PFF grades the Saints loss to Los Angeles

It was a rough day in Los Angeles for the New Orleans Saints as the team dropped their sixth straight game, and the Pro Football Focus grades reflect it, especially in the defensive side. New Orleans struggled on both sides of the ball, but the defense ended up grading particularly low in this one. The grades were often impacted by splash and explosive plays. 

Here are the top and bottom PFF grades for offensive and defensive players that took at least 15 snaps in Week 8:

Top 5

TE Juwan Johnson – 84.6

S Ugo Amadi – 76.6

LT Taliese Fuaga – 74.9

DE Payton Turner – 72.1

QB Jake Haener – 68.8

Johnson was consistently working his way open throughout the game, though there was often pressure or another read in the way of those potential plays. He turned up late in the game once Haener, who played a bit more decisively, entered the game at quarterback. The tight end took over half of his snaps from the slot and reeled in three catches for 48 yards. 

Amadi notched his first career sack on a well-designed third down blitz. He was also credited with a trio of stops in the run game. His grade would have been even higher were it not for one of Chargers wideout Ladd McConkey’s pair of touchdowns catches coming with him in coverage. 

Fuaga had his least productive game as a pro against the Denver Broncos last week wherein he was credited with yielding three total sacks. He was credited with another against the Chargers along with a penalty. But that wasn’t enough to knock him out of a high grade with the positives he showed elsewhere, especially in the run game. 

Turner graded highly on his 19 total defensive snaps. He had a tackle that was registered as a defensive stop. On his few snaps, that ended up boosting his grade since he did not have many negative snaps on the day. However, he was credited with no pressures in the pass rush game. 

Haener was put into the game in the second half in place of starting quarterback Spencer Rattler. He made his decisions quickly. That allowed the team to move the ball a bit better. However, it wasn’t enough to provide the spark the offense was looking for. Still, it was a positive showing for the second-year passer. 

Bottom 5

CB Marshon Lattimore – 45.3

DE Cameron Jordan – 43.8

CB Alontae Taylor – 42.2

S Tyrann Mathieu – 39.2

LB Will Gay Jr. – 37.3

The five lowest graded players are all either starters or heavy contributors in defense. Lattimore was dinged for allowing one catch for 15 yards but also committing a defensive pass interference penalty that put the Chargers in range to score.  Taylor was knocked for three missed tackles, one of which turned into a 60-yard touchdown catch and run. 

Mathieu and Gay Jr. were also hit for big plays.

Mathieu was credited with allowing a 45-yard catch and surrendering a catch on each of his three targets as the closest defender.

Gay Jr. took a bad angle on Charger quarterback Justin Herbert as he scrambled for a big run.