In-depth breakdown of the New Orleans Saints passing offense

The New Orleans Saints pass offense has been as lethal as ever this season, and here’s an in-depth look into why it’s been among the league’s best.

With a 12-3 record heading into Week 17, the New Orleans Saints are among the best teams in the league. Their pass offense, led by Drew Brees and Michael Thomas, are among the top reasons why.

That said, let’s dig deep into how this team has been so dangerous. Here are 15 plays broken down that show how and why New Orleans has been so effective.

Play 1- Slot option

The Titans use cover 4/quarters.

Thomas runs a slot option, which is just an option route from the slot receiver. It’s likely the play Thomas runs the most. He reads the inside leverage of the defender in his area and subsequently cuts outside, gaining a ton of separation.

Play 2- Brees misreads outside CB

The Saints use a smash concept.

The smash concept consists of a corner route from the inside receiver, and a hitch or curl route from the outside receiver. The play is designed to put a hi-lo, or vertical stretch, on the CB on the play-side; if he plays the flat hard, the corner route should be open; if he sinks back, the hitch will be open.

Brees should have progressed or thrown the hitch when the outside CB got depth, taking away the window to Thomas. If he had he would have had Kamara wide open on his option route over the middle.

The CB read his eyes the whole way and should have picked it off. This was a turnover-worthy throw from Brees.

Play 3- Inaccurate throw from Brees

The Titans use Tampa 2.

Thomas is open. An accurate throw would result in a 20+ yard completion. However, Brees makes an uncharacteristically inaccurate throw.