Saints Snap Counts and Observations from Week 14

A closer look at the Saints snap counts from the team's Week 14 win over the Panthers.

The Saints were able to get back into the win column after handling the Panthers 28-6, although it didn't come easily. New Orleans started strong and held a halftime lead, but things were just off the rails offensively up until the final quarter. Still, a win is a win, and Dennis Allen's team is in a three-way tie in the NFC South for first place. However, they're third behind the Bucs and Falcons.

Here's all of the snap counts from Week 14 for the black and gold, with some observations, notes, and thoughts from the game.

Offense

The offense looked great to start, but then hit a severe slump until the fourth quarter. They started running the ball effectively with Alvin Kamara and Jamaal Williams, but it then went away with some questionable play calling and other things. Overall, New Orleans went 3/10 on 3rd Down while totaling 207 net yards (97 rushing, 110 passing). They finished 3/4 in the Red Zone and 2/2 in Goal-to-Go situations. They held the ball for 25:10.

• Cesar Ruiz, James Hurst - 52 (100%)
• Erik McCoy, Ryan Ramczyk, Derek Carr - 50 (96%)
  Carr finished 18/26 for 119 yards with 2 touchdowns and a pick. The interception was a bit fluky, as Derrick Brown tipped the pass and it bounced off the shoulder of Cesar Ruiz to go back into the hands of the Panthers defender. It was far from a strong performance there, but they got the win and were able to rally in the final quarter. There were times where the protection could have been better, but in the same breath Carr has to pull the trigger. He revealed after the game that this is the third rib fracture he's dealt with this season. Again, no denying his toughness. As for the jawing with McCoy, that was handled and the team has urged everyone to move on.
• Andrus Peat - 49 (94%)
• Lynn Bowden - 40 (77%)
  Bowden was fairly active and was able to get off a good kick return in addition to his 4 catches for 24 yards. It's crazy to think about his path starting back in mid-June. Sometimes those moves made get overlooked.
• Chris Olave - 34 (65%)
  Olave didn't have a crazy day on the stat sheet, but he did get into the end zone after catching 4 passes for 28 yards on 5 targets.
• Foster Moreau - 33 (63%)
• A.T. Perry - 32 (62%)
  Perry saw his number only called once on the day, but he made his opportunity count with a big 44-yard hookup from Carr. That one play was more than Carr had on the day prior to the completion.
• Alvin Kamara - 28 (54%)
  Kamara was finding a lot of success running the football early, and he finished with 12 carries for 56 yards (4.7 yards/carry) and a score. In the receiving department, he finished with 3 catches for -11 yards on 5 targets. That's not really typical, but dialing up a bad screen play will do that to you.
• Keith Kirkwood, Jamaal Williams - 23 (44%)
  Williams may have had his best game with the Saints and was making a big impact on the ground. He finished with 11 carries for 43 yards (3.9 yards/carry), which included a long of 12.
• Juwan Johnson - 21 (40%)
• Adam Prentice - 10 (19%)
• Jimmy Graham - 8 (15%)
  Graham made his impact with limited reps, and it was one of the takeaways in 'What We Learned' that he should keep playing. He finished with 2 catches for 16 yards, including a big first down and the 4-yard score.
• Landon Young - 7 (13%)
• Marquez Callaway - 4 (8%)
• Max Garcia, Trevor Penning, Jameis Winston - 2 (4%)
  Winston came in at the very end for victory formation. It's crazy the Superdome started some 'We Want Jameis!' chants when things weren't going well.

What We Learned From the Saints In Week 14

Defense

The product was better, but in the same breath if Bryce Young hits some of those deep passes, then it might be a slightly different story here. New Orleans surrendered 303 total net yards (204 rushing, 99 passing) while the Panthers offense went 8/20 on 3rd Down and held the ball for 34:50. Carolina went 0/2 in the Red Zone and was just 1/7 on 4th Down (14%). Overall, it was a nice rebound game, but the question is will it last? The Saints got one turnover on the day and also got the ball back on downs five times. 

• Paulson Adebo, Alontae Taylor, Demario Davis - 80 (100%)
  Davis finished with 1.5 sacks on the day and was right behind Howden with 8 tackles (5 solo, 3 assisted). He had 3 QB hits, a tackle for loss, and a pass breakup.
• Isaac Yiadom, Tyrann Mathieu - 78 (98%)
  Yiadom ended up having 3 pass breakups on the day and finished with 2 tackles (solo, assisted).
• Jordan Howden - 76 (95%)
  Howden had himself a day, leading the way with 10 total tackles (8 solo, 2 assisted). He also was credited with a sack and forced fumble on Bryce Young and had a pass breakup as well. This is very encouraging stuff for the rookie.
• Pete Werner - 61 (76%)
  Werner's return to action didn't produce a lot on the stat sheet, as he finished with 2 solo tackles and a fumble recovery. However, it was good to see him back in the mix.
• Carl Granderson - 54 (68%)
  Granderson picked up a sack and finished with 5 total tackles (4 solo, 1 assisted), with one being a tackle for loss. He also had a QB hit.
• Tanoh Kpassagnon, Bryan Bresee - 44 (55%)
  Bresee had a brief scare towards the end of the game when he tried to dive to make a tackle on Bryce Young. His shoulder is fine. He did have two big QB hits on the day.
• Khalen Saunders - 40 (50%)
• Nathan Shepherd - 35 (44%)
  Shepherd split a sack with Davis and was among four players to finish with 6 total tackles behind Howden and Davis.
• Cam Jordan - 31 (39%)
  Jordan's work was a little bit more than the previous week, as he's still working his way back from the ankle injury. He had 2 solo tackles on the day.
• Zack Baun - 29 (36%)
  Baun got some work in with the defensive line this week at practice, and the Saints are finally using him in the right way in getting after the quarterback. It didn't lead to much on the stat sheet other than a QB hit, but Baun had a tackle for loss with his 2 solo tackles.
• Lonnie Johnson - 24 (30%)
• Kyle Phillips - 22 (28%)
• Jack Heflin - 17 (21%)
• Johnathan Abram - 4 (5%)
• Nephi Sewell - 2 (2%)
• Ugo Amadi - 1 (1%)

Special Teams (Top Reps)

I'll say this to start. Blake Grupe can't miss those chip shot field goals. For a team that points come as a premium, you can't do that on the opening drive after things looked so good. Also, we're back to learning a new rule when the Saints play with Lou Hedley not drawing a running into the kicker penalty due to it being a rugby style punt. The play was changed from being a blocked punt by Nephi Sewell to just a fumble recovery for D'Marco Jackson. Either way, great job by Sewell to get home on the free rush and he's had two really good weeks.

• J.T. Gray, D'Marco Jackson, Ty Summers, Zack Baun, Lonnie Johnson - 19
• Johnathan Abram, Nephi Sewell - 16
• Foster Moreau - 13