Tag: Score

Saints, Derek Carr open up their 2023 season with a much-needed win

The Saints and Derek Carr opened up their 2023 season with a much-needed win. It was too close for comfort, but it’s a good start:

It wasn’t as pretty as they may have hoped, but the New Orleans Saints left Week 1 with a win over the visiting Tennessee Titans. Derek Carr and the Saints offense struggled to put points on the board in a too-close 16-15 victory, with his lone touchdown pass traveling 19 yards to reach wide receiver Rashid Shaheed. Protection issues (Carr was sacked 4 times) and a poor running game (as a team, New Orleans ran for just 58 yards on 26 attempts) slowed the Saints offense down all afternoon,

So the defense and special teams units deserve a ton of credit for executing when it counted. Demario Davis, Cameron Jordan, and their teammates kept the Titans offense from ever advancing beyond the New Orleans 9-yard line. They had two different drives stall out at the 11-yard line. Tennessee struggled to sustain drives while going 2-for-12 on third downs. Titans coach Mike Vrabel settled for a surprising 29-yard field goal late in regulation while down four points, and he never got the ball back.

As for the Saints’ kicking game: rookie kicker Blake Grupe was perfect from distances of 26, 33, and 52 yards, also making his lone extra-point attempt. His fellow first-year pro Blake Gillikin flipped the field often on the afternoon and did a great job limiting return opportunities. Linebacker Zack Baun blocked a Tennessee punt and defensive back Lonnie Johnson Jr., a special teams coverage ace, closed in on several clutch tackles.

There’s a lot for the Saints to build on here. They know now that they can’t thrust Trevor Penning into one-on-one blocking assignments with experienced edge rushers. James Hurst failed to pick up some stunts after moving back to left guard this offseason. The running game wasn’t a factor in New Orleans’ favor, but it’s worth noting they were without two of their top three running backs with Alvin Kamara suspended and Kendre Miller out with an injury. You have to hope that will improve once all hands are back on deck.

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49ers advance to NFCCG, impacting what Broncos can trade for Sean Payton

The 49ers have advanced to the NFC championship game, impacting which draft picks the Broncos can trade for Sean Payton:

Well that’s a bummer. The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Dallas Cowboys by a 19-12 margin to advance to the NFC championship game on Sunday night, which impacts the draft picks the Denver Broncos could trade for former New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton.

Denver controls the 49ers’ first round pick in the 2023 draft by way of a trade with the Miami Dolphins, who got it back in 2021 when San Francisco vaulted up the board for quarterback prospect Trey Lance. That pick will fall somewhere between Nos. 29 and 32 depending on whether the 49ers make it to the Super Bowl and claim a victory, and it figures to be the cornerstone of a trade with New Orleans. Denver also has a pair of picks in the third round this year, plus all of their selections in the top three rounds in the 2024 draft.

Payton has suggested before that the Saints are looking to get a first round pick in the back half of that frame, drawing on conversations with general manager Mickey Loomis, and this Broncos-pick-from-49ers-via-Dolphins trade would line up with that expectation. Of course it would be the biggest asset in a trade package, with the Saints hoping to net a couple of mid-round picks to balance things out. If your goal is for New Orleans to get as many picks as possible out of trading Payton, Denver might be your best bet, even if their top pick ends up falling very late in the first round.

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WATCH: FOX broadcasters scoff at Saints-Eagles C.J. Gardner-Johnson trade

FOX broadcasters Joe Davis and Daryl Johnston scoffed at the preseason Saints-Eagles C.J. Gardner-Johnson trade during their Saturday night playoff game:

A couple of former New Orleans Saints players had themselves a game during the first half of the Philadelphia Eagles’ playoff game with the New York Giants on Saturday night. Safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson helped create a Daniel Jones interception by rushing the passer into an ill-advised throw off of a blitz, and he later made a couple of clean open-field tackles to force some Giants punts. Gardner-Johnson’s defense pitched a first-half shutout against Jones’ Giants.

It was enough for the FOX Sports broadcasting duo to question how the Eagles got Gardner-Johnson in the first place, reflecting on a preseason trade with the New Orleans Saints late last summer. Contract negotiations broke down between Gardner-Johnson and the Saints and led to some friction, which prompted head coach Dennis Allen to trade him out of town.

“How did the Eagles pull off a trade for Gardner-Johnson? How did the Saints let this guy go?” asked play-by-play announcer Joe Davis. Color analyst Daryl Johnston responded with a befuddled “I have no idea.”

After halftime, FOX Sports sideline reporter Pam Oliver relayed a message  Gardner-Johnson delivered to his teammates in the tunnel before returning to the field, cautioning them to “Don’t let that goose egg fool you.” They quickly forced a New York three-and-out to open the second half.

