[jwplayer Heou98K8]
The New Orleans Saints demolished the Atlanta Falcons without putting up gaudy numbers on offense, instead relying on their defense to make life hard for Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan and his supporting cast on Thanksgiving. That victory was a prelude for other big wins around the NFL, ranging from the Baltimore Ravens’ takedown of the San Francisco 49ers to the Houston Texans’ shocking win over the New England Patriots. A final shakeup to the standings came from the Seattle Seahawks’ homestand against the Minnesota Vikings.
According to the latest NFL power rankings from Doug Farrar over at Touchdown Wire, those performances were substantial enough to life the Saints to the No. 3 spot. Here’s some of what he wrote to justify that jump up from No. 5:
It says a lot for a team’s balance when it can beat the daylights out of an opponent without any of its biggest offensive names putting up huge performances. That was the case for the Saints in their 26-18 win over the Falcons. Drew Brees completed just 18 of 30 passes for 184 yards and a touchdown. Alvin Kamara gained 61 yards on 11 carries. Michael Thomas caught six passes for just 48 yards.
None of that mattered, though, because New Orleans’ defense went nuts on Matt Ryan, sacking him nine times, hitting him 13 more times, and making his day even worse with this extremely ill-advised tackle attempt and against defensive lineman Shy Tuttle.
Backup quarterback/Swiss Army knife Taysom Hill blocked a punt, ran for a touchdown and caught a touchdown pass. Cameron Jordan had four sacks, and edge bookend Marcus Davenport had two of his own.
The Saints earned their third straight NFC South title with this win, and they’re right to want more. When you have depth and breadth along the roster like this, you are going to be a very tough out in the postseason.
The Saints still trail two other teams for the top spot, including the red-hot Ravens (at No. 1) and the upstart Seahawks (at No. 2), despite New Orleans’ dismantling of Seattle earlier this season. The Seahawks’ serenity-in-chaos style of play has worked well for them this year, especially on the biggest stages in prime-time, but for now they trail the Saints in the only ranking that really matters: playoff positioning. If the playoffs started today, the road to Super Bowl LIV would run through New Orleans, with the Seahawks in second-place.
[vertical-gallery id=23720]