We saw more fight from the New Orleans Saints than anyone expected on Thursday night, though it wasn’t enough to come away with a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Saints fell 31-24 in Week 7 and they’re now 3-4 on the season with a tough projection ahead of them. Each of their next three games look like easy wins, but that’s been said about other matchups on their schedule to date. Nothing is easy for this Saints team.
But who made a different on Thursday night — for good or bad? Who stood out for positive and negative reasons? Let’s break down this week’s Studs and Duds:
STUD | CB Paulson Adebo
Outside of a 19-yard defensive pass interference penalty late in the game (on a drive where the Jaguars ultimately turned the ball over on downs), Adebo was very impressive. He broke up two passes and led the team with 7 tackles (5 solo), repeatedly creating stops in run defense out in space. He was a real asset for the team in this game. It’s a shame his efforts were wasted.
DUD | QB Derek Carr
Carr looked as unimpressive in the first half as we’ve ever seen him this season. And his second half wasn’t as smooth as the final score would lead you to believe. Carr threw a hospital ball to Foster Moreau on one red zone series that nearly got his tight end injured and later had a breakdown with Chris Olave on an incomplete pass. The ball was never catchable (which doesn’t excuse Olave cutting his route off) but Carr’s response was to scream at his receiver like he hadn’t just thrown an awful pass that was dead the moment it left his hand. That’s poor leadership.
STUD | DE Carl Granderson
Another week, another Granderson highlight reel. The big defensive end came through with 6 tackles (5 solo) and a huge tackle for loss, consistently setting the edge when the Jaguars tried to get around him. He wasn’t able to generate a ton of pressures against Trevor Lawrence’s quick release, but Granderson was arguably the Saints’ most impactful defender up front.
DUD | WR Chris Olave
Olave has not met expectations in his second season. Whether he’s dealing with a more serious injury than has been reported or the pressures of dealing with subpar quarterback play are getting to him, he isn’t performing like the player the Saints need him to be. He dropped several passes on Thursday night and finished with just 7 receptions for 57 yards — off of 15 targets. He has got to step up.
STUD | Alvin Kamara
Kamara led the Saints in both rushing yards (62) and receiving yards (91) while also producing the team’s biggest gains on the ground (a 17-yard scamper) and through the air (a 21-yard pickup) while touching the ball 29 times. Sure, some of that is due to Carr being too eager to check it down to his safety valve, but Kamara made some plays when the Saints badly needed them. He wasn’t perfect — there were too many instances of him running into his own blockers or into contact with the defense when another lane was available — but Kamara left it all out on the field. He continued to show his leadership qualities after the game in consoling his upset teammate Foster Moreau.
DUD | The kickers
Neither rookie specialist performed well on Thursday night. Blake Grupe missed a 51-yard field goal, his third miss in two games. Lou Hedley turned in punts of 28 yards (to the Jaguars 18 yard line) and 39 yards (to the Jacksonville 45, returned 9 yards to the New Orleans 46) when the Saints really could have used greater distance. He’s consistently inconsistent, which has become a theme for Dennis Allen’s team. The Saints should get Blake Gillikin on the phone if he hasn’t blocked their number.