Gardner-Johnson has had a career year with Philadelphia, tying for the NFL lead with 6 interceptions despite being limited to 12 games due to an abdominal injury. He’s set himself up well for a lucrative free agent contract after the Saints traded him away for a couple of late-round draft picks over the next two cycles.

But he wasn’t the only former Saints player enjoying his Saturday evening. Running back Boston Scott was drafted into the NFL by New Orleans back in 2018 as a sixth-round pick out Louisiana Tech, and he made the most of his two rushing attempts in the first half against New York. Scott’s first carry gained 10 yards, and his second run scored a touchdown from 3 yards out, extending the Eagles’ lead to 21-0. They went into halftime up 28-0. The 5-foot-6 Scott has become something of a Giants-slayer with 11 touchdowns scored in 9 games against Big Blue after the Eagles acquired him off of waivers as a rookie.

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Everyone is already buzzing about Sean Payton maybe going to the Chargers

Everyone is buzzing about Sean Payton maybe going to the Chargers. Their stunning playoff loss makes things interesting for Saints fans:

Will Sean Payton be the next head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers? That’s the question seemingly on everyone’s mind as the Jacksonville Jaguars eliminated the Chargers from the playoffs on Saturday night, erasing a 27-point lead and putting L.A. coach Brandon Staley’s job status in jeopardy.

Jacksonville’s game-winning field goal kick hadn’t even finished sailing through the uprights before hundreds of messages erupted on social media congratulating Payton on being hired by the Chargers. Now, just to be clear, the Chargers have not fired Staley nor have they so much as requested an interview with Payton. But his interest in their opening, should it occur, has been well-established. It feels like only a matter of time before both sides begin exchanging pleasantries.

In the meantime, here are some of the immediate reactions and takeaways from Twitter on what this means for the Chargers, the Saints, and Sean Payton:

Saints lose to Panthers 10-7, their first season sweep in 7 years

The Saints lost to Panthers by a 10-7 margin, Carolina’s first season sweep in 7 years. New Orleans missed too many field goals and dropped too many passes:

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Well, thank goodness that’s over. The Carolina Panthers (7-10) pulled off their first season sweep of the New Orleans Saints (7-10) in a 10-7 win at the Caesars Superdome, and it wasn’t pretty — starting quarterback Sam Darnold only completed 5 of his 15 pass attempts for 43 yards on the afternoon. He was intercepted twice. How did the Saints lose this game?

Wil Lutz missed two field goals from distances of 44 and 55 yards, though his second try was deflected by a Panthers defender. Andy Dalton missed a wide-open touchdown pass to Taysom Hill on the second drive of the game and never got his mojo back. Chris Olave lost an uncharacteristic fumble and had several dropped passes. The offensive line struggled to make headway while missing three starters, and promising rookie left tackle Trevor Penning left late in regulation with a foot injury.

It was a mess on offense, and the Saints never took advantage of the opportunities their defense created for them in the second-half shutout. Dalton isn’t it. Neither is offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael Jr. Massive changes need to hit the Saints offensively this offseason. But these miscues and self-inflicted wounds have dogged New Orleans all year, and head coach Dennis Allen deserves some blame, too. But it’s not likely to cost him his job.

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Saints sack the Browns, keep their playoff hopes alive another day

The Saints got out of their own way long enough to eliminate the Browns from playoff contention, keeping their own postseason hopes alive another day:

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Well how about that? The New Orleans Saints got out of their own way long enough to outlast the Cleveland Browns in the wind and snow, leaving town with a 17-10 win. It’s the second time Dennis Allen has won consecutive games in his 51-game career as a head coach, and the Saints made it a lot harder than it needed to be, but we’ll take it. A win is a win.

The Saints improved to 6-9 on the season and remain in the thick of the NFC South title race. They’re safe from playoff elimination for another week, leaving fans free to enjoy the holiday weekend. Merry Christmas to all who are celebrating.

New Orleans pivoted to more of a run-based attack in the second half, finishing the day with 152 rushing yards as a team — led by running back Alvin Kamara (20 carries for 76 yards) and tight end Taysom Hill (9 carries for 56 yards), both of whom scored second-half touchdown runs. Quarterback Andy Dalton dealt with some drops by his receivers (one of which was intercepted) and fumbled a pair of snap exchanges in the freezing conditions, ending the game with just 92 passing yards. But he avoided sacks, didn’t turn the ball over on his own account, and it was enough to win the day.

The Saints defense bottled up Deshaun Watson and the Browns passing attack well, given an assist from the weather. Watson only completed 15 of his 31 pass attempts for 135 yards with his own pass deflection-turned-interception, and he was sacked twice on the afternoon. Most critically he took a sack on Cleveland’s last play of the game facing fourth down just outside of the end zone. Good on Saints defensive end Carl Granderson for the heady play.

