Saints Week 5 Snap Counts: Who Played the Most On Defense and Were the Top Performers?

The Saints defense had their hands full with the Chiefs offense on Monday night.

Oct 7, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Khalen Saunders (50) intercepts a pass intended for Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster (9) (not pictured) during the second half at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images / Denny Medley-Imagn Images

The Saints are back in action on Wednesday, as they start preparations for the Bucs game. New Orleans will have a game right behind that one when they host the Broncos on the short week. Before we totally turn the page on the Chiefs loss, here's one last look at the snap counts, as we focus on the defense. You can see the offensive breakdown here.

Saints Defensive Snap Counts - Week 5

Oct 7, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt (29) runs the ball as New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Khalen Saunders (50) defends during the second half at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images / Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense finished out with 460 total net yards (139 rushing, 321 passing), averaging 5.8 yards/play. They held the ball for 39:56, picking up 28 first downs and went 6/14 (42.9%) on 3rd Down. Kansas City went 2/7 in Red Zone (29%), converted their lone 4th Down attempt and finished 2/3 in Goal to Go. The Saints defense sacked Mahomes twice on the night.

New Orleans had plenty of trouble with the Chiefs on the day, with them carving them up on the middle of the field. It wasn't just that, but Kareem Hunt went for over 100 yards and Juju Smith-Schuster also had a game with 7 catches for 130 yards. They were able to slow down Travis Kelce in the second half, but right now they're just not able to find themselves. The tackling wasn't particularly good and they again gave up some explosive plays that hurt them.

• Demario Davis, Marshon Lattimore, Paulson Adebo - 84 (100%) Davis led the way in his return with 11 total tackles (5 solo, 6 assisted). Lattimore had 5 total tackles (4 solo, 1 assisted) and wasn't targeted much on the evening. As for Adebo, he had another pass interference penalty that everyone will remember, but he had a pass defense, 4 solo tackles and a QB hit.
• Tyrann Mathieu - 83 (99%)
• Anfernee Orji - 73 (87%) Orji played alongside Davis in place of Pete Werner and was right behind Davis with 10 total tackles (7 solo, 3 assisted).
• Alontae Taylor - 63 (75%) Taylor continues to be one of the best Saints players, and he finished with 5 total tackles (4 solo, 1 assisted), 2 tackles for loss and had a pass breakup.
• Carl Granderson - 61 (73%) Granderson tied for third on the day with 7 total tackles (2 solo, 5 assisted), coming in second among the highest-graded Saints players with a 74.5 grade.
• Chase Young - 57 (68%) Young had 7 pressures, which tied him for 2nd in the NFL last week He got a sack to go along with the 3 total tackles (2 solo, 1 assisted), 2 QB hits and a tackle for loss.
• Johnathan Abram - 56 (67%) Abram ended up getting the nod over Jordan Howden with Will Harris going out of the lineup. He had 7 total tackles (6 solo, 1 assisted) and had an assisted special teams tackle. Harris looks like he could miss time, so Abram might be up on Sunday.
• Bryan Bresee - 53 (63%) Bresee had the other sack on Mahomes, finishing with 2 QB hits and a tackle for loss to go with the 4 total tackles (3 solo, 1 assisted).
• Cam Jordan - 45 (54%) With Payton Turner out, Cam Jordan saw more time on Monday night. He had some pretty good moments that showed you he shouldn't be forgotten about.
• Nathan Shepherd - 41 (49%)
• Khalen Saunders - 36 (43%) Saunders made the most against his former team, finishing with 7 total tackles (2 solo, 5 assisted), having a pass breakup and big pick in the end zone to turn the Chiefs offense away. His return ended up being the longest by a Saints defensive lineman since Sheldon Rankins in 2017.
• Will Harris - 28 (33%) Harris left the game after pulling up near the Chiefs sideline trying to make a tackle. He was on the ground for a couple of minutes and then walked gingerly to the injury tent. He eventually was carted off and had a towel over his head and it didn't look good. Hamstring is the inital injury, and hopefully it's not a tear.
• John Ridgeway - 25 (30%)
• D'Marco Jackson - 18 (21%)
• Isaiah Foskey - 16 (19%)
• Jordan Howden - 10 (12%)
• Kool-Aid McKinstry - 7 (8%)

Saints Special Teams Snap Counts - Week 5 (Top Reps)

• Isaiah Foskey, J.T. Gray - 22
• Jordan Howden - 18
• Rico Payton, D'Marco Jackson - 15
• Adam Prentice - 12