Saints Offense: Week 3 Snap Counts and Top Performers From the Disappointing Loss

The Saints offense didn't have a good day against the Eagles. We look at the snap counts and performances a little further.

Sep 22, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (41) runs against Philadelphia Eagles safety Reed Blankenship (32) during the first half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The Saints look to pick up the pieces from Sunday's fallout loss to the Eagles. New Orleans had a tough outing on offense, but then did what they needed to when it mattered most to put themselves in a position to win the game. It was a pretty ugly day overall, and when Erik McCoy went down, things drastically changed. Here's a closer look at the Week 3 offensive snap counts with some observations and notes from the game.

Eagles Capitalize On Saints Costly Mistakes For Key NFC Victory

Saints Offensive Snap Counts - Week 3

Sep 22, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chris Olave (12) reacts to making a first down reception against Philadelphia Eagles safety Reed Blankenship (32) during the first half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The Saints offense finished with just 219 total net yards of offense (89 rushing, 130 passing), averaging 4 yards/play. They picked up 12 first downs and went 6/13 (46%) on 3rd Down. This was the first tough game obviously, and going 1/3 (33%) in the Red Zone was part of the struggles. New Orleans also missed a key 4th Down. What's really disappointing was the fact that they had just 98 yards of offense going into the final quarter.

• Lucas Patrick, Taliese Fuaga, Trevor Penning, Derek Carr - 56 (100%) Carr was sacked once resulting in a 12-yard loss and was under a good bit of pressure on the day. He finished 14/25 for 142 yards with a pick and touchdown toss to Olave for a final rating of 69.1. It was hist worst game in a whiel, and now we're eager to see how they respond. Trevor Penning took a really horrible penalty while blocking Darius Slay, which was one of three New Orleans penalties for 25 yards. With McCoy getting hurt, Lucas Patrick filled in at center and will be the first candidate to get the start against Atlanta if he can't go. The line has to be better and the Eagles front worked them most all game.
• Cesar Ruiz - 55 (98%) Ruiz went off for a play after getting his leg looked at. The Saints already had to do some shifting, but he returned to action. We'll monitor him throughout the week.
• Oli Udoh - 53 (95%) Udoh went in at left guard when McCoy got hurt and Patrick moved to center. Landon Young is someone to watch here too, as he's cross-trained at multiple positions. He was suited up but didn't play much with the foot injury.
• Alvin Kamara - 48 (86%) Quietly, Kamara made some franchise history by moving into second place on the Saints all-time leading rusher list. It was a heavy dose of him all day, as he carried it 26 times for 87 yards (3.3 yards/carry) with a long of 16. He also caught 3 passes for 40 yards, which included that beautiful wheel route and grab over Zack Baun.
• Chris Olave - 45 (80%) It was quite the game for Olave, as he was the brightest spot in the receiving department. He caught all 6 of his targets for 86 yards with a long of 29 and the lone touchdown from 13 yards out. He might be relied on a little bit more if the offense has to shift some.
• Rashid Shaheed - 42 (75%) After two hot games to start the year, Shaheed went ice cold. He was targeted 5 times and didn't get a single catch in the game. It was quite the frustrating day, as New Orleans was close on a couple of these hookups. A big rebound game could be in his future.
• Foster Moreau - 40 (71%) He caught 1 of his 2 targets for 2 yards and it looked like he got tripped up on the blocking assignment from friendly fire on the 4th-and-1 play.
• Juwan Johnson - 28 (50%) Johnson has become just more of the blocker in the offense right now. He was blanked on the stat sheet for the second straight week.
• Cedrick Wilson Jr. - 25 (45%)
• Adam Prentice - 22 (39%)
• Mason Tipton - 18 (32%)
• Jamaal Williams - 10 (18%) I was a little surprised Williams didn't more work, but that could have been more because of how the Philly front was working. The Saints weren't able to run much on the inside, so it does make sense. Williams had 1 carry for -1 yards and 1 catch for nothing on 3 targets.
• Erik McCoy - 3 (5%) All eyes are on two key injuries for the Saints, with McCoy being the focus on offense and Demario Davis on defense. Dennis Allen said the team is going through the evaluation process with McCoy and will know more information later related to his groin injury. It'd be a shock if he plays against Atlanta right now.
• Jordan Mims, Nick Saldiveri, Landon Young - 1 (2%)

Week 3 - Offensive Three Stars

Sep 22, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (41) rushes against Philadelphia Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson (8) during the second half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

1. Chris Olave
2. Alvin Kamara
3. None

Just handing out two this week. It was just a hard day at the office and New Orleans will have to regroup and learn from it.