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Saints Snap Counts and Observations from Week 1

Observations and a closer look at the snap counts from Week 1's Saints win over the Falcons.

John Hendrix

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The Saints pulled off an incredible comeback win over the Falcons in Week 1. Atlanta blew a 16-point lead in the final quarter, and even got into a position to steal back the game from New Orleans. It came down to a long field goal attempt, which was blocked by Payton Turner. Here's all of our thoughts and observations from Sunday with the team's snap counts.

Offense

Taysom Hill TD
Sep 11, 2022; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; New Orleans Saints tight end Taysom Hill (7) celebrates with teammates after a touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons in the first quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
  • Andrus Peat, Cesar Ruiz, James Hurst, Ryan Ramczyk, Erik McCoy, Jameis Winston - 61 (100%)
    Dennis Allen said after the game that players are going to have some thick skin watching film on Monday, and that includes both the offensive and defensive line. Winston didn't have many opportunities in the first half, and was sacked 4 times on the day. There were problems picking up the blitz, no push, and some blown assignments. The offense finished with 385 net yards (151 rushing, 234 passing), going 4-of-13 on 3rd Down. Jameis Winston finished 23-of-34 for 269 yards and 2 touchdowns (111.0 rating). He also had 2 carries for 9 yards. How Winston performed under pressure was something to see.
  • Juwan Johnson, Chris Olave - 45 (75%)
    It's interesting to see Johnson so high here on the snap counts. He was certainly a favored target of Winston's Sunday (5 targets). He hauled in 2 catches for 43 yards, including a huge 21-yard catch to start off a 4-play drive that got the Saints to within 8 points. As for Olave, his debut saw him secure all 3 of his targets for 41 yards. He also had a key 2-point conversion to make it 26-18 on a route that he ran in college. This was a great start for the rookie.
  • Jarvis Landry - 44 (72%)
    Landry's first game was the Saints was more than memorable. He was the highest-targeted player on the day (9 targets), hauling in 7 catches for 114 yards. His biggest catch came on the go-ahead scoring drive, a 40-yard catch and run from Winston. Winston talked about his catch after the game, "Just big time players making big time plays in big time situations." He said it was a matchup they liked and Falcons were playing a 2-man under coverage. "Jarvis got on top of the defender and made a heck of catch."
  • Alvin Kamara - 38 (62%)
    Kamara finished out with a relatively quiet day, carrying it 9 times for 39 yards and having 3 catches for 7 yards on 4 targets. He did leave the field later in the game and did not return, but was spotted in the locker room afterwards. 
  • Michael Thomas - 37 (61%)
    'Can't Guard Mike' had a nice day after some early struggles. His first few targets didn't connect with Winston, and his first catch went for just 4 yards. He finished with 5 catches for 57 yards on 8 targets, getting into the end zone twice. Both scores were things of beauty, and the 21-yard route from the slot that helped New Orleans eventually get to within 2 points was a great call and concept.
  • Adam Trautman - 25 (41%)
    Trautman was a non-factor in the passing game, seeing no targets. Things will change as the year progresses, but it's 
  • Mark Ingram, Marquez Callaway - 20 (33%)
    Ingram finished with 4 carries for 22 yards and had a lone reception for a yard that ended up seeing him lose the football. Winston did a good job evading pressure, and Ingram was trying to make something happen to get a first down. Unfortunately, that was lone turnover for the Saints.
  • Taysom Hill - 16 (26%)
    Hill was the entire Saints offense in the first half, having the biggest play of the day on a 57-yard designed run on a 3rd-and-1 that led to him finishing the drive with a touchdown from 11 yards out. On Hill's run, Andrus Peat had a key block that sprung him. Hill's usage will continue to be interesting this season. 
  • Adam Prentice, Deonte Harty - 7 (11%)
  • Tony Jones Jr. - 1 (2%)

