Live Updates From Saints-Texans Week 6 Game

Keep it tuned here for all the latest from the Saints-Texans game as we provide live updates, notes, observations and much more.

HOUSTON -- The Saints lake on another AFC opponent this week when they meet the Texans for a noon kickoff inside NRG Stadium. New Orleans is facing a short week after this one, and they can hopefully replicate some of the successes they had against the Patriots last week. The Texans are certainly not a team to overlook, as DeMeco Ryans is a strong coach and is getting a lot of production from rookie C.J. Stroud. Keep it tuned here throughout the game to get live updates, notes, observations, and much more as things unfold.

Pregame Notes

• Andrus Peat walked in with the team as they entered the stadium, which was a relatively good sign for him.
• This is just the sixth time these two teams play. The home team has won each matchup in the previous matchups. 
• C.J. Stroud is among the NFL's best when it comes to 3rd Down execution. It'll be interesting to see how the Saints do against him in that department today.
• Derek Carr looks a lot more comfortable throwing than he has in the past couple of weeks. It certainly is a good sign in the right direction.
• Some have asked about A.T. Perry and why he's not active. The short answer is that he's not quite ready. He is getting more involved, but when it comes to blocking and other offense related matters, players like Keith Kirkwood and Lynn Bowden Jr. are big parts of the blocking. Perry can get there, just be patient.
• My take on the Trevor Penning situation is this. It does feel puzzling, but it sounds like everything was handled in-house for this. Things could shift a lot more here. Penning had been improving in pass protection, but the run support was not a particularly good look for him. There's no reason to give up on him yet, but this feels like a 'what's best for the team right now' move.
• Max Garcia is at left guard during walkthroughs, while James Hurst is at left tackle. This isn't a total shocked based on what we saw in practice this week.
• Getting Marcus Maye back in the lineup will be a boost for the Saints secondary, who played really well last weekend with Paulson Adebo and Jordan Howden returning. Expect Howden to be the extra back in dime situations.
• The Saints won the coin toss for the first time in a while. They'll start out on defense and receive the second half kickoff.

First Quarter - Texans 7, Saints 7

Scoring

• Texans, 3:41 - Dalton Schultz 1-yard touchdown reception from C.J. Stroud. (6-59, 2:15)
• Saints, 0:13 - Rashid Shaheed 34-yard touchdown reception from Derek Carr. (9-75, 3:28)

Notes

• C.J. Stroud shows why he's so good on 3rd Down on that first sequence of plays. He did a nice job moving around and finding the receiver for a first down.
• The Saints did a nice job on their pressure packages on back-to-back plays to help turn the Texans offense away. If they can keep it going, they're going to force Stroud into some errors.
• Max Garcia does indeed get the start at left guard, while James Hurst is at left tackle.
• Getting Alvin Kamara and Kendre Miller going in the passing game is a good sign. Kamara also had a 13-yard run off the left side that saw him lose a few on the first attempt.
• Going back into a hole to make it 2nd-and-14 ended how you think it would. The Saints settled for a long field goal attempt from Blake Grupe, and he was wide right from 52. In a game like this, you need those.
• Really good run stop by Khalen Saunders to start the second defensive series.
• Zack Baun had the first interception on C.J. Stroud, but then immediately coughed it up on the return to give the Texans the ball back. That's maddening.
• Devin Singletary found some real good space off the left side for a nice run. That's not a typical breakdown you see from the defense.
• Noah Brown got free for a big conversion to put the Texans in a goal-to-go situation. The Saints will have to adjust in between series. They weren't really good on it.
• Feeding Alvin Kamara in the running game and then countering with Kendre Miller is a recipe for success.
• Taysom Hill has to make those kind of catches when he's targeted. He was going to the ground and it was a good defensive play, but he has to come up with those. Alvin Kamara had a heck of a blitz pickup too.
• Michael Thomas with a nice grab over the middle to pick up 16 yards.
• Rashid Shaheed and Derek Carr were not on the same page and they lucked out, because if Steven Nelson makes that pick he's got an easy touchdown.
• Shaheed and Carr made up for it a couple players later after hooking up for a 34-yard pass play to get the Saints into the end zone.

Second Quarter - Texans 17, Saints 7

Scoring

• Texans, 10:28 - Ka'imi Fairbairn 24-yard field goal. (11-70, 4:45)
• Texans, 2:56 - Robert Woods 6-yard touchdown reception from C.J. Stroud. (10-65, 6:11)
• Saints, 0:18 - Blake Grupe 48-yard field goal. (13-46, 2:38)

