Sunday’s wild card playoff game against Chicago marked the New Orleans Saints’ 13th win in 17 tries this season, and once again, they proved capable of winning in multiple ways.
Think defense wins championships? New Orleans put the clamps on a Bears attack that had been ascending over the final stretch of the regular season, limiting it to 140 net offensive yards before a last-gasp drive in the final two minutes when the game had been decided.
Need top-tier quarterbacking to feel comfortable? Watch as Drew Brees, finally with all his weapons at his disposal, completed 14 of 16 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown in the second half (a 125.3 passer rating).
The New Orleans Saints made a host of roster moves Monday following their first-round win over the Chicago Bears, according to the league's tr…
Are you the type that wants to see a strong running game that supports a ball-control offense this time of year? Alvin Kamara ran for 99 yards despite not practicing for 10 days, pacing a rushing attack that gained 123 yards and played keep away from the Bears offense in the second half, icing the game.
Any one of those points could have led off our main focus after watching the game a second time, but let’s start with the last one. One of the Saints’ most consistent offensive weapons this season has been its ability to grind a game away, and Chicago was powerless against that tactic Sunday in the second half.
In control
The Saints went to the locker room at halftime with a 7-3 lead, and they were going to kick the ball away to the Bears to start the second half. They got off to a slow start, but they did not panic, and they stuck to their script.
When coach Sean Payton has talked about what a strong running game has done for his offense, he speaks about it in terms of control. It allows the Saints to dictate the pace of the game, which in turn can also mean limited opportunities for the other team to score. That’s exactly how it played out Sunday.
Chauncey "C.J." Gardner-Johnson’s gift of gab has a way of getting him punched.
New Orleans possessed the ball three times in the second half. Each of those drives lasted for at least 11 plays and took up at least 5:19 of game clock. The Saints controlled the ball for 21:39 in the second half compared to Chicago's 8:21. How lopsided is that? The Saints possessed the ball longer on one drive (8:51) than the Bears did in the entire half.
The Saints got some help, as the Bears committed four defensive penalties in the second half that gave the Saints new sets of downs — two of which were crucial errors that bailed New Orleans out of bad situations — but for the most part this was the Saints telling Chicago how it was going to go.
The Saints ran 38 offensive plays in the second half. Twenty-two of them were rushing plays, with Alvin Kamara (15 carries, 60 yards) shouldering the majority of the burden.
It was methodical. It was grinding. The Bears’ defensive line put up a valiant fight, but the Saints have been in many games like these this season and were prepared for these long marches. Watch the push on Kamara’s 3-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter: The Saints beautifully executed a pair of double-team blocks that opened a lane for Kamara and resulted in two Bears defensive linemen being driven back into the end zone.
Critically, Brees saved some of his best moments on these drives, too. You can’t sustain drives that see the play counter creep into double digits without making big plays on third downs, and Brees completed all six of his third down pass attempts.
"He did it with the Jordan 11s on, probably not the way I would go about it," center Erik McCoy said.
The only one of those six that did not move the chains was an 11-yard strike to Jared Cook on third and 14 — a brilliant throw low and toward the sideline that just barely got past a streaking Bears defender. On the next play, Taysom Hill got the Bears to jump offside (more on that later), setting up a touchdown drive.
Though the final drive of the game did not result in points after officials determined Brees did not break the goal line on his fourth down leap, the game was effectively over at that point, with Chicago taking over inside its own 1-yard line trailing by three scores with 2:19 to go.
These are the types of drives that make the Saints so hard to beat, especially when they’re pairing them together with great defense like they did Sunday.
Extra points
- I think on a defense that is featuring a lot of guys who are playing at a high level right now, nobody is playing better than defensive back Janoris Jenkins. He made an aggressive read on the third play of the game and nearly picked off a Mitchell Trubisky throw over the middle (he settled for a pass breakup), and he kept that same energy throughout. He was especially physical as a tackler, showing off his blistering closing speed on several occasions to drop receivers right after they made a catch. He spent a good chunk of his day guarding Chicago’s superb Allen Robinson and making him a non-factor. Having someone do this opposite Marshon Lattimore is a huge advantage for New Orleans in these playoffs.
- We talked about it a lot last week, but seeing it put in such stark terms on the broadcast was really something: Prior to Sunday, Brees, Kamara and Michael Thomas shared the field for a grand total of 67 offensive snaps. For comparison’s sake, the Saints ran 75 offensive plays Sunday.
- Speaking of Thomas, I thought this was one of his better games this season, even if his statistical line didn’t suggest it was. He looked strong while making some plays that looked very much like the old Michael Thomas. It was encouraging to see him get open on a vertical route, when Brees hit him for 38 yards to pick up a first down.
- Saints rookie guard Cesar Ruiz might’ve had the best game of his young career Sunday, more than holding his own against Chicago’s outstanding defensive tackle, Akiem Hicks. The Saints, as they typically do against top defensive linemen, gave him plenty of help with double teams, and a couple times Ruiz got over eager and committed a pre-snap penalty. But there wasn’t one play where Hicks clearly beat him to make a play, and there were plenty where Ruiz won a one-on-one situation.
- Whatever Wil Lutz’s issue has been these past several weeks, his leg strength is not the problem.
- Over and over again, Chicago tried to find some breathing room with play action and bootleg plays. The Saints never took the bait. They made everything hard on the Bears offense.
- Bears running back David Montgomery’s average output in his last eight regular season games: 19 carries, 90 yards, one touchdown. Sunday against New Orleans, Montgomery carried the ball 12 times for 31 yards. His longest run went for 6 yards. And the most remarkable thing about this, according to Next Gen Stats, Montgomery did not face a single stacked box. The Saints defensive line dominated yet again.
- For the record: I think Taysom Hill showed enough this season to merit a shot at being a starting quarterback, whether its next season with the Saints or later on. He has a lot of the traits that you want to see, and Payton is creative enough to maximize those strengths. That said, I think he needs to clean up some big issues before he gets that chance. Ball security was once again a problem Sunday. He lost one fumble, and he nearly lost another (he lost control of the ball on a short reception, but landed on it before anyone else could try to recover). I think the Saints would also like to see him anticipate throws better. On the play he fumbled, he had Deonte Harris open in the middle of the field with no safety in the zip code. But he waited until Harris broke free before committing to throw — 3.7 seconds from snap to decision — which allowed Tashaun Gipson time to get home and knock the ball out of his hands as he threw. Some of this comes with game snaps, but it should be a point of emphasis for Hill this offseason.
- Some things to like about Hill’s performance: His hard count on that fourth down referenced earlier was a brilliant manipulation of one of the Saints’ own tendencies. The Saints put him in and motioned fullback Michael Burton like he was going to run quarterback power. Typically when the Saints do that, they snap the ball just as Burton is crossing in front of Hill’s face. Sunday, that is precisely when Hill barked his loudest hard count, drawing a Bears defender offside to convert. I also loved the wrinkle of the jump pass near the goal line. Even if it was incomplete, and the Bears were ready for it, the play did two things: Forced a penalty that gave the Saints a new set of downs, and gave opposing defenses more things to consider when Hill checks in for a goal line package in the future.
- I liked the challenge by Payton on the incomplete pass to running back David Montgomery. It didn’t work out, but if he didn’t throw the challenge flag he would not have given his team a shot at what was essentially a free touchdown. That chance is worth the cost of a timeout.
- Without standout Bears linebacker Roquan Smith in this game, the Saints attacked his replacement, Manti Te’o, in coverage. A Payton staple.
- Chicago’s first third down conversion did not come until after the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter. That was an incredible defensive performance by New Orleans.
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