Live Updates From Titans-Saints Week 1 Game

Follow along for live updates from the Titans-Saints game in Week 1, as we cover the game from the Superdome.

NEW ORLEANS -- The Saints welcome to the Titans to town for Week 1 as one of eight early kickoffs on Sunday. Everyone has waited a long time to get to this point, and the bottom line is that we'll have ongoing NFL action until February. Here's our live updates from the Superdome, which will go on until the final whistle.

Pregame

The Saints rolled out their inactive list for Sunday, which saw Kendre Miller (hamstring) and J.T. Gray (shoulder) as the injured players not playing in Week 1. In addition, the Saints sat three of their rookies in A.T. Perry, Isaiah Foskey, and Nick Saldiveri. This isn't that shocking, but that means the Saints have four receivers in the lineup today.

Just remember that the team has three tight ends on the roster and Taysom Hill in addition to a backfield of Jamaal Williams, Kirk Merritt, Tony Jones Jr., and Adam Prentice. Perry has done a great job in training camp and the preseason to make the roster, but this game needs blocking ability. Perry isn't quite there yet.

Pregame Notes

• If you haven't seen or heard, the Saints will be in all black uniforms today.
• Drew Brees and his family are in attendance today, and he took a nice picture with Steve Gleason on the field.
• Demario Davis is back to leading the pre-game huddle. Check it out here.
• Not that we're surprised, but starting O-Line in walkthroughs is Trevor Penning, James Hurst, Erik McCoy, Cesar Ruiz, Ryan Ramczyk.
• With no J.T. Gray in the lineup, expect Ugo Amadi to get more reps at gunner today.
• Defensive coordinator Joe Woods is up in the booth today, something that he has been doing during the preseason.
• Saints offense introduced during pre-game, with Trevor Penning being up first. Michael Thomas and Derek Carr both got very nice receptions.
• Jimmy Graham led the Who Dat chant for the Saints, and it could not have given off more energy.

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First Quarter - Titans 6, Saints 3

Scoring

• 13:40, Titans - Nick Folk 50-yard field goal. (4--8 8, 1:16)
• 10:18, Saints - Blake Grupe 26-yard field goal. (9-67, 3:22)
• 3:06, Titans - Nick Folk 27-yard field goal. (11-66, 7:12)

Notes

• Opening Kickoff: Not an ideal way to start the season with Rashid Shaheed being stripped of the football and giving the ball to the Titans.
• Superdome Crowd got into this one early as everything, forcing two false start penalties on the opening drive that saw Tennessee go -8 yards in 4 plays. 
• First offensive play for the Saints was pure gold, as Derek Carr hit Michael Thomas for 25 yards to put the team at midfield. Carr hit Thomas again to pick up a big 3rd Down conversion for 12 yards.
• Carr hit another big play to Rashid Shaheed to set the offense up in the red zone. It was a 22-yard pickup that saw the officials originally rule it an incompletion, but after further discussion determined it was indeed a catch.
• It was a play that was wiped out due to a penalty, but real nice job by Pete Werner recognizing things on a 3rd-and-4 to stop the play short.
• The run by Derrick Henry for 18 yards came with relative ease. There was no one on that side and he put a killer stiff-arm on Marcus Maye to end it.
• Real good tackle by Alontae Taylor on a 3rd-and-7 that forced a Titans field goal inside the red zone. 
• Real nice sequence for the Saints defense to force a three-and-out. Payton Turner had two nice back-to-back plays, one as a pass-rusher and the other in run support.
• Shaheed had a rough special teams outing to start. He had the fumble and then to end the quarter ran out of bounds when fielding a punt that put New Orleans at their own 13-yard-line to end the quarter.

Second Quarter - Titans 9, Saints 6

Scoring

• 7:37, Saints - Blake Grupe 33-yard field goal. (7-14, 2:17)
• 1:40, Titans - Nick Folk 31-yard field goal. (7-57, 2:49)