Notes

• Saints defense is having a little bit of trouble out there. Texans are getting some pretty big plays in both the run and pass.
• Malcolm Roach and Bryan Bresee had a nice combo play for a rush on Stroud that forced an incompletion.
• Nico Collins had an explosive play that set the Texans up inside the 15-yard-line after he beat Alontae Taylor in coverage.
• Tyrann Mathieu made a nice pass breakup in the end zone to turn the Texans away and force a field goal.
• Not sure what happened to James Hurst on the play where he left the game, but they originally called for the cart. He was able to limp off and get into the injury tent under his own power. Trevor Penning goes in at left tackle.
• It looks like a left foot/leg injury for Hurst. He's officially questionable to return with an ankle injury.
• Nico Collins is having a lot of success against the Saints. He has 3 catches for 63 yards.
• Saints run defense has not looked good today. They have been getting gashed by Dameon Pierce and Devin Singletary. The Saints made a couple of good back-to-back run stops inside the 10-yard-line. 
• No one had Robert Woods on the 3rd-and-Goal play from the 6-yard-line. The defense will want to put that half behind them with a quickness.
• Nice 3rd Down execution between Carr and Chris Olave to pick up 13 yards before the two-minute warning.
• Taysom Hill was a prominent feature on the drive receiving the ball. It's been quite some time since we've seen that.
• Real nice hookup to Chris Olave on the sideline to convert a 3rd-and-3 for 11 yards. Carr paid the price and was a little shaken up after the play. Trainers looked at him, but he didn't leave the field.
• That intentional grounding call was a tough one for Carr. It looked like he and Michael Thomas were not on the same page.
• On the 3rd Down play, not sure what was going on, but it wasn't the best look for Chris Olave on the end zone attempt.
• Getting a false start to make it a 48-yard field goal instead of 43 didn't hurt the Saints, but that kind of stuff can't happen when you need points up on the board.

Third Quarter - Texans 20, Saints 13

Scoring

• Texans, 7:01 - Ka'imi Fairbairn 22-yard field goal. (6-46, 2:09)
• Saints, 2:17 - Blake Grupe 45-yard field goal. (10-48, 4:44)

Notes

• Very uninspiring offensive drive coming out of the half. It was a good start with the Olave connection, but things went awry quickly. The holding call on Trevor Penning forced them into a 2nd-and-20 situation and they weren't able to recover, which included a Carr sack.
• Nice special teams coverage by Isaac Yiadom on the punt return.
• Foster Moreau was in the injury tent for the Saints, but came out and rejoined the team on the sideline.
• Saints dodged a bullet on the 3rd Down play. Robert Woods was open as everything in the flats.
• Not sure on the punt return decision by Rashid Shaheed, but not fielding that cost field position.
• After a nice defensive series, the Saints offense returned the favor by running a pretty putrid three-and-out.
• It took one play for the Texans to get inside the 20 after Stroud hooked up to Schultz. Tackling has been suspect today.
• A pass interference call on Marshon Lattimore set the Texans up at the 1. It's just tough.
• Good pressure by Carl Granderson on the ensuing play and a nice pass breakup by Demario Davis in the end zone. Granderson followed that up with a nice tackle for loss. Stroud almost made the 3rd-and-Goal play happen.
• Motion and play action works! Nice play execution that resulted in a 17-yard hookup to Foster Moreau.
• Chris Olave made a really nice catch in traffic to pick up 24 yards. He kind of needed it.
• The Saints totally messed the drive up after a holding call and then a Carr sack with a Trevor Penning penalty for tripping. He got steamrolled on the play too.
• Demario Davis came with a quickness to get a 12-yard sack on C.J. Stroud. The Saints needed that in the worst way.
• Really strong series defensively for the Saints to force the three-and-out. Carl Granderson came with the pressure on 3rd-and-12 to make Stroud misfire.
• Strong hookup to Olave to start the drive to pick up 15 yards.

Fourth Quarter

Scoring

Game Notes

• Strong run on 3rd-and-1 by Kamara to pick up another Saints first down. The drive has to result in points.
• The Chris Olave connection was really heating up on the drive. I didn't like the 3rd Down call inside the 10.
• Blake Grupe missed from 29, as he was wide left. That's inexcusable.
• On the Pete Werner pass interference call, at some point you have to let go.
• Alontae Taylor blew by the runner in space, who picked up 12 yards. That's not usually something you see.
• Huge sack by Carl Granderson on C.J. Stroud to force a 10-yard loss. He continues to do things every week that is helping this team.
• That Carr to Shaheed bomb was impressive. It looked like he had him in stride and then the defender had a chance to make the pick, but Shaheed came up with the jump ball catch for 51 yards.
• Absolutely do not like that play call on 3rd-and-3 running Kamara inside. You then gamble on the 4th Down call and come up short. 
• As you'd imagine, the Saints need a stop and then get a roughing the passer call and pass interference on the same play. It's just how it goes. 
• The Saints defense did respond and rebound to shut the Texans down and give their offense a chance. Real nice pursuit by Bryan Bresee on C.J. Stroud to help force a throwaway.
• Ryan Ramczyk left the field and is being evaluated for a concussion. Cesar Ruiz kicked out to right tackle, while Nick Saldiveri was at right guard.
• I don't know what the 3rd-and-1 call to Michael Thomas was, but it worked because of a pass interference.

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Week 6 Saints-Texans Coverage

• Saints Inactives vs. Texans: Andrus Peat In The Lineup for Sunday
• Saints-Texans Scoring Predictions
• Saints X-Factors vs. Texans
• Saints Roster Moves Ahead of Week 6 at Texans
• Saints Suffocating Defense Squares Off Against Promising Texans Passing Attack
• Saints Must Establish Consistency With Win Over Texans
• Saints Final Injury Report: Peat Questionable Entering Week 6
• Saints Run Defense Seeks Another Dominant Performance at Texans
• Saints Passing Game Must Come to Life at Texans
• Saints Look to Continue Rushing Momentum at Texans
• Saints vs. Texans Statistical Comparison
• NFL Week 6: First Look at Saints vs. Texans