Category: Saints

Saints DT Khalen Saunders paves way for Taysom Hill to find end zone

Taysom Hill followed a Saints DT into the end zone for a touchdown

At 6-0 and 324 pounds, Khalen Saunders is an impressive force on defense. He’s also doing well as a blocker in some offensive situations for the New Orleans.

Derek Carr was in charge for 15 plays and 74 yards of a drive that bridged the third and fourth quarter on Thursday Night Football against the Jacksonville Jaguars in New Orleans.

The veteran had no luck getting his team into the end zone.

So, on fourth down from the one, Dennis Allen sent in Taysom Hill and Saunders in what amounted to a make-or-break play with his Saints down 24-9.

Saunders cleared the path and Hill ran into the end zone.

After the PAT, New Orleans trailed, 24-16

Jaguars’ Foye Oluokon with 24-yard pick-six in third quarter

The Jaguars get a pick-six off a batted Derek Carr pass in the third quarter

The Jacksonville Jaguars got a big defensive play in the third quarter against the New Orleans Saints on Thursday Night Football.

Foye Oluokon wound up with the football in his arms after a Derek Carr pass was batted in the air.

Twenty-four yards and a PAT later, the Jaguars had a 24-9 lead over a New Orleans offense that would best be described as sluggish.

The NFL’s Worst of Week 6: Bad officiating, punter headbutts, angry Brian Daboll!

Massive officiating errors! Angry coaches! Punters starting fights, and announcers jinxing quarterbacks. It’s the NFL’s Worst of the Week for Week 6!

Football is a wonderful, thrilling, inspiring game that can lift us to new heights in our lives.

But football is also a weird, inexplicable, at times downright stupid game that may force you to perform Keith Moon-level furniture destruction in your own living room.

So, as much as we at Touchdown Wire endeavor to write about what makes the game great, there are also times when it’s important to point out the dumb plays, boneheaded decisions, and officiating errors that make football all too human.

Folks, it’s time for the Worst of the Week for Week 6 of the 2023 NFL season.

The best Amazon Prime Big Deal Days deal for each NFL team

See our favorite Amazon Prime Big Deal Days deal for each of the 32 NFL teams.

The 2023 NFL season is turning its first corner. Just in time for another important time of the year: Amazon Prime Big Deal Days.

The latest rounds of deals on the site have now hit the web. Get your holiday shopping done early this year and find the perfect gift for the football fan in your life

Are you ready to celebrate Jonathan Taylor’s new contract with the Indianapolis Colts?

How about preparing for another potential deep run for your Kansas City Chiefs or Philadelphia Eagles?

Or are you ready to jump on the Miami Dolphins’ bandwagon?

Whatever the team, use Amazon Prime Big Deals Day as an excuse to gear up for the rest of the 2023 NFL season starting with our team-by-team list below:

Bill Belichick follows worst loss as Patriots’ head coach with second-worst loss

Things are unusually and historically horrible in Foxborough, as Bill Belichick followed his worst loss ever with his second-worst.

Bill Belichick is really going through it this season.

The future first-ballot Hall of Fame head coach suffered his worst loss as the Patriots’ main man last Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys, as Dallas handed New England a 38-3 thrashing. That 35-point deficit set a new low for Belichick’s time in New England.

In some ways, this Sunday’s 34-0 loss to the New Orleans Saints may have been even worse. The point differential was one less, but this was Belichick’s worst home loss ever, and for the second straight week, quarterback Mac Jones threw a pick-six to pad the result for the Patriots’ opponent. This time, it was a 27-yarder by safety Tyrann Mathieu.

Last week, it was cornerback DaRon Bland.

Jones was pulled in favor of backup Bailey Zappe for the second straight week when the game was out of hand, and given reports that Zappe has been getting more reps in practice, you wonder if it’s time for a change. Jones finished his day against the Saints with 12 completions in 22 attempts for 110 yards, no touchdowns, two interceptions, and a passer rating of 30,5.

The Patriots are now 1-4 on the season, and as much as Belichick has done for this franchise, this is a thunderous series of issues in the wrong direction.

Foster Moreau catches touchdown pass for Saints

Foster Moreau came back from beating cancer and caught a TD pass for New Orleans

A feel-good story that should not be lost in the New Orleans Saints’ romp over the New England Patriots on Sunday at Gillette.

Saints tight end Forster Moreau battled — and beat — cancer in the offseason.

In the fourth quarter, he took a shovel pass from Derek Carr and found the end zone for his first touchdown of the season.

Well Done, Foster Moreau.

