NEW ORLEANS — I knew things were going incredibly well for the New Orleans Saints Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders when I saw two Raiders fans fighting EACH OTHER in a Caesars Superdome bathroom at halftime. That’s the sort of thing that happens I guess when an Andy Dalton-quarterbacked team is in the process of thumping you 24-0.
The Raiders fans were getting heated about whether Derek Carr was to blame for losing or if it was the Raiders' sorry defense. I didn’t want to get involved in their discussion but the answer was “Yes.” The Raiders' problems aren’t Saints fans thankfully, so we got to enjoy the Saints' most complete performance of 2022.
The Saints looked exactly like the team we hoped they would for week one. A great defense, complimented by a great running game, and a quarterback staying the heck out of the way.
The Saints sacked Raiders quarterbacks four times, held Las Vegas to 183 total yards, and miracle of miracles intercepted a pass! The Saints' defensive dominance was so complete the Raiders pulled Carr from the game and didn’t cross midfield until the outcome was decided in the fourth quarter.
The Saints held Raiders star receiver Davante Adams to one catch for three yards. They did this without Marshon Lattimore. The curious pick of Alontae Taylor in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft doesn’t look so curious anymore. Taylor has the makings of a special corner who can do all the physical press-man coverage and elite tackling Saints head coach Dennis Allen needs for his defense to thrive.
2021 first-round pick Payton Turner had two sacks, after being seemingly invisible since arriving last year. He looked like some sort of defensive end Frankenstein monster conjured out of the air to haunt Derrick Carr because that’s what kind of day Sunday was for the Saints.
The Saints' defense looked mad Sunday. Mad about 2-5, mad about missed tackles, and mad about their terrible run defense. They took seven weeks of frustration out on what appeared to be a shell-shocked Raiders offense.
Dennis Allen didn’t seem as surprised as the fans in the Superdome though.
“I thought they came out and played with energy, passion. I thought they played with swagger, which was good to see,” Allen said.
The key to it all was the defensive line which has underachieved all season. They’ve at times felt close to breaking out and at times felt miles from competence. But Sunday they destroyed a Raiders offense that had Josh Jacobs, the hottest running back in the NFL, coming off three gigantic games.
Jacobs' streak of three straight games with at least 140 yards rushing came crashing to a halt. The Saints held Jacobs to 43 yards on 10 carries. The red-hot Raiders offense turned into a sad Halloween pumpkin as the Saints' brick wall run defense returned with a vengeance.
While the Saints' defense was giving us their best performance of the season, the offense was continuing their recent success of scoring points and moving the ball, with the critical exception of not turning the football over seemingly at will.
Besides one terrible throw from Andy Dalton, the Saints' offense protected the ball and dominated the game. The Saints controlled the ball for nearly 35 minutes on offense, rushed for 136 yards, and converted 7 of 12 third downs.
The Saints 15 play, 9-minute drive in the fourth quarter was exactly how you ice a football game. The fact they didn’t even score on it was irrelevant.
Alvin Kamara gave an impassioned speech to the team following the loss to Arizona about being accountable and he delivered on the field Sunday with 158 total yards and 3 scores.
"I think the swagger is probably on its way back. We had a nice performance right there. But swag ain't s--- if it's not consistent," Kamara said.
Saints offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael Jr. has found his groove with the offense. It’s about getting the ball to Alvin Kamara, Chris Olave, and Taysom Hill. It works. The Saints are second in the NFC for points. When the Saints' offense isn’t stepping on rakes, they are pretty good.
Only time will tell if Sunday’s great performance against Las Vegas was a turning point or a fun mirage. The good news for the Saints is the rest of the NFC South is so terrible they let the Saints stumble around for half a season and only be a game behind the first-place Atlanta Falcons.
By the way, the Falcons tried so hard to Falcon away a win, but only the Carolina Panthers horrific place kicker saved them. Atlanta allowed a game-ending Hail Mary but the Panthers kicker missed the extra point to win, AND then missed another chance at victory with a chip shot field goal in overtime.
The NFC South is so delightfully terrible and I love it so much. The 2022 Saints are somehow, someway, very much alive and in a division title race as Halloween arrives.
Will the last nine games of the Saints' 2022 season return to being a horror movie or continue to be the Sunday treat we were expecting all along? Having no idea suddenly feels pretty good.
Ralph Malbrough is a contributing writer and Saints fan living in Houston. Email him at saintshappyhour@gmail.com, find him on Facebook, or follow him on Twitter at @SaintsForecast or download the Saints Happy Hour Podcast.
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