Tag: Touchdowns

No team has scored more TDs on the Cowboys’ home turf than the Saints

No team has scored more touchdowns at AT&T Stadium than the Saints did in Week 2 — including the Cowboys all season long. New Orleans tore the roof off that sucker:

It’s a beautiful venue Jerry Jones built for the Dallas Cowboys, AT&T Stadium. It’s just a shame his team hasn’t scored more points for their fans than they have this season. The Cowboys have managed just five touchdowns on offense all year long, and it’s the New Orleans Saints who tore the roof off that sucker. The Saints are AT&T Stadium’s scoring leader with six touchdowns to their credit way back in Week 2.

At the same time, it’s a shame the Saints couldn’t maintain that pace. It’s why Dennis Allen got fired and they slumped into a seven-game losing streak. But the tide has turned, maybe. Darren Rizzi has brought new life to the locker room and the practice field and the sideline on game days. Klint Kubiak is running his offense the way he planned to with Pro Bowl center Erik McCoy back in the lineup and Taysom Hill recovered from injury.

The 35 points they dropped on the Cleveland Browns’ heads this Sunday were the most the Saints scored since they blew out the Cowboys in Dallas back on Sept. 15.

In a way, their bye week came at the worst time. You’d like to see the Saints keep this momentum going and continue playing fast in another matchup soon. But every team needs rest, and they could use it with McCoy on the mend (though Rizzi says he’s expected to be fine after the bye). The challenge then becomes picking up where they left off. And with the Los Angeles Rams, another playoff hopeful fighting for a winning record, coming up next? Rizzi and his squad need every minute to prepare to hit the ground running on Dec. 1.

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Jimmy Graham’s role within the Saints offense should grow outside the red zone

Jimmy Graham has 3 touchdowns on 4 catches. His efficiency in the red zone begs the question: how effective could Graham be outside the 20?

Often times in life, when one question is answered another one arises. New Orleans Saints fans have often asked the question “Will the Saints use Jimmy Graham in the red zone?” all season when the fan-favorite pass-catcher was idling on the bench as a healthy scratch while their offense was failing to end drives with touchdowns.

And over the past two weeks, Graham has been successful enough inside the 20-yard line to create a new question: “Why isn’t he used more often?” Graham played a lot of snaps early in the season when Juwan Johnson was injured (including a staggering 42 of them against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 4) but he was asked to work as a run blocker (73 snaps), not a pass catcher (61 snaps), more often than not.

Graham’s success rate in his specialty role as a red zone scoring threat is ridiculous. On the season, he has 4 catches for 3 touchdowns and an additional first down.

Why not expand the role? Graham could be used not just as a red zone specialist but as a weapon on third downs, too. No one should expect him to turn back the clock a decade, but he’s shown enough in a limited capacity to draw more targets. That expansion could help a struggling passing attack that finds itself low on weapons.

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Saints’ opening drive touchdowns drought extends to 13 games

The Saints’ opening drive touchdowns drought extended to 13 games against the Panthers:

This isn’t how you play a winning brand of football. The New Orleans Saints ended their opening drive against the Carolina Panthers with a missed field goal from the 29-yard line — alone, that’s a bad thing (especially for rookie kicker Blake Grupe, who is now the only specialist in the NFL with multiple misses inside 30 yards), but in the big picture it’s part of a concerning trend.

It meant the Saints offense extended its opening-drive touchdowns drought to 13 consecutive games. Like every team, the Saints scrip their first 12 to 15 plays each week to test the opponent’s vulnerabilities and gauge how the defense will react to what they’re being shown. These are often your staple plays that can reliably pick up yards and, hopefully, put points on the scoreboard.

