Saints Snap Counts and Observations from Week 2

A closer look at the snap counts for the Saints following their Week 2 win over the Panthers with some observations from the game.

The Saints improved to 2-0 after knocking off the Panthers on Monday Night Football. New Orleans ended up changing their misfortunate from the past two road trips in Charlotte, and while it was a little tense, it finally broke the Saints way. After two weeks, three teams are undefeated in the NFC South, which is saying something. Here's a closer look at the snap counts from the game with some observations from Week 2.

Offense

Sep 18, 2023; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas (13) catches the ball as Carolina Panthers cornerback Donte Jackson (26) defends in the second quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

The Saints offense totaled 341 yards (207 passing, 134 rushing) and went 7-of-16 on 3rd Down. They won the time of possession battle 32:49-27:11, while having several explosive plays on the night. It was far from perfect, but better.

• Cesar Ruiz, Erik McCoy, Ryan Ramczyk, Trevor Penning, James Hurst - 77 (100%)
  The offensive line allowed four sacks on Derek Carr, bringing his total up to 8 on the season. It wasn't just one side again, and I thought Trevor Penning played a much better game this time around. The Panthers had a pretty good front getting after it, and they'll have to keep making the corrections to try and keep Carr upright.
• Derek Carr - 69 (90%)
  Carr finished 21-of-36 (58.3%) for 228 yards with a pick and a 65.5 rating. The big plays were the highlight of the night here, but there were some clear missed opportunities due to communication and execution. Carr's one pick was a pretty questionable throw, floating it up for an easy Vonn Bell pick. When it counted most, Carr delivered again. He also had a similar play to last week with the big bomb to Shaheed.
• Juwan Johnson - 62 (81%)
  Johnson caught 2 passes on 3 targets for 13 yards. He hasn't had the strongest start to the season on the stat line, but it'll come. 
• Chris Olave - 61 (79%)
  Olave led the way it targets and receptions, hauling in 6 catches for 86 yards on 11 targets. He had the second longest play of the game with a 42-yard gain after Carr hit him in stride and he made an outstanding effort to haul in the catch after a one-handed attempt at first.
• Michael Thomas - 60 (78%)
  Dennis Allen said Thomas was outstanding against the Panthers and was a major factor in the game, and he couldn't have been more accurate. Thomas caught 7 passes for 55 yards on 9 targets, and was instrumental in helping move the sticks. The one catch he made near the sideline that was deemed a catch after further review was a textbook example of what he can bring to the table for this Saints offense. Allen also talked about how supportive he was on the sideline. That one little incident in the tunnel was totally overblown. So much for the notion that Thomas was washed by some, huh?
• Tony Jones Jr. - 40 (52%)
  After a second elevation from the practice squad, Tony Jones Jr. ended up being an integral part of success against the Panthers. He didn't have a killer game on the stat sheet, carrying the ball 12 times for 34 yards, but had 2 touchdowns from 2 yards out to help convert in the red zone. Jones Jr. also had some nice moments in blitz pickup.
• Rashid Shaheed - 38 (49%)
  Shaheed had the longest play of the night, a 45-yard catch with some YAC after Derek Carr hit him on a similar play from last week against the Titans. He caught all four of his targets for 63 yards.
• Foster Moreau - 36 (47%)
  Moreau caught both of his targets for 20 yards. He also had a heck of a block to help spring Chris Olave on a swing pass play. Although it didn't get into the end zone, it's a small sample size of the dirty work Moreau does in the Saints offense.
• Taysom Hill - 31 (40%)
  Hill once against showed off all the things he can do for this team, leading the way with 9 carries for 75 yards and completing his lone pass attempt for 8 yards. He was targeted twice in the passing game, catching one ball for a small negative gain. What's crazy about Hill's night is that he took a pitch outside and also ran from a tailback position. New Orleans was down on options, and Hill stepped up to the plate in addition to his other normal work. We'll see if he gets more work this Sunday after Allen said the team is good on running backs.
• Adam Prentice, Jamaal Williams - 18 (23%)
  Williams exited the game after suffering a hamstring injury, and will miss some time. It's unfortunate because of how good he was doing early on. He finished with 9 attempts for 29 yards. Kendre Miller could have played in the game, but the Saints held him out for precautionary reasons. He's expected to be a full go in practice this week.
• Keith Kirkwood - 17 (22%)
• Jimmy Graham - 10 (13%)
• Landon Young, Andrus Peat - 1 (1%)

Defense

The Saints defense had another impressive showing, setting a franchise record with 10 straight games of limiting opponents to 20 points or less. The previous honors went to the Dome Patrol from 1991, and any time you get into the conversation with them, that's something special. Carolina totaled 239 yards (100 rushing, 139 passing) and went 4-of-14 on 3rd Down. Overall, they did a nice job outside of that final drive that caused some interesting late game drama.

• Demario Davis, Marcus Maye, Paulson Adebo, Tyrann Mathieu - 60 (100%)
  Maye, Werner, and Davis led the way with 7 tackles. Maye had 6 solo and 1 assisted, while Davis had 4 solo and 3 assisted. Both also had a sack on Bryce Young. One of Davis' impressive plays on the night was when it looked like Young was going to take off, but he made up a ton of ground to stop him. Adebo recovered the fumble on the Granderson strip-sack, and the other one was wiped out due to a questionable flag on him. 
• Alontae Taylor, Pete Werner, Marshon Lattimore - 59 (98%)
  Werner had 3 solo tackles and 4 assisted, having another impressive game to start the season. Lattimore's one missing rep was due to a shoe issue. Adam Thielen found some success in the slot, but Taylor still balled out with 5 solo tackles (2 for loss) and a pass defense. There's going to be risk and reward here early on, but Taylor will almost always bounce back.
• Cam Jordan - 46 (77%)
  Jordan was the main driving force for another strip-sack on Bryce Young that was wiped out due to penalty. He looks good early in the season. I actually asked him about the defensive record, and in true 'Cam-like' fashion, he said it doesn't count because it was last year's defense. It's a great mentality to have.
• Carl Granderson - 44 (73%)
  We've said it before, but Granderson is going to get paid. He had a nice strip-sack on Bryce Young that ended up turning away points from the Panthers. We're not exactly surprised on his success, as he showed it all in the offseason.
• Nathan Shepherd - 30 (50%)
  Shepherd got his first sack of the season and made his presence felt from the very start of the game on defense. The makeover on the interior has been pretty strong to start the year.
• Bryan Bresee - 28 (47%)
• Khalen Saunders - 26 (43%)
• Malcolm Roach, Tanoh Kpassagnon - 19 (32%)
• Jordan Howden - 14 (23%)
• Isaiah Foskey - 12 (20%)
  Foskey also had 11 special teams reps and had some opportunities to block punts. It was an encouraging first outing for him, and hopefully he'll get better with time.
• Zack Baun - 4 (7%)
• Isaac Yiadom - 1 (2%) 

Special Teams (Top Reps)

• Zack Baun, D'Marco Jackson - 22
  You can't ignore the great hands play team made by Jackson to help preserve a win.
• Lonnie Johnson Jr. - 21
• Isaac Yiadom - 19
• Nephi Sewell, Ty Summers - 18
• J.T. Gray - 17