The New Orleans Saints fell to the New England Patriots 19-25 on Sunday. This drops them to 1-5 on the year. The trend going into the year was to not focus on the record, but the development. Certain players showed immense development against the Patriots, while others disappointed.
I’ve compiled my three biggest winners, and two most disappointing players. These can fluctuate throughout the season so one player being listed as a loser doesn’t mean their season is over. It just means they need to improve.
With that said, let’s get into it. Here are the three winners and two losers from the Saints loss against the Patriots.
Spencer Rattler shines again in a loss
Run Defense
The biggest winner of the day was the Saints run game. They held the Patriots to 2.4 yards per carry on the day. They’ve struggled defending this in recent games, it was nice seeing them improve. The defensive line and linebackers were immediately penetrating the backfield to blow plays. Plus, they weren’t missing tackles.
It single handedly kept them in the game late. The Patriots couldn’t ice the game on the ground. Drake Maye won it by making plays with his arm. The run game couldn’t be asked to do more.
Spencer Rattler
Spencer Rattler proved that he’s the starting quarterback for the foreseeable future on Sunday. This loss wasn’t on him whatsoever. He went 20/26 for 227 yards while adding 20 yards on the ground. His growth from last year is astonishing. He’s more decisive, accurate, and is making better decisions. Regardless of the Saints' record, Rattler’s stock is on the rise.
Blake Grupe
It’s no secret, Grupe has struggled to start the year. Once a kicker is frustrated mentally, it’s easy for them to start on a downward spiral. However, he responded excellently. Grupe was a perfect 4/4 from the field with a long of 54 yards. He might have saved his job with this immaculate performance.
Saints passing defense and a top target come up short versus Patriots
The secondary
Simply put, the secondary was awful today. Drake Maye went 18/26, 261 yards, and three touchdowns. He was picking apart the defensive backs at every level. They were getting burnt deep while providing too much cushion to the underneath routes. It’s a young group so struggles should be expected, but not to this extent. They need to improve in the coming weeks for the Saints to have any chance of success.
Juwan Johnson
Juwan Johnson has been one of Rattler’s favorite targets to start the year. He’s been productive, but has made major mistakes in each game: whether it be drops or fumbles. In the previous games it was permissible as it didn’t cost them the game. However, that all changed when Johnson fumbled on the potential game winning drive for the Saints. In addition, he only had two receptions for 15 yards. The Saints need more production and less mistakes from their starting tight end.