But the Saints haven’t scored a single touchdown during their opening drives with Derek Carr at quarterback. Look at the results through 13 games, as noted by ESPN’s Katherine Terrell:

  • Week 1: Successful field goal
  • Week 2: Punt
  • Week 3: Punt
  • Week 4: Missed field goal
  • Week 5: Punt
  • Week 6: Missed field goal
  • Week 7: Missed field goal
  • Week 8: Punt
  • Week 9: Punt
  • Week 10: Punt
  • Week 12: Punt
  • Week 13: Interception
  • Week 14: Missed field goal

That’s discouraging. It’s downright dispiriting that this same play caller, Pete Carmichael, organized touchdown-scoring drives on his first possession in three of the last four games last year with Andy Dalton at quarterback. The receiving corps and offensive line are near-identical to what the Saints finished the season with. So why are they regressing? Carr has a lot of work to do to prove the critics who said the Saints were making a lateral move wrong.

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Saints celebrate Alvin Kamara’s newest record with epic highlights reel

The Saints celebrated Alvin Kamara breaking the rushing touchdown record with a 14-minute compilation of his touchdown runs:

Alvin Kamara broke the New Orleans Saints’ team record for career rushing touchdowns versus the Detroit Lions on Sunday, which was set by his former teammate Mark Ingram II. In addition to that, he also broke Marques Colston’s record for the most career yards from scrimmage in the same game.

The Saints celebrated Kamara’s accomplishments by sharing an epic highlight reel: a 14-minute compilation of all of Kamara’s rushing touchdowns. My personal favorite was his touchdown run against the Carolina Panthers from his rookie year. Luke Kuechly hit him at the goal line and Kamara rocked back then surged forward like a blow-up punching bag. Which one is your favorite?

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3 of the NFL’s active pick-6 leaders have started at QB for Dennis Allen

Dennis Allen might have a type. Three of the NFL’s top-five leaders in interceptions returned for touchdowns have started for him at quarterback:

Does Dennis Allen have a type? Of the top five active quarterbacks in career pick-sixes (interceptions returned for touchdowns), three of them have started games for the New Orleans Saints at quarterback since Allen took over as head coach.

As noted by Nola.com’s Jeff Duncan, Andy Dalton ranks second among active passers with 18 pick-sixes in 169 games. Derek Carr is right behind him with 16 of them in 153 games. Jameis Winston rounds out the top-five with a dozen in 90 games.

Of course they aren’t alone; Kirk Cousins is also in the mix (14 in 150 games) and Matthew Stafford leads everyone with 30 of them in 201 games.

But it’s concerning that so many Saints quarterbacks rank high in this stat since Allen was promoted to head coach. He made the decision to sign Dalton in free agency last year and followed up by starting him for most of the season after Jameis Winston was injured and benched. It was Allen’s choice to recruit Carr to New Orleans this offseason, too.

Defenders typically don’t return an interception all the way to the end zone for a score, so this is more a ball security problem than anything. Carr has a career interceptions rate of 2%, but he’s whittled it down to 1.3% with the Saints this season. That doesn’t excuse his horrible ball placement on an interception against the Atlanta Falcons last week that was returned for a win-sealing touchdown. But we’ve got to acknowledge how critical his turnovers have been when they have occurred. Carr has thrown two pick-sixes this season against Atlanta and the Jacksonville Jaguars.

How does that compare to Dalton and Winston? Last year, Dalton threw an interception on 2.4% of his passes, which is near his career average (2.6%). And like Carr, his mistakes happened at critical times — just look at his two pick-sixes thrown against the Arizona Cardinals in the last two minutes before halftime.

As for Winston: his issues protecting the ball are well-documented, and his performance with the Saints the last two years speaks for itself. His career interceptions rate is 3.4% and he’s been picked off on 4.3% and a staggering 7.1% of his passes in the years since Sean Payton left the team. He’s only attempted 42 throws this year but he’s thrown more interceptions (3) than touchdowns (2) when asked to step in for Carr. He threw a pick-six against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season, too.

