The New Orleans Saints' matchup is highlighted by the head to head between Tyler Shough and Cam Ward. They're quarterbacks. That alone is enough to draw attention their way, but Shough and Ward have also been the best rookie quarterbacks this year. While that battle is the main attraction, Jeffery Simmons is the name Saints fans need to monitor.
Simmons very well may be the best interior defensive lineman in the NFL. He's been a force for years and is having the best season of his career. Simmons has collected 9 sacks and 16 tackles for a loss, both career-highs, in just 13 games. Both of those numbers are the highest in the NFL for defensive tackles. Simmons is sixth in the league in tackles for a loss despite missing two games.
Some of Tyler Shough's most impressive plays came from his response to pressure. The problem with those plays is that it requires Shough to be under pressure, and it's happening too often. That's not a recipe for success against Simmons. His pressure comes right up the middle, which makes this even more difficult to damage.
Saints aren't properly equipped to face Jeffery Simmons
The Saints starting interior line this year was supposed to be Trevor Penning, Erik McCoy and Cesar Ruiz. Now, you could argue the Saints were never set up to play a player of Simmons' caliber. However, the task gets objectively harder with all three of those players out of the lineup.
Penning was traded, and Ruiz is out with an ankle injury. The injury that truly stings is McCoy being on injured reserve. Saints fans should be used to it by now, but it's still an impactful absence. You trust McCoy to cover up some of the mistakes of other players. Luke Fortner has performed admirably, but you're not asking him to elevate the guards next to him.
If you were crafting an interior offensive line to handle the most disruptive force on the inside, this is the opposite how you’d start. Maybe Radunz has some tricks after years of practicing against Simmons for the last . Expect a large amount of double teams. You don’t want to see most of these players against Simmons one on one.