us purists, but the Saints colors are black and gold, not black and whatever this color is. We will say that unlike others, we like the black helmets with the gold spots in place of a stripe.

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Doug Joubert
DOUG JOUBERT

Doug has been around Saints football since its inception. He was in Tulane Stadium when John Gilliam ran back the opening kickoff for a touchdown in 1967. Though he was in attendance for the Tom Dempsey field goal in 1970, he left early, something he regrets to this day. He covered the Saints at their training camp in Ruston, Louisiana in 1985 while he was working in Monroe, Louisiana as an award-winning radio sportscaster. He was the host of the New Orleans Saints Pre-Game and Post-Game show on Sports 1280, WQUE in the early 1990s. Doug is also the publisher of the Tulane site for On SI.

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