Allen’s choices of quarterbacks haven’t exactly meshed with the philosophy of a head coach who wants to run a conservative, run-first offense that can protect the ball and settle for field goals while trusting its defense to win games. Whether they’re not clutch or just unlucky, the Saints quarterbacks — especially Carr, the current unquestioned starter — must play better.

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WATCH all 30 Vikings touchdowns from 2023 season

Relive every one of the Vikings 30 touchdowns through 12 games.

The Minnesota Vikings sit at 6-6 heading into their bye week. In those 12 games, they have found a way to amass 30 touchdowns.

The defense has found their way into the end zone multiple times as well, with D.J. Wonnum and Jordan Hicks finding the end zone. Interestingly enough, the Vikings won both games where the defense scored.

The offense has found its way into the end zone 28 times with rookie Jordan Addison scoring seven of them. 23 of their touchdowns have come through the air and five of them have come on the ground with all five of those coming from week eight and beyond.

With the bye week here, relive every Vikings touchdown from the all-22 view.

Taysom Hill stamps his place in NFL history with latest touchdown

Taysom Hill stamped his place in NFL history with his latest touchdown catch:

Not too shabby. Taysom Hill stamped his place in NFL history with his touchdown catch against the Chicago Bears on Sunday, joining four other players in the “10-10-10” club. Frank Gifford, Red Grange, Charley Trippi, Jimmy Conzelman and Hill are the only players in league history to throw 10 touchdown passes and score 10 apiece as a runner and receiver.

It’s actually something Hill had already accomplished if you include the playoffs, but now you can leave that qualifier out. Hill has been a reliable scoring threat for the New Orleans Saints with 10 touchdown receptions, 10 touchdown passes and 26 rushing touchdowns in his career during the regular season.

The most recent player to reach the milestone was Gifford, the former New York Giants halfback who was a dynamic do-it-all threat in his illustrious 136-game career from 1952 to 1964. He ended his career with 34 rushing touchdowns, 43 touchdown catches and 14 touchdown passes. Gifford won an NFL championship with the Giants and earned eight Pro Bowl nods, plus four spots on the All-Pro team. Those are lofty heights for Hill to chase, but it’s great company to keep.

Update: Hill later threw a touchdown pass against the Bears, giving him 11 such scores in his career.

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Alvin Kamara has already matched his 2022 season-long red zone production

Alvin Kamara has already matched his 2022 season-long red zone production. The Saints are doing a better job utilizing one of their best players:

It’s taken longer than they may have liked, but the New Orleans Saints offense has made some improvements over last year’s performance. And one of the big steps forward is annoyingly simple: getting the ball to their best players in scoring position.

Alvin Kamara has already matched his production in the red zone from the 2022 season after just five games in 2023. Last year when the offense got inside the opposing 20-yard line, Kamara totaled 20 rushing attempts and 7 receptions (on 11 targets) for a combined 79 yards, scoring three touchdowns. That’s over the course of 15 games.

This year, through just five games after returning from suspension, Kamara has already locked 18 carries and 6 catches (6 targets) for 80 yards from scrimmage — again scoring three touchdowns. Derek Carr is throwing a better football to Kamara than he got from Andy Dalton and Jameis Winston last year, and Pete Carmichael is clearly making a greater effort to keep Kamara involved when the goal line is in sight.

Maintaining that usage will be vital. Kamara is one of the league’s greatest scoring threats; his 75 career touchdowns scored trail just Travis Kelce (76), Ezekiel Elliott (82), Tyreek Hill (84), Derrick Henry (85), Jimmy Graham (86), Mike Evans (87), and Davante Adams (90) for the eighth-most among active players. Kamara and Kelce are tied for the most successful two-point conversions (5) among their peers, too.

