Saints Show Strong PFF Grades in Some Areas, Needs Improvement in Others, Saints On SI Analysis

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After the Saints' heartbreaking 31-30 loss to the Lions on Sunday, there were places to get better, as head coach Kellen Moore talked about on Monday.

Against the Lions, the Saints were above average in quite a few categories on offense, average or below on a few on the defensive side, according to PFF.

Using Pro Football Forum (PFF) as one source of data, we are able to compare the Saints' progress. PFF has analysts watch and chart every player on every single snap of every game, giving them a grade from 0 to 100 based on how well they execute their assignment. Here is how PFF breaks down their scale:

- 90+: Elite
- 80–89: Good
- 70–79: Above average
- 60–69: Average
- 50–59: Below average / bad
- 40–49: Poor
- 39 or lower: Very poor / terrible

Saints Offense Grades are Okay

The overall Saints defense scored a 73.8 in the PFF score for their Week 1 efforts. The highest was in the passing and receiving categories where the team hit a score of 76.1 in passing and an impressive 78 in receiving.

The low end of the scale came as no surprise as the run game scored a 58.2, with the run blocking at 53.0. Pass blocking was the lowest team score on O, at a PFF 51.0.

Another no-surpriser was that wide receiver Chris Olave had the highest score on the offensive side at 82.6. Though his run blocking wasn't where he'd like it, at 55.7, his passing score was an impressive 81.5, tying him with tight end Noah Fant for the second highest score in that category. Travis Etienne Jr was tops there at nice 85.4 score by PFF.

On the other end of the scale, right tackle Taliese Fuaga scored the lowest for the New Orleans offense, at an overall 41.2 grade. His pass blocking, though not the lowest, was an unimpressive 34.3. Running backs Etienne and Kendre Miller were the low end of the totem pole for that, with Miller at 25.3 and A-Chan at the lowest pass blocking score of 23.9.

Tight end Juwan Johnson scored the highest in run blocking with an nice 75.1 score.

O-lineman Fuaga and Cesar Ruiz scored the lowest on the team in blocking for the run, both coming in under a grade of 46.

Saints On SI Analysis

The passing game was a strength for the Saints after Week 1, while the running game continues to be a problem. After a near-the-bottom-of-the-barrel rushing game in 2025 (28th out of 32 teams with a 94.3-yards per game average), the Saints have moved up to 17th in the NFL in rushing after the first game. However, rushing for 91-yards on 25-carries against Detroit has to jump significantly if the team is expected to throw the ball better. Otherwise, quarterback Tyler Shough is going to be a sitting duck.

Saints Defense has Work to Do

The overall score for the Saints D sits at 63.2 by PFF for the Lions game. It's top score was on coverage with a pretty good 72.8, but the run defense brought that good news to a screeching halt with a 50.6 PFF score.

No surprise for NOLA that defensive tackle Vernon Broughton had far and away the highest score on the D with a sky-high 91.7 overall, though his tackling suffered. His score of 30.8 put him fifth lowest spot on the defense for tackling.

The lowest scores on the D belonged to interior lineman. Tackle Nathan Shepherd scored an overall 30.5, while Davon Godchaux wasn't far behind with a 34.0 For both, it was their tackling that suffered the most: Shepherd with a score of 26.7 and Godchaux at 29.8.

Saints On SI Analysis

In 2025, the Saints overall defense was top-10 in the NFL, mostly because it ranked 4th in pass defense. The rush D was something different, ranking 19th in the league in yards rushing given up per game, 120.6-yards. After giving up 165-yards on the ground against Jahmyr Gibbs, rather the Lions (Gibbs had 156-yards), this is THE area of improvement the Saints must target. The running game of next week's opponent, Baltimore, isn't any easier with Derrick Henry holding down the fort. Henry ran the ball 24-times for 144-yards and three touchdowns.

Special Teams Doing Well

Overall, the Saints special teams showed a lot of promise, hitting the highest of the three portions of the Saints team at a score of 74.6 from PFF.

Place kicker Daniel Carlson had a nice 71.0 on the day. Punter Ryan Wright was right at the average mark at a 62.6.

A vast majority of the special teams players scored 60 and above for the Saints, with Jordan Howden leading the way with a score of 82.2. Isaiah Stalbird was not far behind at 79.7.

Saints On SI Analysis

Special teams is the strength of the team right now. Wright is consistent, Carlson is reliable. And when Barion Brown is given some blocking, as what happened in the second half, he has show some pretty impressive moves.

Offensive and Defensive Tendencies of the Saints

When looking at tendencies of a defensive unit, it's interesting to note Brandon Staley's defense is just below the median in the NFL when it comes to the percentage of times his schemes call for a blitz.

According to Sharp Football Analysis, the NFL average going in to week one of the season for the percentage of times teams have called for a blitz to be pushed is 25.1% of the snaps in a game. That ranges from a low of 17.1% of the time for the Bengals to a high of 48% of snaps taken by the Vikings defense.

The Saints are right near that middle point, blitzing 24.9% of the time when they are on defense.

Another measuring stick is how often the Saints defense loads the box. In other words, are their seven or more defenders near the line of scrimmage, called a heavy box, or are there six or less, named a light box?

For the light box, the Saints are more toward the bottom of the occurrences, lining up with six or less near the line of scrimmage 42.3% of the time. The league ranges from a low of 26.6% for the light box rate from the Vikings, and up to a 60.1% rate of lining up six or less in the box from the Eagles.

The Saints are, again, toward the bottom of the pack when it comes to the heavy box rate. While the Eagles, predictably, are the lowest, at 14.7% of the time having seven or more in the box and Vikings going heavy 36.9% of the time, the Saints are sitting at 28% of the time going heavy.

Then there's the sub package rate. The defensive set up where a team has extra defensive backs in the game. The lowest in the league after Week 1 was the Lions at a 34% clip, while the Seahawks put extra DBs onto the field a whopping 92% of the time. The Saints were, again, toward the bottom of that statistical line at 62% of the time.

Tendencies on the Offensive Side of the Ball

We do have tendencies available to us for offense from Week 1. The Saints were above the NFL average for teams that lined up with three or more receivers, putting that many wideouts in the game 67% of the time in Week 1. The league average was 57% of the time.

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