There was a ton of pressure on Kellen Moore against the Cleveland Browns to put forth an improved product coming out of the week. It was equally frustrating until the final two offensive drives of the game. Without those drives and possibly the Browns failing to connect on a two point conversion, the New Orleans Saints may have been preparing for this week with an interim head coach.
A win is a win, yes, but the Saints needed a win and style points against the Browns. They earned the style points late, and that's the one reason it's uncertain how impactful Cleveland winning on a two point conversion would have been. However, had the Saints loss with just 9 points on the board, we're having a much different conversation.
It doesn't feel like Gayle Benson wants to make any decisions on coaching before the end of the season at least. For the majority of the game. Moore did just enough, and that's why overall sentiment may be pessimistic while job security remains unaffected.
Saints rediscovered the run game and finishing drives at the end of the game
Maybe the worst thing about the game on offense is that it wasn’t terrible for the entire game. It stalled out after the first three drives, but even in that time frame, the good was always followed by the bad. The Saints had opportunities to put points on the board, but they walked away scoreless on two possessions that ended in scoring position.
The Saints moved the ball down the field swiftly with Audric Estime on the first drive before losing steam and settling for a field goal. A Jordyn Tyson fumble inside the 5 followed a Barion Brown bomb, and Charlie Smyth missed an early kick as well.
Those mistakes changed the score and changed the outlook of the game because if the Saints had even 15 points going into that final stretch opposed to 9 points. We may look at things differently. It wouldn’t be great, but it doesn’t look as stale as 9 points.
Still the score at the two minute warning was a representation of an inability to finish drives. That would have been another offense for an offense that has had many all year.
The last two drives saw efficient offense, with big plays and a rediscovered rushing attack. The Saints ran for 32 yards on the first three plays of the game, and 45 yards in one overtime drive. That made up 77 of their 160 rushing yards on a handful of plays and two drives.
Shough dialed up big plays to Olave and Juwan Johnson on the last two drives. The Saints showed a pulse and an ability to finish on those drives that we haven't seen nearly enough in the last month.
This wasn't just about finishing a game either, as important as it was to do that for the first time since Week 2. Kellen Moore needed to show he could figure some things out on offense after the bye week. The last 10 minutes showed that and likely earned him a little time and optimism in the front office.
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