The New Orleans Saints (4-8) were dealt an embarrassing 13-0 loss to the San Francisco 49ers (7-4) this week, meaning head coach Dennis Allen still has not won back-to-back games through 12 weeks in the 2022 regular season. New Orleans hurt themselves early and often — which we’ll explore in greater detail.
But the Saints actually did some things well in this game. Several players stood out for positive individual performances, and the defense largely did its job. So it wasn’t all bad, even if the game was disappointing. They’re still alive in the weak NFC South and can rally with a win against the hobbled Tampa Bay Buccaneers next week. That feels like false hope, but hey: we’ll take it.
Let’s talk about the standouts on Sunday, for good and bad:
STUD: LB Kaden Elliss
Kaden Elliss might be the only pending free agent to have seized his opportunity in New Orleans, and he’s setting himself up for a nice payday in the spring. The veteran linebacker has filled in well for Pete Werner and finished the 49ers game with 14 tackles (12 solo), playing with great energy and making an impact at the line of scrimmage. He was on the field for all 70 defensive snaps. The Saints need to keep finding ways to get him on the field once Werner is healthy.
DUD: RB Alvin Kamara
Alvin Kamara logged 7 carries for 13 yards, making gains of 2, 1, 4, 6, and 3 yards, along with a run for no gain and another for a loss of 3 yards. Take away his longest run and that tackle for loss and he averaged 2 yards. The Saints offensive line got pushed around up front, but Kamara’s ball security was uncharacteristically poor. He fumbled twice, first on the opening drive, and again in a goal-line situation later in the game. It was a rough outing for him in a year that’s been full of them.
STUD: WR Rashid Shaheed
Shaheed is rapidly becoming someone the Saints can count on. He converted a first down every time he touched the ball on offense — including a 35-yard reception early on, a 6-yard gain on an end-around run (on 2nd-and-5), and an 18-yard reception on 3rd-and-5. He played the third-most snaps at wide receiver 93) behind Chris Olave (38) and Jarivs Landry (32), and he deserves more targets. The rookie also added yardage on two punt returns (picking up 11 and 7 yards) with a pair of kick returns, too (gaining 26 and 21 yards).
DUD: CB Chris Harris Jr.
First off, Harris shouldn’t be playing this many snaps. The Saints were shorthanded with Marshon Lattimore unavailable and Bradley Roby leaving the game in concussion protocol, but they chose to start him in the slot from the first series. He ended up being at fault on two penalties that helped set the 49ers up in scoring position, his second foul (for illegal contact) even wiping out an interception by his rookie teammate Alontae Taylor. Harris doesn’t offer much at this point in his career and the Saints need to recognize that. Would Justin Evans really be a worse alternative right now?
STUD: Saints red zone defense
San Francisco got inside the Saints 20-yard line on three different yards and only came away with a single touchdown — off of an unlucky break when Tyrann Mathieu correctly read the passing design, jumped the route to break up a throw, and the 49ers managed to come down with it anyway. It was just an unfortunate blemish on an otherwise strong performance. The Saints defense held San Francisco to a field goal on their first trip into the red zone, and they ended the second drive in scoring position with a sack on fourth down at their own 1-yard line (props to Shy Tuttle, who was credited with the sack). If that pass Mathieu deflected went literally anywhere else, the Saints may have gotten off the field again.
DUD: RT Ryan Ramczyk
Nick Bosa gave Ramczyk all he could handle, and then some — this was the worst game Ramczyk has played in recent memory. He struggled to make an impact as a run blocker and often got beat to his spots by the 49ers defenders. He was also fouled twice, once for holding and later for a false start on fourth down. That second penalty came on fourth down and set up Wil Lutz for an unsuccessful 48-yard field goal try. Everyone has a bad day now and then, but Ramczyk really struggled in this matchup. His usual standards are too high for many more games like this.
DUD: The officiating
It was a bad afternoon for Shawn Hochuli and his crew, who bungled a catch review on a 30-yard reception by Chris Olave that would have set the Saints up in scoring position. Both teams left this game with complaints about the officiating; 49ers fans sour about the penalties on their secondary, and Saints fans angry at that botched review and some tick-tack fouls against their team. It was weird. Hochuli’s crew went into this game averaging just 11.9 penalties per game, the sixth-lowest rate across the NFL, but they ended up throwing 18 penalty flags between both teams (13 accepted).
DUD: The Saints coaching staff
Allen’s decision to punt at midfield early in the game was received poorly by analytics services, and things didn’t improve from there. The Saints just seemed to lack any energy or urgency offensively, and they didn’t look prepared to compete with a very physical 49ers defense. It was disappointing. But the lowest moment came late in regulation, with the Saints facing third down from the goal line — the play Pete Carmichael dialed up was a one-read jump ball to Taysom Hill, well-covered by a defender, that fell incomplete. It was a baffling decision, and it really sums up things in a nutshell. The Saints didn’t have a good plan for this game.
