New Orleans Saints’ defense should see red when the Las Vegas Raiders come to town. Why? Because on December 14, 2023, the Raiders effectively terminated their defensive play-caller’s employment as the Los Angeles Chargers’ head coach. In a 63-21, franchise-record-setting win, the Raiders scored the most points in franchise history. Doing so against a Brandon Staley-led defense under offensive genius and interim coordinator Bo Hardegree.
In two weeks of action, we don’t fully know who and what the
Saints’ defense really is. They gave up 31 points in an overtime loss to the Detroit Lions. They allowed Jared Goff to throw two touchdown passes and post a 96.7 rating, while Jahmyr Gibbs had 29 carries for 156 yards and two touchdown runs.
However, in a win against the Baltimore Ravens, they fully capitalized on the absences of Zay Flowers and Jakobi Lane. Containing quarterback Lamar Jackson to 235 yards and one touchdown through the air and 34 yards rushing on four carries. Limiting the Ravens’ offense to 17 points and holding running back Derrick Henry to one touchdown and 68 yards on the day. In a real head-scratcher, Henry carried the ball 11 of his 16 times in the first half for 51 yards, and only five times for 17 yards in the second half.
How to attack the Saints
Brock Bowers’ expected return to action and season debut against the Saints is what will dominate the headlines. Many expect the game plan to be a pass-heavy, tight-end-dominated day, but if you take a look at the Saints’ previous games, a better path reveals itself. Running backs and dominant running games have gashed the Saints defense. In both previous contests a single running back was putting in work.
The Raiders have two great backs in Ashton Jeanty and Mike Washington Jr. A knockdown drag’em out dogfight is precisely how the Raiders are going to control the clock. Formations featuring 12 personnel are about to get called early and often. Once the Saints make the mistake of committing extra bodies to stopping the run, Kirk Cousins and the play-action passing game are going to get busy.
Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak is an absolute magician at calling plays and attacking defenses. In a copycat league, defensive coordinators will get scorched if they try to crowd the line of scrimmage and dictate what the Raiders can do on offense. He will finally have his prized offensive piece and we can bet that he will cook up something special no one has seen yet.
