New Orleans Saints 17 - 19 Atlanta Falcons The Saints' season is officially over. As sad as it is to say that, this season ended on a much more positive note than I expected, and has me actually looking forward to the offseason, not dreading it. The defense finished on a positive note, Tyler Shough is definitely the guy for at least the next few seasons, and Kellen Moore improved over the second half of the year. If the season finished how we expected prior to Shough saving the team, this offseason would be much more bleak in appearance. This is supposed to be a week 18 recap, but why recap a game no one really had any expectations for or cared about? No one, not even us Saints fans or analysts, really expected Shough to be able to do much with this offensive group, and he couldn’t really. Sure, he made a few really good plays, but you could tell Kellen Moore was struggling to find plays that he felt confident running with the receivers, and I don’t view that as a negative, just a bad scenario for everyone. Because of this, I am not going to write this really as a week 18 recap, but more as a short preview of this offseason. Chase Young Chase Young has made it clear that he is the best young player on this Saints team. Maybe you could swap him out with Chris Olave, but I struggle to overlook his incredible performances and constant clutch play in big moments to close out the year. He finished this game with one and a half sacks and three tackles for losses, but should have even had one more sack and a forced fumble on his stat sheet. Mickey Loomis seemingly has gotten away with the deal of a lifetime, sorry Loomis haters, by signing Young to a three-year deal for only $17 million per year on average. That is more than $10 million less than what the top 10 defensive end salaries are on a per-year basis, and Young has 10 sacks in 12 games played. While watching this one, I texted my buddies and said that Young is a top 10 EDGE in the league at this point, but they disagree. Although he may not be right now, Chase Young is quickly improving and becoming what everyone expected him to be when he came into the league. If he continues down this path, it would be extremely reasonable for him to try and get a pay raise after next season. Going into this offseason, the Saints must add at least one other piece to the defensive end rotation, so teams are forced to take their focus off of Young and open up the opportunity for even more plays by him. Tyler Shough Tyler Shough did not by any means have a perfect game; he finished 23 of 39 for 259 yards and a touchdown and an interception. However, as I said earlier, I don’t think anyone expected him to with the weapons at his disposal. He led the team down the field multiple times, and a Charlie Smyth missed field goal, and Dante Pettis offensive pass interference made this game appear worse offensively than it was. He made some throws and plays out of scheme that once again added to the current mindset that he is the team’s future, so I am not worried about the interception that came late in the fourth quarter on the tenth or so double slant pattern of the game. However, I will say that Shough’s ability to make things work at times with this battered of a weapon room is impressive in itself, and means that if the team decides to go and get him weapons in the draft or free agency, he can be even more successful. I’d really like the Saints to leave the draft with one of the following: Jeremiyah Love, Jordyn Tyson, Makai Lemon, or Elijah Sarratt. If they do that, I think this offense alongside Shough would be extremely fun to watch next season. The Defense The Saints' defense finished the season without allowing a fourth-quarter touchdown since Week 11 against the Falcons. Yes, week 11. Although I felt the defense started off pretty rough, the second half of the season was a true testament to Brandon Staley’s abilities as a defensive coordinator. The Saints' defense improved this season in both total scoring and yardage allowed in comparison to last season, at 17th and 9th, respectively, before this game. They played another great game here with what should have been two turnovers if it weren’t for a bad call by the refs on the Chase Young strip-sack. Quincy Riley and Jonas Sanker both have been massive additions to this side of the ball, and Danny Stutsman appears to have the potential to be good whenever Werner or Davis leave. If the Saints decide to run it back with this same defense and bring back the vets, it would not be the worst thing in the world, but I would still like to see them bring in more young talent. Closing Time This season was my first writing for the team, and I really enjoyed recapping all of the highs and lows of the season and trying to let you guys know exactly how I felt about the team week in, week out. As much as I hate this team missing the playoffs and the season ending today, I’m happy I had this opportunity and look forward to doing the same next season. I may write a few offseason articles, but if not, I will definitely have a few Saints-focused episodes on my YouTube channel, Jenks Island. Until next time, Who Dat!! Offensive MVP: Tyler Shough Defensive MVP: Chase Young Special Teams MVP: NONE (Please fire Phil Galiano)

