Alvin Kamara and Taysom Hill in for Deonte Harris

Harris has been a breakout star for the Saints this year, consistently delivering big returns on both punts and kickoffs. It’s a shame that his rookie season had to hit a delay with this hamstring injury. In his place, the Saints turned to two of their most dynamic players on offense to fill in for him, though results were a little more mixed than might be hoped.

Kamara handled punt returns for the Saints, taking a chance on all three attempts from Buccaneers punter Bradly Pinion. He turned those opportunities into 32 yards of field positioning for the Saints, most of it coming on a 27-yard scamper to set the Saints up at midfield. That possession turned into a 13-play scoring drive that ended with a Jared Cook touchdown catch, consuming 6 minutes and 36 seconds. It all followed a sack on third down to get the Saints defense off of the field, in many ways becoming the ideal play sequence for the Saints.

Things didn’t go so smoothly on kickoffs. The Buccaneers wisely avoided kicking to Hill, who has been dangerous in that area before. But Hill did try to field the first kickoff, which he dropped, recovered, and tried to take out before being stopped for a 12-yard gain. That drive ended with a 44-yard Wil Lutz field goal to give New Orleans an early lead. Hopefully Harris will be able to get back in the saddle soon.

[vertical-gallery id=22742]