In the New Orleans Saints’ 23-13 loss against the Minnesota Vikings, very little went right for the team on either side of the ball. This week’s Pro Football Focus grades reflect a version of that, but with one key acknowledgement: The team’s biggest issues weren’t all to do with the players.
Some of the team’s lack of execution had to do with facing an excellent Minnesota defense, but an inability to adjust and devise a game plan to counter was sunk the Saints in on Sunday afternoon.
There are some positive grades to come out of the game, because players are graded rather than the approach going into the matchup.
Here are the highest- and lowest-graded players that took at least 20 snaps.
Highest Graded
- DL Khristian Boyd – 80.5
- EDGE Carl Granderson – 79.9
- OL Asim Richards – 79.4
- EDGE Chase Young – 76.7
- WR Devaugh Vele – 75.1
The Saints’ defensive line had some bright spots despite the loss, keeping Vikings quarterback Kyler Murray under pressure for a third of his dropbacks.
Granderson and Young both got into the backfield multiple times with Granderson recording 1.5 sacks, and Young securing his fourth of the season. Both clocked pass rush win rates above 15% with Young leading the way at 19.4%.
Boyd excelled in run defense in his 11 snaps against the rushing attack of Minnesota. He gathered a run stop that included a forced fumble, the first turnover of the game. Young came up with the recovery and a 26-yard return.
Richards, despite being rotated out at one point for promising lineman Mason Murphy, had his best game as a starter for the team allowing just one pressure and grading out well in a run game that only really produced for a single drive.
Vele continues to make standout, acrobatic catches that can help to extend drives. His workload in the passing game was light with the Vikings gathering pressure so quickly against quarterback Tyler Shough. But his four catches were in some contested situations and led to a pair of first downs.
Lowest Graded
- TE Noah Fant – 39.8
- S Julian Blackmon – 43.7
- OL Taliese Fuaga – 52.7
- DL Colby Wooden – 54.2
- OL Cesar Ruiz – 55.9
The Saints’ secondary and the right side of the offensive line struggled in this game. Fant was also dinged for two penalties and worked his way to only one target which was a seven-yard reception.
Fuaga led the team by allowing three pressures with a sack. Meanwhile Ruiz let up just one pressure himself. A lot of the pressures that Shough faced came from unblocked, extra rushers. Where both Fuaga and Ruiz were downgraded for their efforts in the run game.
The Saints gained only five yards on two carries running between the two players, leading to a small sample size that dropped their scores. It’s indicative of a larger issue for New Orleans which has struggled to both commit to its run game and get it going.
The Saints haven’t produced a 100-yard rusher in 27 games.
Wooden played the most snaps of any interior defender and came up with just one run stop, sinking his run grade and therefore his overall mark. His average depth of tackle (3.5 yards) was the second-worst mark among Saints defensive tackles in the game, behind Davon Godchaux at five.
