Week 1 is in the books for the New Orleans Saints, and while they weren't able to knock out the Detroit Lions in overtime, they left it all out on the field. We learned a lot about this team. They took the Lions' best punch (and then two more big hits), dusted themselves off, and got back up. Saints quarterback Tyler Shough won over some doubters after digging quite a hole for himself. Chase Young's defense did its job to keep the team in the game long enough for their offense to wake up. It wasn't enough to win, but it doesn't get closer than 31-30.
How do you grade their performance on offense, defense, and special teams, and what about the coaching staff's efforts? Here are our grades for each phase in the Week 1 Saints report card.
Offense: B-
You couldn't
ask for a worse start to this game offensively. Tyler Shough was terrible for two and a half quarters; he completed just 10 of 23 passes, gaining 85 yards, throwing two interceptions and losing a fumble. But he was a different player after that third-quarter fumble. Shough went on to complete 25 of his next 33 passes without a single turnover, consistently moving the ball to the tune of 326 yards and three touchdowns. After the game he talked about the new blitz designs Detroit drew up, which confused him and led to several big mistakes. It's reassuring that Shough recognized that, worked through it, and got his team in a position to win the game in overtime. But it's concerning that it took so long for him and his play caller to adapt.
It's hard to undersell how disappointing the run game was. Signing David Edwards to fix the left guard spot with Travis Etienne Jr. adding a big-play threat was supposed to get that phase on track. Instead, the Saints offensive line gave their rushers less than 1.5 yards before contact with a defender. Take out Etienne's 18-yard gain on a fourth-quarter draw play and he averaged just 3.2 yards per carry. No other rusher had even a single 10-yard run. Barion Brown had a sweep stopped for 3 yards, while Kendre Miller averaged just 3.3 yards per carry on nine tries. Rookie backup CJ Donaldson did convert twice on two short-yardage runs. But this wasn't the exciting, dynamic rushing attack we were looking for.
But let's get back to the passing game. Chris Olave had a career day with 10 catches for 182 yards, catching multiple moonshots for gains of 40-plus yards. And he did it battling through cramping calf muscles, a couple of big hits, and one awkward landing that knocked the wind out of him. He fought just as hard as Shough to try and will his team to a win. So did Devaughn Vele (7 catches for 69 yards), who laid out for several impressive catches and a pivotal touchdown reception. It's just so frustrating to see the offensive line struggling so badly. Sure, the Lions have a great defensive front led by one of the game's best pass rushers. But expectations are higher for former first-round picks like Taliese Fuaga (6 pressures and a sack allowed) and Kelvin Banks Jr. (who was thrown to the ground on an early Aidan Hutchinson spin move). Right guard Cesar Ruiz is too often looking back as defenders swarm his quarterback. This offense still hasn't met its potential.
Defense: B+
Brandon Staley made it his mission to contain Jared Goff and the Lions passing game, and for the most part, he succeeded. Goff dropped back to pass 41 times and only gained 206 yards. Even if they didn't pressure him often (Pro Football Focus charting had Goff with seven passes under pressure), the Saints' secondary held up well and forced Goff to throw 24 of his 39 passes underneath coverage. He only tried two passes over the top on throws of 20-plus yards, with Jameson Williams dropping one deep shot and catching another for 22 yards. But they clearly missed Bryan Bresee's ability to push the pocket and pressure Goff head-on. Maybe Cameron Jordan can return soon and liven up the pass rush, but just one sack (two if you count Chase Young getting robbed) isn't good enough.
What hurt them was the run defense, especially up front. Veteran defensive linemen like Nathan Shepherd and Davon Godchaux were pushed around far too easily, giving Jahmyr Gibbs (156 yards and two touchdown on 29 carries) huge lanes to run through. He picked up 2.5 yards per carry before making contact with a defender. That long runway allowed Gibbs to force defenders at the second level into seven missed tackles. That's more than a yard better than the Saints offensive line created for their own running backs. Seeing Shepherd and Godchaux get moved off the line of scrimmage while starting ahead of younger players, with other backups on the bench, deserves scrutiny. This approach isn't working.
Now look at the sum of the parts. Because of their defense, the Saints went into halftime trailing by just one score, and the game should have been tied if not for a bad rule wiping out Jonas Sanker's fumble recovery for a touchdown. Two of the Lions' four touchdowns were scored off of drives that began in New Orleans' territory. They forced seven punts and second-year defensive tackle Vernon Broughton wrestled a fumble out of Gibbs' arms in a clutch spot. If the offense (and Shough, specifically) can avoid turnovers that put the defense in a bad spot? Staley can cook.
Special teams: C
Ryan Wright had a solid game, punting five times and placing two of them inside the 20-yard line, including a 57-yard field flip, without a single touchback. The coverage unit did allow three of those punts to be returned and the Lions picked up 35 yards (11.7 yards per return), third-most in the league this week. It could have been better. We'll get a better idea of what they're capable of once Lorenzo Styles Jr. returns from injured reserve.
In the return game, rookie draft pick Barion Brown showed some guts by returning four punts, but he only picked up 21 yards on them -- with 16 yards coming from a single return. Take that out and he gained just five yards on three punt returns. As a team, the Saints only gained 74 yards on kick returns, tied for fourth-lowest in Week 1. No team averaged fewer yards per kick return than New Orleans (18.5).
What about Daniel Carlson? He hit all three extra point attempts and a chip-shot field goal, but he didn't have enough leg for a 62 yarder as time expired. His career-long came from 60 yards, so that was a tough ask for him. Some fans joked that Blake Grupe would have made it, and he may have, but Grupe probably wouldn't have hit the 28-yard try earlier in regulation after leading the league in misses from inside 30 yards as a Saint. All told, the Saints didn't lose this game because of special teams, but they could have won it with better plays in the third phase.
Coaching: D
We're 18 games into Kellen Moore's tenure as head coach, and his offense is still starting slow. It took the Saints way too long to adjust to the blitzes Detroit's defense was showing them and the run game we spent all offseason hyping up never did get going. Penalties didn't become a problem until the Saints started playing with pace in the second half. Moore must do a better job preparing his team (specifically the offense he's calling plays for) to compete right away. Right now they're too reactive. The three-score hole New Orleans dug for themselves was largely to blame on how poorly-prepared they were before taking the field. Some other low moments like asking a running back to block Aidan Hutchinson stand out as miscues during the game.
With that said, Moore made some very gutsy plays down the stretch. His decision to go for it on 4th-and-12 from his own 23-yard line, inside the two-minute warning and with Detroit holding plenty of timeouts, bordered on reckless. He showed tremendous trust in his quarterback to execute there. We saw Moore make another aggressive move in overtime on the two-point conversion, and that was a good call. A successful extra point would have tied things up with a minute and a half left in overtime, and Detroit had two timeouts. The Lions could have just gone downfield and kicked a field goal to win it. By going for the win Moore showed everyone (most importantly, the players on his sideline) that he was leaving this game with his shield, or on it.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Saints report card: How we graded New Orleans in Week 1 loss to Lions