Things are far from settled. The Saints are still ranked third in the division title race. They could have lost it to a more competent opponent, but the Browns tripped over themselves by stubbornly asking Watson to throw into the wind rather than leaning harder on their superstar running back Nick Chubb.

But, hey: a win is a win. We’ll take it, and so will the Saints. There will be plenty of time to look back on this game more critically in the days ahead.

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Saints sweep the Falcons in 2022, tie up all-time record in the NFL’s best rivalry

The Saints won 21-18 on Sunday to sweep the Falcons in 2022, tying up the all-time record in the NFL’s best rivalry series:

Bang: the New Orleans Saints knocked off the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday to win 21-18, improving their record to 5-9 on the year. But this is big for bragging rights in the NFL’s best rivalry series. Beyond having swept the Falcons in 2022, the Saints have now caught Atlanta in the all-time record with their oldest rivals.

If you include the one playoff meeting (which the Falcons won), both teams are now tied up at 54-54 head-to-head. If you only count regular season games, New Orleans leads the series 54-53. The Saints and Falcons started out together in the old NFC West, and they moved on to form the NFC South together in 2002. They’ve been squaring up twice a year ever since.

The Falcons have led the series by 10 or more games twice, by the way. They enjoyed a 44-32 lead when Sean Payton was hired as head coach way back in 2006. But Payton went 21-9 against the dirty birds (the Saints split the series 1-1 without him in 2012), and now Dennis Allen has swept them in 2022. A win next year puts New Orleans ahead no matter how you slice it.

It’s kind of fitting that the Saints would tie it all up with Atlanta during the most disappointing, hard-to-watch campaign in recent memory. For years fans in New Orleans and Atlanta would both say that even if they lost every other game, they could live with it so long as they beat that other team. It’s not ideal to have to look for things like this as silver linings, but look: times are hard, and we’ll take them. Just like the Saints took this win and, depending on how you look at it, the all-time record.

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49ers ended the Saints’ streak of 332 games without a shutout

The 49ers ended the Saints’ streak of 332 games played without a shutout loss on Sunday. It had been the longest active streak in the NFL:

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It’s been a long, long time since the New Orleans Saints were last shut out. They put points on the board in 332 consecutive games — which had been the longest active streak in the NFL. But the San Francisco 49ers snapped that streak on Sunday, and now the Saints are left to pick up the pieces. Annoyingly, that isn’t even an NFL record. The 49ers themselves set it with 420 games played without a shutout.

So what happened in New Orleans’ last shutout? To give you some context, it happened on Jan. 6, 2002 at the end of the 2001 regular season. Jim Haslett coached the team, and Aaron Brooks was the Saints quarterback at the time, with Drew Brees closing out his rookie year with the Chargers (who played in San Diego at the time). At the time, this was a game between two rivals in the old NFC West; the NFC South would be founded a year later. Sean Payton was finishing out his second season as the New York Giants offensive coordinator and Dennis Allen was busy working the secondary at Tulsa, his first full-time coaching job. It capped a four-game losing streak that put the Saints at 7-9, eliminating them from the playoffs.

And of course it was the same 49ers team who beat them in a 38-nothing shutout at home. Terrell Owens started the game with two long touchdown catches from Jeff Garcia (of 56 and 60 yards, both in the first quarter) and things didn’t get much easier from there. The Niners racked up 407 yards of offense while limiting New Orleans to just 126 yards, intercepting Brooks four times and jarring loose four fumbles (three of them from Ricky Williams). San Francisco improved to 12-4 on the year but got knocked out of the playoffs a week later.

Things might be headed in a similar direction all these years later. The Saints are long shots of reaching the playoffs, while the 49ers look like a possible Super Bowl contender. There are still games left to play and decisions to make, but that’s where we are. History doesn’t always repeat itself  — but it often rhymes.

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National reactions: Saints’ shutout by 49ers draws plenty of criticism

National reactions: Saints’ shutout by 49ers draws plenty of criticism

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Here are the latest national media reactions to the New Orleans Saints’ 13-0 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Week 12, ending the longest active streak of games played without being shut out:

Instant analysis from the Saints’ 27-20 win vs. Rams

Instant analysis from the Saints’ 27-20 win vs. Rams: What went right, what went wrong, and what’s the bottom line?

That was badly-needed. The New Orleans Saints knocked off the Los Angles Rams on Sunday to improve to 4-7 on the season, outlasting the Rams in a 27-20 win at home. There’s a lot to say about this game and what it means (and it doesn’t mean), so let’s get right to it. We’re looking to answer three major questions: What went right, what went wrong, and what’s the bottom line?