NOLA Saints: 5 takeaways from Week 5 win over Washington

Marcus Williams, P.J. Williams #26, Marshon Lattimore #23, New Orleans Saint, (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Marcus Williams, P.J. Williams #26, Marshon Lattimore #23, New Orleans Saint, (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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The NOLA Saints went into D.C. and emerged victorious despite a tough challenge from the Washington Football Team. It wasn’t the most exciting game of the day but the Saints went into a difficult atmosphere and won the game, which was important to keep them in the NFC South race.

Let’s take a look at five takeaways from the Saints’ 33-23 victory.

Jameis Winston had a nice game

It was clear that Sean Payton heard some of the noise surrounding his reluctancy to let Jameis Winston sling the pigskin. Perhaps losing Taysom Hill to injury had something to do with his change of heart in this game, but Winston looked good on Sunday.

There was a mix of bad in this game for Winston as well but when push came to shove, he ended the game with a stat line of 15-of-30 for 279 yards, four touchdowns, and an interception while also losing a fumble. Like I said, there was a mixture of some bad plays for Winston but he did what he needed to for a win.

The Hail Mary at the end of the first half was a key example of what Winston can do when his coach trusts him to sling the ball.

Pete Werner continues to impress

The second-round rookie out of Ohio State has been the rookie to watch for New Orleans and he was everywhere during Sunday’s victory. Werner led the team in tackles, totaling 13 on the day, and it felt like the guy was flying around the field.

I’ve loved what I’ve seen from Werner so far and he’s looking like a solid addition to this team, especially with Zack Baun not being what the team was anticipating.

Injuries…

The injury bug has hit New Orleans hard. In this game, they lost both Deonte Harris and Taysom Hill with neither guy returning. Harris had a 72-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter and has proven to be the best receiver on the team this year. Hill was injured on a helmet-to-helmet hit by William Jackson and had to be carted off.

Andrus Peat also left the game at one point but returned later on. That led the offensive line to be shuffled once again, as Will Clap slid into left guard. That meant four guys were playing out of position.

Have a game, Lattimore

Marshon Lattimore was impressive in the 33-23 victory. He was tasked with stopping Terry McLaurin, which had to take him back to his days at Ohio State when covering his teammate in practice.

McLaurin had just four catches for 46 yards and Lattimore was able to break up six key passes sent his way. It was quite the day for Lattimore and this explains why NOLA felt comfortable extending him ahead of the season.

Blake Gillikin is awesome

We were all pretty devastated to see Thomas Morstead relieved of his punting duties in the Big Easy but now we know why that had to happen. Blake Gillikin has been an incredible addition to the special teams unit and was easily one of the biggest stars of the game. This kid is special.

Next. 30 Greatest Saints of All-Time. dark

It was awesome to see the NOLA Saints put this game away and move back to over .500 again. Going into the BYE week with a win is a good feeling and New Orleans finds themselves in that exact boat.

When they come out of the BYE in Week 7, it’ll be a trip to Seattle on the schedule and they’ll be without Russell Wilson.

Who Dat!