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What happens when the NFL’s reigning Offensive Player of the Year isn’t able to join his offense? Well, we clearly underestimated the loss when New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas was ruled out against the Las Vegas Raiders with an ankle injury. The Saints limped to a 34-24 finish, with their final score arriving a day late and a dollar short of making a difference.
Despite an admirable game from third-year pro Tre’Quan Smith (who caught 5 of 7 targets to gain 86 yards, filling in for Thomas as the X-receiver), the Saints offense struggled to shift gears and secure off-target passes. Three or four would-be first downs were dropped by receivers. While they were thrown with a less-than-tight spiral by Brees, it’s the sort of sloppiness he’s been able to get away with thanks to Thomas. Without him, lesser talents were unable to step up.
In total, Brees completed 26 of his 38 pass attempts — a respectable 68% — but his 61.4 quarterback rating tells a deeper story. He was forced to check down to his running backs often, whether because he didn’t trust his receivers to win contested catches (or worse, he didn’t trust his arm to get the ball to them). Having a safety valve like Thomas, who catches an absurd 78% of his targets, is exactly what Brees needs to help keep the offense on schedule. And without his right-hand man, Brees is a sitting duck.
The most disappointing performance in the receiving corps came from Emmanuel Sanders. The veteran was expected to step up as the de facto No. 1 receiver with Thomas sidelined, but he struggled with drops and didn’t even catch a pass until the game was decided. He was also fouled for a dubious block in the back, which just rubs some salt in the wound. Sanders spoke earlier about how he was still picking up parts of the offense, but his bad game really drove that point home.
So hopefully Thomas can return sooner rather than later. The Saints certainly think so — they would have placed him on the three-week injured reserve list if he was expected to be unavailable long-term. But with only a short week standing between them and Aaron Rodgers’ Green Bay Packers, it’s also possible they err on the side of caution and try to avoid rushing Thomas back into action just because they’ve lost one game.
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