The New Orleans Saints have officially been swept by the division rival Atlanta Falcons with the loss on Sunday. Despite the four-game winning streak being snapped, defensive end Carl Granderson had his best game of the season and is the player of the game.
In Atlanta, Granderson gathered 10 total tackles and 1.5 sacks, while also grabbing his first career interception off of Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins. It was an incredible play that showcased Granderson's instincts and surprisingly good hands. Fun fact: with that one interception in the 2025 season, the defensive end has earned more INTs this season than the New York Jets, who finished their campaign with a goose egg in that category.
Called a "hell of a player" by his team captain Cam Jordan, Granderson has flown under the radar so far under Brandon Staley's new scheme. Jordan and Chase Young reaching double digit sacks naturally garners a lot of attention, but games like this show the potential Granderson has.
Carl Granderson's highlight-filled game was enough to help keep the Saints in the game
Defensive end Carl Granderson might've had one of the best games by a Saints defender this year, but it wasn't quite enough to push the team towards a W. However, what he did on Sunday could also be considered heroic. If it wasn't for him, the loss to the dirty birds could've been a lot worse than it ended up being.
On the Falcons' first drive of the game, he helped bring down Kirk Cousins on a crucial third & short. Granderson was even more clutch on the next drive, intercepting Cousins in the red zone. Unfortunately for him (and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, whose playoff hopes were in the hands of the Saints), the New Orleans offense was unable to play complementary football in the first quarter and failed to score points off of both plays.
Granderson ended the season in peculiar fashion, bookending it with some really good games, but he wasn't able to do much of anything during the games in between. If Granderson comes back, he'll have to find the consistency that has eluded him.