If I told you the Saints would hold Devonta Freeman to 81 yards on 24 carries and the Falcons offense to just 17 points, you would have laughed in my face. I’m not sure how it happened, exactly, especially when Stephone Anthony and Delvin Breaux were both injured earlier in this game. When you consider those factors, it’s truly incredible. It was a nice way to finish the season… especially because it was the defense who finished the game and not the offense. Give the Saints’ special teams for top to bottom having an outstanding game as well. Below are my final game grades of the season.
Cameron Jordan: A- (2.75)
He didn’t make as much of an impact as a pass rusher as he normally does but he was excellent against the run, managed to get his 10th sack of the season, and blocked a field goal to prevent a Falcons score. He hit Matt Ryan twice and finished with 4 tackles and a sack. A solid end to a solid season.
Bobby Richardson: B (2.38)
He had 4 tackles, including one for a loss. Good run support and hustle throughout, his lack of explosiveness rushing the passer is the only negative. Did a good job of recognizing the play action rollout boot to the right, though, pressuring Ryan once.
Kevin Williams: B (2.29)
He played a lot more this season than he was supposed to, and yet he lasted 16 games and started each one. Impressive. He finished with 3 tackles and tipped a pass.
John Jenkins: A- (2.60)
His forced fumble and recovery on Devonta Freeman played a huge part in the win. He finished with 2 tackles and played a huge part in stopping the run which his space eating. He ended the season playing very well. He needs to be paired with a stud and he can be an impactful player.
Kasim Edebali: C- (2.11)
In the four man pass rushing front that includes Kikaha and Gwacham on the edge, he’s been forced to move inside so the Saints can have their four best pass rushers on the field on 3rd and long (Jordan also moves inside). While i like the idea of having your best four guys, Edebali’s ability to rush from inside isn’t as good. A quiet game.
Obum Gwacham: C- (2.04)
Was blatantly held on one 3rd down pass play that went uncalled. Like Edebali he played primarily on pass rushing downs and made little impact. The Saints showed a lot of blitz fronts and backed out of them, rushing four, which led to little pressure.
Tyeler Davison: B- (2.15)
Very active creating push up the middle and even looked good sideline to sideline in pursuit of Freeman. He finished with 2 tackles, including one for a loss. I do think he’s much better as a sub that comes in and gives energy. He has a future with this team.
Hau’oli Kikaha: C+ (2.31)
He finished with only one tackle but had a lot of physical activity. He blew up Moeaki on his tackle and shot a run gap at one point blowing up a run blocker. He even did an ok job in coverage at times. Neutralized as a pass rusher, his ankle injury may have hurt his ability to get to the passer.
David Hawthorne: C (2.11)
Was sent blitzing a couple times and that’s clearly not his calling card. He did put one hit on Ryan, though. Finished with 2 tackles quietly but made no major mistakes. His coverage wasn’t great.
Stephone Anthony: B (2.65)
Was playing very well before his injury. The Saints could have used him late but the unit did a good job without him in the end. Had 5 tackles and played a huge part in slowing down Freeman early. I was impressed how he weaved through blockers to find the ball – something Curtis Lofton used to be so good at.
Ramon Humber: C- (2.47)
His facemask penalty negated a big stop and led to an eventual touchdown. Huge mistake there. And while he helped in run support and totaled 6 tackles (1 for a loss), his coverage was poor. He filled in ok for Anthony but I felt the bad outweighed the positive.
Michael Mauti: C- (2.47)
Played a handful of snaps with no meaningful impact.
Delvin Breaux: C+ (2.81)
Did a decent job on Julio Jones before leaving the game with an ankle injury. Was flagged once for defensive holding. The Saints clearly missed him because of Jones’s meteoric rise in stats once he left.
Brandon Browner: B (1.79)
A good showing! He was beaten on a couple vertical throws by Roddy White but thankfully one was overthrown and one was a horrible drop. His help in run support was physical and very necessary. Did a pretty decent job in coverage overall. And no penalties! He led the team with 8 tackles.
Kyle Wilson: B+ (2.17)
Physical and good in coverage. I like him as a reserve corner and I think if he’d come back for the vet’s minimum he’s worth bringing back to camp. Useful as a reserve. He had 4 tackles.
Brian Dixon: C- (2.44)
Excellent in punt coverage on special teams, forcing Hester into two fair catches. He played extensively in the second half with Breaux injured and was mostly manned up on Jones. Tough assignment, but Jones still ran circles around him despite playing with a bum ankle. He had 6 tackles.
Jairus Byrd: D- (2.15)
He had no tackles. He was run over by Moeaki on the touchdown, he was beat on an out by Freeman for a touchdown and while he gave Dixon a lot of help over the top to contain Jones, it wasn’t all that effective. He’s been a real disappointment when he’s played for the most part. I wonder if he’s back next year with that enormous contract, and if he is, I hope his play improves.
Kenny Vaccaro: B- (2.77)
I believe he’s responsible for the long touchdown pass to Moeaki, though I can’t be sure. At first he’s the backside pursuit in run support but the play turned out to be a play action bootleg roll out. We’ve seen Matt Ryan run this play a thousand times over the years and it’s on tape every week. Instead of picking up the backside tight end route, Vaccaro elected to then rush the passer. The rest is history. Either it’s poor IQ by Vaccaro on that play, or it’s a play call that got exposed at the wrong time. Hard to know for sure. Otherwise, his coverage was a bit hit or miss. His pursuit and physicality in run support was awesome as always. He finished with 6 tackles.
Jamarca Sanford: A- (2.47)
Did a solid job on special teams in coverage, too, and came up with the defensive play of the game intercepting Matt Ryan late in the game inside 2 minutes to set up the game winning touchdown. How many times have we seen this defense pull something like this off in the last two years? It was a pretty special play. He finished with 2 tackles. I’ve always liked him as a reserve.
Kai Forbath: A (2.67)
Finished two for two on field goals from 41 and 31, including the game winner as time expired. Was two for two on extra points. Did a decent job on kickoffs.
Thomas Morstead: A (2.69)
He averaged 52.5 yards on two punts, neither of which were returned, one of which was inside the 20. Hester didn’t return either due to a fair catch from excellent coverage. That’s a huge gross/net from Morstead. His last punt before the Matt Ryan interception came at a critical time to set up the defense and bail out a bad offensive series in the clutch.
Chris Owens: A (2.42)
Finished with 3 tackles, two coming on special teams. Played a big part in limiting Devin Hester’s impact on kickoffs.
My defensive player of the game: Cam Jordan
My special teams player of the game: Kai Forbath
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