Notes

• Very nice play design with Chris Olave to go for 17 yards. He motioned into the backfield and Carr hit him across the middle. I think we could see similar things when Alvin Kamara comes back.
• First sack given up was to Arden Key with Trevor Penning in pass protection. It resulted in a loss of 6.
• Payton Turner ended up getting hurt on a play where he was held, but the Titans didn't get to convert. He walked off under his own power and eventually headed to the locker room.
• Zack Baun got a punt block on the following play as the Saints defense got of the field. It went down as a 1-yard punt.
• The hookup to Rashid Shaheed in the end zone was a lot closer than it looked originally. The Saints challenged the play, but the ruling on the field stood as called.
• Two struggles in the red zone for the Saints. They'll hopefully learn from it and make the corrections. Trevor Penning has to be better in pass protection.
• Having a healthy Marshon Lattimore is everything for this defense. He had another pass breakup working against DeAndre Hopkins, and ended up getting an interception to shut the Titans down on 3rd Down.
• Pass protection is a major issue. Arden Key got the best of Trevor Penning yet again.
• That Derrick Henry screen play completely flipped the field for the Titans. He's going to get his, but that was a tough one for the defense.
• Very nice play on 3rd Down to force another Titans field goal. Carl Granderson dropped back in pass defense to take away something over the middle, while Bryan Bresee had a nice rush to get to Ryan Tannehill.
• Beautiful hookup from Derek Carr to Juwan Johnson for a gain of 27 yards to start in two-minute.
• Carr got sacked for a fourth time working in two-minute, this time with it coming from the interior. This offensive line has some work to do.
• Amani Hooker picked off Derek Carr to shut the Saints down before the half. Not a particularly good decision or throw.

Third Quarter - Saints 16, Titans 9

Scoring

• 9:25, Saints - Blake Grupe 52-yard field goal. (7-60, 3:30)
• 1:23, Saints - Rashid Shaheed 19-yard pass from Derek Carr. (5-33, 1:45)

Notes

• Outstanding play by Isaac Yiadom to tip a deep pass by Ryan Tannehill that ended up being picked off by Marcus Maye. Marshon Lattimore was out on the play, and he tested Yiadom.
• Real nice job by Derek Carr to step up in the pocket and be patient to find a wide open Chris Olave for a gain of 45 to flip the field after the interception.
• Huge moment for Blake Grupe to make a 52-yard field goal to tie the game back up.
• Big sack by Carl Granderson to shut the Titans down on 3rd-and-6. It was their third of the day.
• Not sure what Azeez Al-Shaair was thinking, but the league is going to call those type of roughing the passer penalties all day.
• Nice interception by Paulson Adebo to give the Saints the ball back with nice field position. That was the third pick on Tannehill.
• Beautiful play design on the touchdown hookup from Carr to Rashid Shaheed. The Saints had to take advantage of a turnover sooner or later, and that was it.

Fourth Quarter - Saints 16, Titans 15

Scoring

• 11:12, Titans - Nick Folk 45-yard field goal. (12-48, 5:11)
• 2:17, Titans - Nick Folk 29-yard field goal. (9-62, 4:25)

Notes

• Alontae Taylor went out early in the quarter and was getting looked at on the sideline. Paulson Adebo made a nice pass breakup, but was guilty of a hold to give the Titans a fresh set of downs.
• Cam Jordan made another nice play at the line of scrimmage tipping a pass. 
• Ugo Amadi stepped in for Alontae Taylor and made a nice pass breakup to force another Titans field goal. On the play, Marshon Lattimore was not in the game.
• Chris Olave got up to 97 yards receiving on 7 receptions (8 targets). I'm not sure how you leave him so wide open over the middle, but it's clearly some break down in communication. A few plays later he went over 100 yards.
• The deep shot to Olave on 3rd-and-9 looked like it could have been pass interference. I've seen way less called.
• The Saints avoived a major big play when Tyjae Spears couldn't get a wide open pass from Tannehill. They lucked out a couple times on the day.
• On the flip side of the field, that was a tough pass interference call on Marcus Maye.
• A big Rashid Shaheed run to start a drive in which the Saints could put away the Titans was wiped out due to a hold on Keith Kirkwood. It was the 7th New Orleans penalty, totaling 38 yards.
• Tremendous play call and execution on the 3rd-and-7 to see Carr hit Rashid Shaheed for 41 yards.
• Excellent run by Jamaal Williams when the Saints needed it most on 3rd-and-4 to seal the game.

Week 1 Titans-Saints Coverage

• Saints Final Injury Report
• First Look: Titans vs. Saints
• Saints Elevate Two Players For Game Vs. Titans
• Inside the Numbers: Derek Carr and the Regular Season Opener
• Michael Thomas is Saints X-Factor in 2023
• Saints' Shorthanded Running Game Must Establish Balance Versus Titans
• Saints New-Look Passing Attack Unveiled Vs. Titans
• Saints Pass Defense Looks to Establish Dominance Against Titans
• Saints Defense Faces Stiff Challenge From Titans Rushing Attack
• 2023 Saints Record Predictions