It was an important win for the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. Not because it keeps them alive in the NFC South division or keeps their playoff hopes alive, but simply because the team needed a complete game off of which to build some momentum and confidence. For the Saints, the 27-20 win over the Los Angeles Rams is one positive step in the right direction. If the team wanted to prove that they could be resilient and bounce back after so much adversity, they proved something to themselves today.
You will not hear anything from these players or coaches about their postseason positioning after this win. Instead, you will hear about good play that they can continue to build off of and there was a lot to like in this performance regardless of how banged up the opponent was. Here are our takeaways from a much-needed victory in New Orleans.
Good things happen when Taysom Hill gets touches
The Saints’ most versatile weapon has not been getting the attention that many have expected over the last few weeks. Since the shutout win against the Las Vegas Raiders three weeks ago, hill had not had more than 4 combined rushes, receptions and passing attempts. That changed against the Rams in a major way.
Hill ran 9 times for a team-leading 52 rushing yards, attempted 3 passes of which he completed 1 for 14 yards to rookie wide receiver Chris Olave and caught a pass for 8 receiving yards that resulted in a first down. But Hill’s presence was far more felt this game than in the recent past as he took 16 snaps at quarterback. He even alternated with starting quarterback Andy Dalton for a couple of drives. New Orleans made a concerted effort to get him involved, and it made a major impact in keeping the Rams defense guessing.
Rookie wideout Chris Olave is the best rookie receiver in the NFL
The former Ohio State Buckeye continue to make waves in his rookie season. On Sunday against the Rams he compiled his third 100+ receiving yard game of the season and brought in his third touchdown reception in style. Olave and Dalton connected down the center of the field for a 53-yard touchdown strike in the third quarter. Olave was already leading rookie receivers across the NFL in targets, receptions and receiving yardage coming into this matchup and he’s extended his lead as the best in his class with a 5 catch, 102 receiving yard and 1 touchdown performance in Week 11.
Aaron Donald got a lot of attention, but only made a little noise
One of the biggest impact players everyone kept an eye on coming into this game was the Rams interior defensive lineman and former defensive player of the year. Donald had a minimal impact however in terms of splash plays. He had 1 quarterback hit on the 53-yard touchdown pass from Dalton to Olave as well as two tackles for a loss. Those are pretty pedestrian numbers by Donald’s standard. This goes to show how far along the development of Saints offensive lineman Cesar Ruiz has come as well as the very clear effort from the New Orleans offense to keep Donald contained. The Saints wisely double-teamed and at times triple-teams the disruptive interior defender and challenged the Los Angeles defense to get its pressure elsewhere. The Rams still notched 4 team sacks on the day, but much better to have those let up while Donald remains in check than the alternative.
TE Juwan Johnson has been stellar this season
The converted wide receiver has really taken off. Johnson has reeled in five touchdown catches in the last five games, including three straight. He has embodied the “too big for safeties and too fast for linebackers” cliché, turning it into much-needed offensive production.
“Juwan has done so many good things,” Dalton said when asked about the tight end’s impact. “His ability to stretch the field and get open. The matchup we get with him has been really, really good for us. It doesn’t surprise me that he’s scored as many touchdowns as he has these last several weeks. So, I mean, he’s a really good player for us.
Kaden Elliss keeps on shining
After loading up the stat sheet against the Pittsburgh Steelers last week, the task ahead of Elliss was showing that he could impact the game when there is tape out there on him. He answered the call in a big way against the Rams on Sunday. He led the team in tackles with 10 combined (5 solo), added 1.5 sacks, a pair of hits on the quarterback, a pass defended and a tackle for a loss. Elliss has been thrust into the starting lineup with the injury to starting linebacker Pete Werner.
“Man, five-five (No. 55) has been, for the last couple years, the best kept secret in the NFL,” Saints linebacker Demario Davis said. “We knew what type of player he was and now he’s getting that opportunity to show it to the world. I don’t know if anyone is shocked when they watch it in our building.”
The Saints were prepared for both Stafford and backup quarterback Bryce Perkins
They struggled a bit on defense the first series when Perkins took over for Stafford who left to be checked for a concussion, but overall, New Orleans fared well against the mobile signal caller. Saints head coach Dennis Allen said that the team had prepared for Stafford to play this week (despite coming off of concussion protocol) but also readied themselves for Perkins. Davis also mentioned that the team had prepped for Perkins as a change-of-pace quarterback, similar to the way defenses must prep for Hill in the Saints offense.
The first drive that the former Virginia Cavalier took the field, it looked like the Rams were about to flip the script taking advantage of a defense that has struggled against mobile quarterbacks. But after that drive, New Orleans settled in and were able to keep him limited to just 5 rushes for 39 rushing yards, 5 passing completions for 64 passing yards and also piled on 3 more sacks after getting to Stafford earlier in the game.
Takeaway about home crowd
It was not a full house at the Caesars Superdome on Sunday, but it was a mighty audience. The Rams were forced to take several timeouts at the line of scrimmage and suffered a pivotal delay of game penalty late in the contest due to crowd noise. During the team’s traditional “Us vs. Them” fourth quarter presentation, the Saints’ media team poked fun by comparing the Rams home-field advantage to the Saints. The home crowd proved them right.
