The New Orleans Saints have finally ended their win streak, finding a win over the New York Giants. It didn't start pretty, and it definitely didn't end pretty, but New Orleans survived.
Rookie Barion Brown hasn't been the difference maker on special teams that New Orleans expected when they drafted him to return kicks. But after some highlight plays over the past few weeks, Brown finally had his breakout game against the Giants.
Brown had a 41-yard return that helped open scoring for the Saints on the day, resulting in a field goal for Daniel Carlson. Brown would also have a 23-yard punt return in the game, setting the team up in good position.
Part of the Saints offensive explosion was their valuable field position, plenty of thanks to Brown. The former LSU wide receiver also recorded his first career reception in the win over New York.
The biggest standout on Sunday is no other than cornerback Martin Emerson Jr. The veteran cornerback logged 7 tackles, all solo, a tackle for loss, 4 passes defended, and most importantly, 2 interceptions.
Emerson entered the game after Kool-Aid McKinstry left with what Kellen Moore described as a migraine. Emerson took advantage of the opportunity and became the team's standout player and a game-changer.
With his big game, Emerson has now earned more playtime. It will be interesting to see how the Saints incorporate the veteran cornerback into their defense. Emerson was in a camp battle with Quincy Riley for the CB2 position.
The Saints worked to establish the run, and found success doing so during Sunday's win. New Orleans rushed for 175 yards on 38 carries, averaging 4.6 yards per carry. Kendre Miller led the team with 70 yards.
Three players for the Saints averaged 4.9 yards per carry or better, including quarterback Tyler Shough. Being able to run the ball is all the difference for the Saints offense. Instead of being stuck on third and long, New Orleans faced third and manageable more than not thanks to getting 4 yards on a run on first and second down.
The Saints offense has to prove that they can sustain success in the running game, but a strong showing against the Giants proves it's possible.
Weird, after the third quarter ended, I was expecting to put Moore as a positive after Sunday's game. The Saints were looking pretty with a 34-10 lead after scoring 34 unanswered points. It looked like brilliant resilience by Moore and the Saints offense, who were called out by owner Gayle Benson earlier in the week.
Despite another slow start, with the Saints only finding points within the final two minutes of the first half, the Saints' offensive explosion was brilliant. But of course, Moore has landed as a down for a reason. The Saints absolutely crumbled in the fourth quarter and were one play away from going into overtime despite having a 24-point lead with 10 minutes remaining.
This is all too familiar for the Saints, who found a similar way to lose earlier this season to the Las Vegas Raiders. Moore has proved his teams start slow and also can't finish. It's rare for a team that starts slow and also finishes slow to win a game, but Moore was lucky enough that his team pulled away with the win.
Look, Daniel Carlson finished the day making up for his early mistake, but he hasn't proven to be the consistent veteran kicker the Saints were hoping for when they hired him. Entering Sunday, Carlson has missed a kick in four straight games, including PATs, and added to that on Sunday with a miss from 55.
The veteran kicker quickly made up for it with a 58-yard field goal the very next drive, and another make from 51 yards in the third quarter. Despite his impressive comeback, Carlson needs to prove more to be consistent enough for the Saints' offense to feel comfortable.