Tyrann Mathieu with pick-six of Mac Jones for the Saints

Tyrann Mathieu intercepted Mac Jones and took it back for a Saints touchdown

The questions around Mac Jones are going to continue to rise, especially if he keeps making plays as he did on Sunday early against the New Orleans Saints.

The New England Patriots quarterback looked for a receiver but found Saints DB Tyrann Mathieu.

Twenty-seven yards later, Mathieu was in the end zone and New Orleans had a 7-0 lead at Foxborough.

The Xs and Os: How Jordan Love can singe Detroit’s defense with big-time vertical throws

The Lions will be tested this Thursday night by Jordan Love’s tight-window deep throws. Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar break it down in “The Xs and Os.”

In the first half of the Green Bay Packers’ Sunday game against the New Orleans Saints, Packers quarterback Jordan Love completed just seven of 16 passes for 74 yards. The Packers were down 17-0 when they went in the tunnel, and this looked like it could be a blowout. Dennis Allen’s Saints defense is maybe the best in the NFL at tying pressure to match coverage, and Love was having all kinds of problems with it.

Then, in the second half, Love completed 15 of 28 passes for 185 yards, one touchdown, and one interception — still not amazing numbers, but the ways in which he was able to make tight-window vertical throws in the second half turned out to be a major factor in Green Bay’s 18-17 comeback win.

The first big-time throw came with 1:53 left in the third quarter, and Love made a brilliant 30-yard pass to backside slot receiver Romeo Doubs out of a five-wide empty look against the Saints’ Cover-3. Love did a great job of maintaining the concept despite the Saints’ flip from two-high to single-high, but also against safety Tyrann Mathieu disrupting the timing of the route after he dropped down.

The second big play came with 12:30 left in the fourth quarter against Cover-1. Cornerback Alontae Taylor was in aggressive man coverage against rookie receiver Jayden Reed, who pushed back on Taylor’s bumpage until he broke outside. Taylor stumbled for a split second, and that’s how you get a 22-yard completion.

The third big play came with 4:13 left in the game, and this 30-yard completion helped to set up Love’s game-winning touchdown pass to Doubs with 2:59 left on the clock. This was Reed against Taylor again — this time, from the frontside outside slot. And Reed did two important things against Taylor on this play — he took outside leverage well, and he got a subtle push in Taylor (Saints fans may debate the definition of “subtle” here) to get open just enough for Love’s deep pass.

“I think we were just going [into] two-minute mode, going a little bit faster and taking some more shots downfield,” Love said after the game of the difference in the second half. “We were getting a lot of man-to-man coverage and receivers were just capitalizing on those opportunities and just making plays for us.”

Love also had high praise for Doubs and Reed.

“Those guys are special. They made some great plays when we needed it most. That’s a credit to everybody. It wasn’t perfect a lot of that game, but guys never flinched and they showed out, showed up and they played to the end.”

The Detroit Lions, who face off against the Packers in Thursday night, have allowed seven opponent completions of 16 or more air yards (the NFL’s definition of an explosive passing play) on 11 attempts for 177 yards per Sports Info Solutions, so that’s something to watch.

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys get into why Love is able to succeed in these concepts, and how the Lions’ defense will be challenged to stop him — especially with those bang-on downfield throws.

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You can watch this week’s full “Xs and Os” video with all the key matchups for Week 4 right here:

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You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

NFL Power Rankings, Week 4: Dolphins rise, Cowboys fall

The Dolphins rise after dropping 70, and the Cowboys slip after going down in the dessert. Where does your team fall in the Week 4 power rankings?

From 70 burgers being cooked well-done in the Miami heat, to fourth-quarter comebacks in the land of the cheese, Week 3 did not disappoint. Now that all games have been played, these are the NFL power rankings from 32-1 heading into Week 4.

A first look at every NFL team’s 2023 Salute to Service gear

Get your favorite NFL team’s 2023 Salute to Service gear. 100% of profits benefit the NFL’s military nonprofit partners.

The NFL is continuing to show their support for the United States military with their 2023 line of Salute to Service gear.

Every team in the league will begin wearing their annual Salute to Service hoodies, shirts, hats and more, but with a new twist.

The collection features a unique camo or military look with the custom Salute to Service emblem or U.S. flag. Salute to Service items include New Era hats, Nike t-shirts, longsleeves, hoodies, and more.

All profits go toward the NFL Foundation to benefit the league’s military nonprofit partners, such as the Wounded Warrior Project and TAPS–And they can all be found over at Fanatics.

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Check out the 2023 Salute to Service line of gear for your favorite team right here: