Saints News Network

Saints Snap Five-Game Skid After Grounding Jets

The Saints losing streak is officially over, as they beat up on the Jets Sunday and keep their postseason aspirations alive.

John Hendrix

EAST RUTHERFORD -- The bleeding has stopped for the Saints, as they officially ended their five-game losing streak on Sunday against the Jets. Essentially, this is what New Orleans needed to help try to keep their postseason hopes alive, and the return of Alvin Kamara was instrumental in getting a 30-9 win at MetLife Stadium.

Game Recap

The Jets started with the football after the Saints won the opening coin toss. New Orleans elected to defer to the second half kickoff. The defense came up strong on the opening drive, forcing a three-and-out. On the 3rd Down play, Marcus Davenport made his return felt by blowing up defenders and forcing an early Zach Wilson pass that fell incomplete.

On the Saints first possession, they went run heavy at the start of the drive, featuring Tony Jones Jr. and Alvin Kamara. Kamara had 18 yards rushing on his first two touches. A well-executed tight end screen to Nick Vannett also helped move the drive along, as Taysom Hill connected with him for a gain of 19. New Orleans would get into a short yardage situation in which they ended up going for it on 4th-and-1, but Hill picked it up. The 13-play, 65-yard drive took 7:24 and ended with a Brett Maher 23-yard field goal.

The next offensive series for the Jets resulted in another three-and-out, as Ty Johnson dropped a sure first down on 3rd-and-2 that could have kept the drive going. As New Orleans took over with 5:38 left in the opening frame, they had something going early on, as Hill connected with Juwan Johnson for 15 yards to put the team across midfield. However, the next two plays went backwards, with James Hurst flagged for illegal formation and then getting beat on a Kyle Phillips sack to force a 2nd-and-24.

The Jets eventually took over with 1:24 left in the opening quarter at their own 8-yard-line after a nice Blake Gillikin punt. It was a quick three-and-out for their offense again, and the Saints answered with a three-and-out of their own that was highlighted by a bad fumbled pass attempt from Hill that resulted in a Sheldon Rankins sack and put the Saints into a 2nd-and-29. Needless to say, they punted just a couple plays later.

The Jets offense finally got some things going, and it was because of Zach Wilson. He scampered for 18 yards with the pocket collapsing, and could have had a lot more. Things would get a bit tougher for them, and they even went for it and converted a 4th-and-7 to keep the drive going. Things would stall out for them, but it was enough to get a 36-yard Eddy Pineiro field goal to tie things up at 3-3 with 10:01 left until the half after a 9-play, 38-yard drive.

Another three-and-out for the Saints offense gave the Jets back the ball with 7:59 left. They benefitted from a 15-yard penalty on the Jets to start, as Justin Hardee Sr. was called for fair catch interference. New Orleans went on a 6-play, 54-yard drive that featured a heavy dose of Alvin Kamara. He ended up taking it in from 16 yards out to get the first touchdown of the day, putting the Saints up 10-3 with 3:42 left in the second quarter.

The Jets would use the rest of the clock and run out the first half, going on a 10-play, 47-yard drive that ended with a 46-yard Pineiro field goal to make it 10-6 at the half. Zach Wilson had big plays to Ryan Griffin, Ty Johnson, and Jamison Crowder to set things up. However, they did run into some trouble on the drive after getting an illegal hands to the face call and illegal formation on back-to-back plays.

Second Half

As the Saints started with the ball to open the third quarter, they only could muster a three-and-out with their opening possession. The Jets rattled off a short drive, benefitting from a Kwon Alexander defensive holding penalty on a 3rd-and-10. However, pressure would get to Wilson on a later 3rd-and-6, and Alexander would get the sack on Wilson to get the defense off the field and give the offense a chance with 9:59 to play in the third.

To answer, New Orleans ran off a drive that took 9:01, going 80 yards in 15 plays that ended with a 31-yard Brett Maher field goal. The Saints went up 13-6 with 58 seconds left in the quarter. Hill came out throwing, connecting with Marquez Callaway and Tre'Quan Smith on back-to-back plays after things opened with a 2-yard loss. Hill ran it for a nice gain, followed by a big 13-yard Kamara run, 18-yard hookup to Nick Vannett, and a nice screen play to Tony Jones Jr. that went for 18. Unfortunately, the drive stalled out after the Saints could not convert a 3rd-and-11 with a Kamara screen. It didn't help that Calvin Throckmorton got in his way.

The Jets had promise to open their next drive, picking up 7 yards on their first play. However, Wilson couldn't connect with Jamison Crowder, as he slipped, and Carl Granderson got a huge sack on 3rd-and-3 to drop Wilson for a 16-yard loss. As the final quarter started for the Saints, they took over at midfield.

It was a short 7-play, 31-yard drive for the offense, but it once again produced points for the Saints. Brett Maher converted from 37 yards out this time, giving New Orleans a 16-6 lead with 12:22 left in the game. Hill connected with Tre'Quan Smith for a key first down on 3rd-and-7 early in the drive, picking up 21 yards in the process. 

The Jets tried to counter with a drive of their own, and benefitted from a 27-yard defensive pass interference call on Paulson Adebo early. However, Zach Wilson would get flagged for intentional grounding on the very next play to back them up. They'd end up going for it on a 4th-and-6 from their own 49-yard-line, but could not convert and gave the Saints back the ball with 10:14 to play.

The Saints put the game away on their next drive, as they went 51 yards in 8 plays and ended it with a 2-yard Taysom Hill keeper on 3rd-and-Goal to make it 23-6 Saints with 5:28 to go. More big plays to Alvin Kamara, as he went over 100 rushing yards on the day during the drive, as well as a quick throw and outstanding individual effort by Marquez Callaway to set things up at the Jets' 1-yard-line.

The Jets answered by putting together a field goal drive, going 53 yards in 10 plays. The drive saw big plays from Wilson to Keelan Cole and Braxton Berrios. However, the Saints tightened up when it matter most, forcing the Jets to settle on a 36-yard Eddy Pineiro field goal to make it 23-9 with 3:29 to play.

The Saints offense ran a three-and-out, losing yardage on their first two plays, and the Jets used all three of their timeouts to preserve some clock. The Jets went into their hurry-up mode again, but it backfired this time. Wilson was sacked on the first play, and missed on his next two passes. On the 4th-and-10 play, he threw it short of the sticks, and the Saints took over with 2:39 left in the game.

The Saints would run the clock down, and pick up a very late Taysom Hill running touchdown from 44 yards out on 3rd-and-12 to make it 30-9 with 1:07 left in the game.

What await nexts for the Saints after getting back to New Orleans is a prime time date with the Buccaneers in Tampa on Sunday Night Football. The game has major implications for the season, and while the deck is seemingly stacked against Sean Payton's squad, they could get healthier to make it more interesting.

Saints-Jets 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

Home/Game Day