The New Orleans Saints look to take down the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday Night Football. It’s the Saints’ second primetime game of the season, they were victorious in their first game. If the Saints want to repeat that outcome, there are a couple of matchups they need to win.
New Orleans comes into this game with a beaten-up offensive line. Jacksonville will clearly look to exploit that weakness. Also, you have a defensive minded head coach and an offensive minded head coach facing off. These are just pieces of the three matchups you need to watch ahead of Saints vs. Jaguars.
Josh Allen vs. Saints offensive tackles
Allen is already at 7 sacks on the season with two 3-sack performances. In addition to his ability to rush the passer, the defensive end also penetrates the line of scrimmage in the run game. He flips sides but he may line up primarily on the offense’s right side this game. The Saints are down to their third-string tackle on both sides, but Cam Erving would seem to be a bigger mismatch for Allen at right tackle.
Marshon Lattimore vs. Calvin Ridley
The former Atlanta Falcon isn’t new to facing the Saints. Most times, however, Lattimore was lined up against Julio Jones. Ridley’s production has been hit or miss since returning from his year away from football. He’s had 100 receiving yards in two games and less that 50 in every other game.
Dennis Allen vs. Doug Pederson
These are two coaches who are really good at coaching their side of the ball. This should be a chess match when the Saints defense and Jaguars offense is on the field. Both men interviewed for the Saints head coaching vacancy. Some might question if New Orleans made the right hire, so this would be a nice win for Allen.
