The Saints offense put up just three touchdowns but can thank their defense with a second half shut out and a safety for that being enough. The things that have plagued this offense all year reared their ugly head again, namely turnovers. The offensive line without Terron Armstead really struggled and Brees was in a rare poor form. Give the offense credit for going down and scoring the game winning touchdown inside two minutes, though, they got the job done with the game on the line. Below are the final offensive grades of the season.
Drew Brees: C- (2.69) He finished 24 of 38 for 281 yards, 1 touchdown and 3 interceptions. 6 of his 17 interceptions this season came against the Bucs, so for whatever reason they’ve had his number. His first INT was a bad luck tipped pass, but the second was a horrible overthrown ball into double coverage in the end zone and the third was a dangerous pass in traffic (also in the end zone). Before the touchdown pass game winner it was definitely an all time top 5 worst Brees performance. He came up with two touchdown drives in the 4th quarter to guide the team back to victory, though. In the end it’s clear he has to play much better than this. Looking forward to seeing him rebound next season. He probably deserves a worse grade but he came up with the goods at the end and the team won. He also deserves credit for completing a pass to himself for a 1 yard gain (thanks to a tip).
Mark Ingram: B (2.79) He finished just shy of 1,000 rushing yards on the season, unfortunately. This could have been his last game as a Saint, and if it is kudos to him for really improving this season and putting together his best year by far. He ran hard, finishing with 57 yards on 14 carries for 1 score. He also had 2 catches for 4 yards.
Khiry Robinson: B- (2.59) He got it going early but was stuffed as the game wore on. He had a nice short touchdown run to cap a big screen play that went down to the 1. He finished with 7 carries for 15 yards and 2 catches for 22 yardss, along with the touchdown.
Travaris Cadet: C- (2.24) He finished with 2 catches for 9 yards and showed little ability to break tackles after the catch. He also had a 19 yard kickoff return. He also had a chance at a contested ball that he couldn’t come up with. Overall he’s shown good hands this season but not much else.
Erik Lorig: C- (2.20) His lead blocking was spotty and the Saints seem to have more success running the ball when he wasn’t in the game, illustrated by Ingram’s short touchdown carry. I preferred Austin Johnson this season for his versatility.
Marques Colston: B- (2.42) He had a drop early and was targeted on the second interception where he had a shot at a contested ball in traffic. Brees should have never thrown that ball but Colston could have at least broken up the pass. He really had a horrible game prior to his game winning 36 yard touchdown with 1:57 left. He makes a catch on a crossing route and looks like the Colston of old showing speed getting into the end zone. He finished with 2 catches for 51 yards and a touchdown. If this is his final game as a Saint (I hope not), it truly is a beautiful way to go out. He gets a grade boost thanks to the game winning score in the clutch despite an otherwise really poor showing.
Kenny Stills: B+ (2.73) He was banged up on a non contact injury coming down with the catch and left the game, but would return. He’s developing nice chemistry with Brees and continues to make great catches. He finished with 5 catches for 82 yards including a 44 yarder on a 3rd and 15 where he goes up to find the ball at the highest point and beat two defenders. This guy is a keeper.
Robert Meachem: B- (1.90) On his lone target he made a 16 yard reception for a first down making his best catch of the season. This was another dangerous pass by Brees and Meachem did a fantastic job securing the football. He’s struggled much of the last two seasons with his hands in traffic but that’s as good of a catch as he’s had.
Nick Toon: C+ (2.38) Showed nice chemistry with Brees on a back shoulder throw that went for 24 yards down the sideline. That was his lone catch. He also had a target on a deep ball where he had a step on the defenders but Brees missed the mark. Overall he hasn’t been awesome but he’s shown he’s capable of contributing, which is a nice development for him (finally).
Jimmy Graham: B (2.60) I thought the effort was much better. He’s still clearly hurt and he’s still very shy to contact. A deep throw target before the Colston touchdown is a catch he makes in his sleep if he’s not afraid of the safety hit over the top. That’s of course largely due to his shoulder pain. But Graham did a good job catching in this game for the most part, even with two hands on balls wide. His 4th down reception where he absorbed big contact to keep the final drive alive was huge and we’ve seen him drop that same ball all season. He also drew pass interference in the end zone to set up the Ingram score. He finished with 6 catches for 54 yards, but it was a gutty performance with more effort than we’ve seen lately.
Benjamin Watson: B+ (2.21) He finished with 2 receptions for 18 yards, both tough plays for first downs, and he showed some ability after the catch breaking a tackle. His blocking was good at times too. A workmanlike contribution.
Josh Hill: C (2.61) He played sparingly in blocking duty and didn’t really make much of a notable contribution.
Bryce Harris: C- (1.71) Another big struggle at left tackle. He didn’t get much going in the ground game and he gave up significant pressure in pass protection. The Saints need to address depth at this position in the offseason because without Armstead it’s a struggle.
Ben Grubbs: B+ (2.50) A pretty decent showing from Grubbs overall, who gave a tremendous amount of help to Harris. To me he was the best on the line for the Saints in this game.
Jonathan Goodwin: C+ (2.48) He released on a delay blitz that would result in a sack but that one is mostly on Brees for holding on to the ball too long. Didn’t always get the push in the run game up the middle we’re used to seeing from him but played solid overall.
Jahri Evans: C (2.54) Was flagged once for holding and gave up more pressure than I’m used to seeing. On the deep play action drops his rotation over to the deep backside pressure was impeccable, though. His run blocking was up and down.
Zach Strief: C+ (2.63) Was flagged once for holding on a decent Ingram run. He also gave up more pressure than usual, but overall he doesn’t get enough credit for being a solid player. The Saints are fortunate to have him. He finishes the season as the highest graded player on the 0-line.
My Offensive Player of the Game: Kenny Stills
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