So while we shouldn’t hope for many more games with 12 and 13 receptions from Kamara this season (both losses), the Saints absolutely should keep calling his number when they’re in the red zone. Kamara is a dangerous matchup for any linebacker when the field shrinks (and the defense’s margin for error with it) and he’s able to attack teams as a runner or receiver and use his unique athleticism to his advantage. There isn’t anyone who maintains their balance through contact better than Kamara in the NFL, and that’s a cheat code the Saints should continue to exploit.

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Alvin Kamara broke another Saints franchise record with his latest two-point conversion

Alvin Kamara broke another Saints franchise record with his latest two-point conversion. He’s also now tied with Travis Kelce for the league lead among active players:

Look, times are tough for the New Orleans Saints these days, and we’ll take our doses of positivity when we can. So it’s worth celebrating Alvin Kamara’s latest accomplishment — not long after the dynamic running back broke Marques Colston’s record for touchdowns scored in a Saints uniform, Kamara laid claim to another record: the team’s high-water mark for two-point conversions.

Kamara went into last week’s game with the Jacksonville Jaguars locked in a tie with his old teammate Mark Ingram II, both players having successfully converted four two-point tries in their Saints careers. But Kamara caught a quick pass from Derek Carr to walk into the end zone untouched for his fifth two-point conversion. That play tied the game after a frightful first three quarters, though the Saints ultimately weren’t able to pull off the win.

Still, it’s just the latest achievement in Kamara’s impressive NFL career. Hopefully he and Carr can link up with more scoring plays like this one to help the Saints offense get back on track, though you’d like to see Carr taking greater advantage of the talent stacked up for him at wide receiver in most situations.

As for Kamara: his five successful two-point conversions are now tied with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce for the most among active players, matching the career totals of Pro Football Hall of Famers Cris Carter, Marvin Harrison, and Edgerrin James in a ten-way tie for sixth-place in NFL history. Four players are ahead of them in a tie for second place with six two-point scores (including Ingram, who did it twice in 2019 with the Baltimore Ravens), but everyone is trailing the legendary Marshall Faulk, whose seven two-point conversions are the most in NFL history. Kamara has a real shot at going the distance and surpassing even Faulk someday — strengthening his own Hall of Fame candidacy.

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Where do Alvin Kamara’s 73 touchdowns rank in NFL history?

Where do Alvin Kamara’s 73 touchdowns rank in NFL history? The Saints’ star running back has joined rare company:

Alvin Kamara didn’t just make New Orleans Saints franchise history with his touchdown run against the New England Patriots last week — he earned his place in the NFL record books, too. Kamara hit the end zone for the 73rd time in his 90-game career, putting him in a four-way tie to rank 96th in league history. And he’s distinguished himself among some rare company.

Kamara is the only player in that group to score this many touchdowns with a single team, and he’s also done it in the fewest games among his peers. Here’s how they stack up:

  • Alvin Kamara: 90 games with one team
  • Brian Westbrook: 121 games with two teams
  • Roger Craig: 165 games with three teams
  • Stanley Morgan: 196 games with two teams

Westbrook was a Philadelphia Eagles fan-favorite who helped modernize the running back position in an increasingly pass-focused league, finishing his career with the San Francisco 49ers; where Roger Craig earned all sorts of accolades earlier in his career in the 1980’s. Morgan won multiple Pro Bowls during his 13-year New England Patriots career and still played at a high level in his final season on the Indianapolis Colts. Altogether this group of three earned 10 Pro Bowl nods and two spots on the All-Pro first team.

And Kamara might be the best among them. He’s on a hotter pace at an earlier point in his career. He’s also under contract through 2025, so if he can maintain his pace (easier said than done without Drew Brees throwing to him) and continue to average about 14 games per year, he should cross the century mark while he’s still wearing a Saints uniform. That’s something just a few running backs have done before, and many of them are Hall of Famers.

But we’re looking too far ahead. For now all Kamara needs to worry about is helping his team score enough touchdowns to put away an overachieving Houston Texans team on Sunday. Still, it’s worth taking time to acknowledge his achievements. Here’s to many more of them.

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