NEW ORLEANS —
The Saints played Monday night against the Colts, and for decades, NFL teams have been sluggish six days after Monday night games.
The Saints were sluggish, but then, they woke up. Lamar Jackson will almost certainly be the NFL's MVP this season, and he deserves it for his running ability – and the way he's thrown the ball.
Right now, he's the NFL's third highest-rated passer. Numbers one and two are Saints’ Drew Brees and Titans’ Ryan Tannehill, and that's takeaway number four.
No. 4 Tannehill & Brees are great QBs
Tannehill was not impressive when he played in Miami, but he performed well against a good Saints pass rush.
Tannehill and Brees together had six touchdowns and no interceptions, and Tannehill had the better quarterback rating, making him the top quarterback in the NFL with one week left in the season. Brees is No. 2
No. 3 Saints defensive line stepped up
With Sheldon Rankins and Marcus Davenport out for the season, the defensive line stepped up, and the numbers back that up: 5 sacks; 8 tackles for loss; 6 quarterback hits.
The defensive line has been a strength all season, and it displayed that Sunday in Nashville.
No. 2 Demario Davis and A.J. Klein
Critical to the Saints defense performance Sunday, the linebacker duo was outstanding yet again.
They were both excellent against the run, in pass coverage, and when rushing the passer. Davis and Klein are a rare tandem, and together they had 14 tackles, 3 sacks, 3 tackles for loss, 3 quarterback hits, and defended two passes.
Klein was out when the Saints played the Falcons and 49ers, and he was sorely missed then.
Sunday, the pair did great.
No. 1 The incredible Mike Thomas
Wide Receiver Mike Thomas broke Marvin Harrison's record for catches in a season — with one game left in the season.
In Nashville, Thomas caught 12 passes for 136 yards and a touchdown, and while those stats are incredible, that's normal for Thomas. That was the ninth game this season with more than 10 catches.
Thomas has been the only receiver that has been significant threat this season. Every team has tried their best to defend against Thomas, and it hasn't mattered.
Thomas catches the ball 82.4% of the time. That is absurd. No other wide receiver in the NFL is above 80%.
A lot of that is because of Drew Brees' ability to get the ball to him, but even among Saints wide receivers, the reception percentage isn't close to 80%.
Tre'Quan Smith has caught the ball 65% of the time, and Ted Ginn's catch percentage is 54%.
Mike Thomas made the difference Sunday, and he's been making the difference all season. His performance has been historic. He's passed Randy Moss for the most receiving yards in the first four seasons of a career in NFL history.
Four seasons into Thomas' career and he's been the most productive receiver in NFL history.
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