Defense

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Sep 11, 2022; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Falcons running back Damien Williams (6) is tackled by New Orleans Saints linebacker Pete Werner (20) and defensive tackle Kentavius Street (91) during the first quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
  • Tyrann Mathieu, Marcus Maye, Demario Davis, Marshon Lattimore, Bradley Roby - 75 (100%)
    The Saints defense had a tough time overall, not being able to get home on Marcus Mariota (only 1 QB hit from Davis) and letting Cordarrelle Patterson finish with 22 carries for 120 yards and a score. Mariota had 12 carries for 72 yards and a score as well, as the defense gave up 201 yards on the ground. Of course, they made the stops and got off the field when it counted most in the fourth quarter to give the offense a chance. Undoubtedly, there will be a lot of plays they'll want back, and the film study won't be pleasant. However, Marcus Maye's debut was strong, finishing second on the team with 9 total tackles (8 solo, 1 assisted) and a fumble recovery. He almost had the game-sealing pick too. Tyrann Mathieu tied for third on the team with 7 tackles (5 solo, 2 assisted) and a forced fumble on Mariota. Davis had 6 total tackles (5 solo, 1 assisted), while Lattimore was pretty strong in coverage and had a good day aside the personal foul penalty on the final Falcons drive. Of course, he was baited. Roby had 5 tackles, all solo, and a fumble recovery after Pete Werner forced it.
  • Pete Werner, Cam Jordan - 61 (81%)
    Werner led the team with 12 total tackles on the day (11 solo, 1 assisted). He had a tackle for loss, forced fumble, and even a special teams tackle. This is the type of play fans were waiting to see, and that's the potential Werner has on this Saints defense. Jordan had 7 total tackles (5 solo, 2 assisted), including a tackle for loss.
  • Justin Evans - 51 (68%)
    Evans was very active, being the primary player to man the slot for the Saints on Sunday. He finished with just 2 tackles (1 solo, 1 assisted) and had a pass breakup, but overall it was a pretty good first showing for him.
  • David Onyemata - 47 (63%)
  • Marcus Davenport - 45 (60%)
  • Shy Tuttle - 41 (55%)
  • Kentavius Street - 31 (41%)
  • Carl Granderson - 30 (40%)
  • Kaden Elliss - 29 (39%)
  • Christian Ringo - 22 (29%)
  • P.J. Williams, Payton Turner - 14 (19%)
  • J.T. Gray - 4 (5%)

Special Teams - Top Reps

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Sep 11, 2022; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; New Orleans Saints place kicker Wil Lutz (3) reacts with punter Blake Gillikin (4) after he kicked the go ahead field goal against the Atlanta Falcons during the second half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Wil Lutz overcame an early missed field goal to nail the go-ahead game-winning field goal from 51 yards out. Dennis Allen said he felt like Lutz was going to knock it through and Younghoe Koo was going to miss it. Payton Turner got the block to seal an insane Week 1 victory.

  • J.T. Gray, Alontae Taylor, Andrew Dowell, Zack Baun, Kaden Elliss - 28
    Taylor got a lot of work at gunner, jammer, and on kickoffs. It was good to see him out there, and you see his speed on display. He'll get better as the season goes along, but figures to make a large impact here.
  • Daniel Sorensen - 23
  • Chase Hansen - 21
  • Juwan Johnson - 16

Saints-Falcons Coverage From the Week

Published
John Hendrix
JOHN HENDRIX

I officially started covering the New Orleans Saints & other NFL topics in 2011. My work has been featured on various outlets over the years. I worked closely with Skyhorse Publishing in Fall 2018 to update the book, Tales From the New Orleans Saints Sidelines, which filled in all Saints material from the 2013-2017 seasons. Prior to joining Saints News Network, I served as the Managing Editor of SB Nation's Canal Street Chronicles for 3.5 years, and before that with FanSided's Who Dat Dish as the Managing Editor for several years. I have also had experiences of being a freelance Saints reporter for The Sun Herald in Biloxi, MS and a contributing writer for WDSU, a local NBC TV station in New Orleans. I have appeared on a vast amount of TV and Radio shows, both nationally and locally. For tips, comments, or suggestions, please contact me at johnhendrix@saintsnews.net