A lot of attention goes to Tyler Shough for his ability to step up despite less than ideal conditions around him. That trait wasn’t exclusive to Shough against the Carolina Panthers, though. Jonas Sanker may be on defense, but his quote highlighted the resilience of the New Orleans Saints offense.
Offensively, the Saints embodied “next man up,” and they had to. Devaughn Vele, Cesar Ruiz and Devin Neal all went down with injuries as the Saints battled in the closing moments to secure a come from behind victory. Neal and Vele have already been ruled out for Sunday, so the Saints will have to lean on reserves again.
As Sanker mentioned, the Saints offense still steadily moved down the field "despite having a lot of injuries." From a defender's point of view, Sanker felt that "goes to speak on the perseverance they had. Despite losing some key guys, guys like Audric (Estime) stepped up, guys like Kevin (Austin Jr.)."
The Unlikeliest of Saints provided Tyler Shough with relief vs. Panthers
Devaughn Vele has rapidly become a player who leaves big shoes to fill when he's absent. He was the Saints' highest graded player, per PFF. This game it was Chris Olave filling those shoes. It's strange to think about Olave having to fill Vele's shoes, but that's the way it was on Sunday. Shough's primary target was Vele, and honestly, we may not have got that clutch fourth quarter if Vele was still on the field.
It wasn't just Olave. Kevin Austin Jr. came into the game with no catches on one target. Sunday, he brought in three of his five targets, all after Vele left the game. Vele may have to miss some time, so it wouldn't be shocking to see Shough target Austin as his new big bodied receiver in the interim. Austin proved he can be a part of the offense in a short time.
Ruiz was replaced by Will Sherman. It's the one player that Sanker didn't mention. Sherman stepped into the game at a pass happy time. 22 of his 26 snaps were dropbacks, and Sherman didn't allow a single pressure.
Lastly, Neal suffered his injury the earliest. The solution was a mixture of Shough, Audric Estime and Evan Hull. The two running backs only had seven carries on the day combined, while Shough saw eight by himself. One think Estime did well was catch the football. He caught two checkdowns from Shough on the final drive, and his run after the catch greatly helped the Saints move the ball to get into scoring position.
It was an unusual game, and they had to lean on some unusual candidates. Estime, Sherman and Austin were the last players you'd think contribute to a victory. Overcoming the odds has become a common theme in the Saints latest wins.