Saints Trounce Raiders in Superdome to Improve to 3-5

The Saints simply went out and executed to get a much-needed win over the Raiders in Week 8, thanks largely in part to Alvin Kamara and the defense.

NEW ORLEANS -- Winning doesn't solve everything, but a win over the Raiders certainly helped the Saints know that they can get things done when they put all their focus and energy into playing their brand of football. The team improved to 3-5 on the year after beating Las Vegas 24-0.

Game Recap

The Raiders opened with the ball after the Saints won the coin toss and elected to defer to the second half kickoff. The teams traded three-and-outs to start the game, with the New Orleans defense starting strong on their first defensive series. The Saints offense was able to get 8 yards on their first drive, but couldn't get a first down.

Las Vegas had a little more success on their next possession, but got stymied after picking up a couple of first downs. They picked up an illegal shift penalty and also had Derek Carr miss several pass attempts and were forced to punt. New Orleans finally got their first first down of the game on a 3rd-and-6 play when Andy Dalton hit Taysom Hill over the middle. The team kept things going, putting together an 11-play, 84-yard drive that resulted in Alvin Kamara's first touchdown of the season, a 3-yard run to put the Saints up 7-0 with 1:32 left in the first quarter. It featured a good bit of Hill and Kamara on the drive, but also had a 30-yard reception to Rashid Shaheed from Dalton. 

The Raiders looked to counter on their next possession, but the 3rd-and-1 play was perfectly snubbed out by Marcus Davenport, as they tried some trickery with a Davante Adams jet sweep. They even went for it on a fake punt, but Chris Harris Jr. and Paulson Adebo stoped Matthias Fairley short of the line to to gain, and New Orleans also picked up excellent field position with the Raiders getting a personal foul for a chop block. Unfortunately, the Saints could only muster a 37-yard Wil Lutz field goal on the short 4-play, 9-yard drive. Dalton was fortunate on the drive too, as he tried Tre'Quan Smith deep inside the 10-yard-line that saw the ball picked off, but the defender was ruled out of bounds. Still, New Orleans took a 10-0 lead with 12:43 left until the half.

The Saints defense continued picking up some momentum, getting their second interception of the season just a few plays into the Raiders drive after Pete Werner deflected a Derek Carr pass intended for Mack Hollins that ended up being picked off by Tyrann Mathieu. New Orleans took over at the Las Vegas 45-yard-line with 11:09 to play in the second quarter.

The Saints offense took advantage, going 45 yards in 6 plays to get into the end zone again after Dalton hooked up with Alvin Kamara for a 16-yard touchdown reception to take a 17-0 lead with 7:15 left until the half. New Orleans got big plays from Taysom Hill running the ball and also from Kamara and Chris Olave on the drive. Kamara made a heck of an effort on the angle route to get into the end zone.

Las Vegas looked to rally, and it looked like they were going to be in a prime position to do so after Carr hooked up with Davante Adams for a deep sideline shot. However, the play was ruled incomplete. The Raiders challenge it, but the ruling on the field stood as called. It looked like the Saints defense was going to get off the field after Pete Werner and Marcus Davenport combined for a sack on Carr, but a Paulson Adebo holding call extended the drive. However, New Orleans forced the punt and got it back with 3:04 left in the half.

The Saints were able to move the ball in their four-minute offense, but ended up leaving some points off the board with Wil Lutz missing a 38-yard field goal right before the half ended. The 12-play, 54-yard drive featured a good bit of Alvin Kamara, who continued to shine on offense. However, the clock wasn't on the team's side and things came to a halt after failing to pick up the 3rd-and-1 with just 9 seconds to go.

Second Half

As the Saints started with the football, they delivered on their possession of the half with a 7-play, 75-yard drive that saw Alvin Kamara get his third touchdown of the day after taking a pass from Andy Dalton and going 36 yards to get in. It was 24-0 Saints by the 11:03 mark of the third quarter. The Saints also got a big gift from a pass interference call on Rock Ya-Sin working against Chris Olave, as well as a nice run from Taysom Hill.

Las Vegas managed to get one first down on their next series, but the Saints pass rush came alive, getting back-to-back sacks from David Onyemata and Cam Jordan. It was hard for them to draw up a play on 3rd-and-23, and they punted back to the Saints with 7:47 left in the third quarter.

The Saints bled some clock on their next possession, running 7 plays and going 35 yards on the drive. They got a couple of first downs, but stalled out on a 3rd-and-3 after a Kamara run only picked up 2 yards. Las Vegas took over with 2:52 left in the quarter, but were unable to do much on their drive. Payton Turner ended up picking up a sack on the series. The Raiders punted back to the Saints with 12:48 left in the game.

New Orleans proceeded to bleed the clock with their next series on offense, running it down to 3:33 left in the game after a 15-play, 61-yard drive that took 9:15 off the clock. The Saints were able to get key plays from Chris Olave on the drive, as Dennis Allen kept the offense on the field for 4th-and-4. They were unable to pick up the first down, turning the ball over on downs.

Jarrett Stidham went into the game for the Raiders, as the day was done for Derek Carr and Davante Adams. Payton Turner ended up picking up a second sack on the day. The Raiders would threaten to put point up late in the game, but Pete Werner shut the door on that and preserved the shutout.

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