The New Orleans Saints beat the New York Jets 29-6 on Sunday afternoon in a dominant performance in every aspect. They are now on a three game win streak and the vibes are high in the Big Easy.
Normally, I would list a couple winners and losers from this game. Instead of doing that, let’s celebrate this performance by going over the positives with the five winners from the Saints week 16 victory.
I want to give an honorable mention to kicker Charlie Smyth. He was outstanding, going 5 of 6 from the field, just missing a 61 yard attempt. He’s establishing himself as the future kicker of the team, but just missed the list due to other fabulous performances.
Tyler Shough continues to dominate in his rookie year
Winner: Tyler Shough
Tyler Shough continues to improve weekly and is establishing himself as the future of this team. He now has the second best odds to win Offensive Rookie of the Year, per Draft Kings. Shough threw for a career high 308 yards and one touchdown. He’s in control of the offense and has led this team to a three game win streak.
Winner: Chris Olave
Chris Olave has struggled with injuries in recent years, but has managed to stay healthy and is thriving this year. He had arguably his best game of his young career with 10 receptions for 148 yards and two touchdowns this week. This performance put him over 1,000 yards on the season and extended his career high eight receiving touchdowns.
Winner: The pass rush
The defense tallied an impressive eight sacks on Sunday. This was the third highest single game total of the year. Brady Cook couldn’t establish a rhythm because he was constantly under pressure. The pass rush has improved weekly and is now firing under all cylinders. They should still look to grab another star this offseason, but the group is much improved from the start of the year.
Winner: The veterans
This was the last Saints home game of the year, and could be the final game in New Orleans for Taysom Hill and Cameron Jordan’s career. If it was, they ended strongly. Hill had 17 touches for 116 scrimmage yards and a touchdown. He impacted the game passing, rushing and receiving. Jordan dominated with a team high two sacks.
Winner: Jonas Sanker
Jonas Sanker had six tackles and two pass deflections on Sunday. He was everywhere in the secondary, making acrobatic plays to deny the catch. Conversely, he was laying the law over the middle of the field, having multiple huge tackles. The Saints seem to have a young star in Sanker.