3 unspoken and under-appreciated players at the core of New Orleans Saints success

Marcus Davenport

Davenport is one player who has shown some drastic improvement so far this season.

The first pick from the Saints’ 2018 draft class missed most of his rookie season due to injury, but in his sophomore campaign, he has already collected three sacks. PFF even named Davenport as one of the league’s most improved players this season, but that player wasn’t who fans saw in this game.

On Sunday, Davenport didn’t show up whatsoever. Davenport finished the game with only one total tackle and no quarterback hits or pressures to his name.

While Jordan didn’t have a fantastic game either, he was at least providing more pressure on the outside than Davenport. With both ends struggling, Falcons’ backup running back collected 61 yards on the ground.

Multiple times, those yards came from the same pitch play run over and over again. Thanks to the superior athleticism of the Falcons’ receivers, the secondary could do nothing to help in the run defense.

However, it was Davenport and Jordan’s fault that these plays went for so much in the first play. Without pressure or contain, the Falcons offense seemed unstoppable in this game.

As a whole, the Saints’ defense seemed to be faulty in this game.

Four hands-to-the-face calls and sloppy coverage made the problem worse. The problem began with the front seven, however. Applying pressure to the opposing quarterback and stuffing the run has been essential for Saints’ wins this season.

Davenport might not have the flashy stats of his pass rusher counterpart, but he is essential. When he doesn’t show up, the results showed they did in the game Sunday.