The New Orleans Saints snapped a two-game losing streak on Sunday when they defeated the LA Rams 27-20 and improved to 4-7 on the season. The Saints have had a down year, to say the least. The team has dealt with injuries and poor quarterback play and questions around the premier position.
The Rams have had their fair of issues as well. The defending Super Bowl champions have looked more like a team who didn’t make the playoffs this year. LA’s poor performance hasn’t been helped by the fact that their premier wide receiver Cooper Kupp has been out with an injury. For both teams, this was a game they needed to win.
Dalton Delivers
The quarterback position was more of a question this week in New Orleans. Former TCU quarterback Andy Dalton has been the starter since week four after Jameis Winston went down with an injury. When Winston returned from injury, the Saints chose to stick with Dalton. That has been a decision seriously questioned by fans. Dalton has not been great, or even good, since he got the starter’s spot.
Before Sunday’s game, Dalton had thrown for eight touchdowns as opposed to six interceptions. In four starts, Dalton went 1-3. The Saint’s starter hasn’t been helped by a depleted wide receiving core. Both Jarvis Landry and Saints rookie Chris Olave have suffered injuries this season. But Dalton stepped up against the defending Super Bowl champions.
Dalton threw for three touchdowns in his season-best performance. Dalton threw for 260 yards and finished the game with an 84.8 QBR, his best by 14 points. He was also extremely accurate, completing 84% of his passes as he picked apart the Rams secondary.
Dalton also had two of his best receivers back in action, the previously mentioned Landry and Olave. Both men had touchdown catches, and Olave stood above the rest with five receptions and 102 yards. Former Oregon Duck Juwan Johnson also had major contributions, catching three passes for 47 yards and a touchdown.
Insanity in the NFC South
There’s no sugarcoating it. The Saints have been bad this year. But what bodes well for New Orleans is that the rest of their division has been too. Despite being 4-7 on the season, the Saints find themselves in third place in the NFC south, and a few more wins could put them toward the front of the division.
The division-leading Tampa Bay Bucs (5-5) haven’t been good this year either. Quarterback Tom Brady has had a very depleted wide receiving core, and even when he has had his receivers, Brady has looked nothing like the MVP football fans are used to. Atlanta is in second place but has been struggling as well, currently 5-6 on the season. Quarterback Marcus Mariota has been underwhelming, and an underused Kyle Pitts is now out with an injury. The Only problem for the Saints is that Atlanta is coming up on a fairly easy stretch in their schedule.
This all culminates in the Saints, despite a bad season so far, still having a chance to finish the season at the top of the NFC South. All they have to do is win, though that has proven difficult for New Orleans so far. The Saints will head to San Fransisco next to take on the 49ers this coming Saturday at 3:25 pm.