New Orleans Saints 34 - 26 Tennessee Titans This is the exact type of game the Saints and Tyler Shough needed, albeit against a weak opponent, to help create assurance that the tides are actually turning. For the last few seasons, anytime the Saints fell behind by 10 or more points, it has felt like 21 or more. However, with Tyler Shough at the quarterback position, when the team starts slow, I don’t feel like they are ever behind by an amount they cannot come back from. In this game, when they fell to a 13-point deficit to start the game, I never once felt deflated as I had in the past few prior seasons, which is an amazing feat for this current roster to achieve. Look at the injuries that have piled up on the offensive side of the ball. Tyler Shough is throwing to receivers and handing the ball off to running backs who weren’t on the 53-man roster to start this season. We saw a similar, if not the same, situation play out last year for Spencer Rattler, who was unable to overcome the situation to win games. The thing with that is, Spencer Rattler is not a BAD quarterback by any means; he’s a high-end backup or bottom-tier starter, but he is 100% an NFL-level quarterback. This just shows that Tyler Shough is the true franchise quarterback for the Saints, and that even when the team is down, both in score and in talent, their current QB can elevate them to wins. With all of that being said, let’s look at the performances of this game and how they are changing how I want the Saints to attack this offseason. Chris Olave I can’t start this breakdown without giving Chris Olave his flowers. He has absolutely destroyed any doubt I had in him being able to be the number one guy for this team on any given week. He finished this one with eight catches for 119 yards and a touchdown. This performance gave him career highs across all receiving categories and also put him in a great spot to get a massive contract from the Saints this offseason, which he deserves. He isn’t in the conversation for comeback player of the year, but after saying he was genuinely considering retirement at the age of 24, he should be. He won’t win the award, as Christian McCaffery has absolutely shattered expectations of what he could be this season, but Olave, having his best season as an NFL player after his worst concussion yet, should not go unnoticed. Tyler Shough Once again, and I will try not to overdo it here, Tyler Shough was the team MVP and the best quarterback on the field for the fourth straight game. That includes games against Baker Mayfield, Bryce Young, and Cam Ward. Are those the best quarterbacks in the league? No. Are they quarterbacks that NFL fans and pundits had much higher hopes for this season than Tyler Shough? Yes. The conversations involving Shough have gone from “How did he go above Shedeur?”, to “Why are the Saints benching Rattler for him?”, to “How is he going to overcome all of these injuries?”, all the way to now “Is he a top 15 quarterback in the league?” If I were to be asked that last question right now, it would be tough to give a definitive answer, but I am definitely leaning towards yes, he is. He has now led the Saints to four straight wins, and the current buzz around the league is that the Saints are the best team in the division, even though they won’t make the playoffs. Shough also surpassed Tetairoa McMillan today as the favorite to win the offensive rookie of the year, even though he has only started eight games. The things Tyler Shough is doing are certainly unexpected, but just because they are unexpected doesn’t mean they should go underappreciated by the league and NFL media. It’s nice to see the media finally starting to pick up on what’s going on in New Orleans. I hope that it continues throughout this offseason. There is a big divide among the Saints fanbase about whether or not the team should really be happy about winning these games, since their draft position has been going down with every win. To me, the answer couldn’t be clearer; these wins are exponentially more valuable than their draft pick position. With these wins, the fanbase and the team have learned that they have a franchise quarterback, and the team culture is being rejuvenated more and more every week. I’m not sure if you have seen it yet, but if not, check out this video from the locker room postgame below. I’m not sure if it’s just because it is the highest quality video I’ve ever seen from a locker room (was this thing filmed with an IMAX camera??), or if it is truly just how happy everyone is, but I am completely bought in on Shough and the future of the organization at this point in time. https://x.com/Saints/status/2005405454608859372?s=20 Kellen Moore Anyone who has read these articles throughout the season knows I have been VERY down on Kellen Moore as the season progressed. That being said, I think he has truly spun my whole image of him and made me buy into what he is doing as the Saints' head coach. Is he perfect? No. Will the training camp next year look the same as this year’s? Again, No. However, Kellen Moore’s playcalling and decisions with timeouts and game management have 100% improved in recent weeks. Maybe he is more confident in calling a broad range of plays with Shough at quarterback, maybe he is simply more confident in the team’s ability as a whole to execute them, or maybe he simply has learned a little bit more every week what works and what doesn’t. He has called a lot more outside runs than he did to start the season, and has also learned how to manage the ends of halves. He had a few blunders of epic proportions to end halves this season due to timeout usage, and this week, Justin Reid ruined a really good job by Moore to use timeouts and display confidence in his QB and offense to go get points in a short amount of time. Kellen Moore’s post-game speeches are very unique in comparison to what I see from other head coaches across the league as well. He is never overly energetic, he never screams just for the sake of screaming, and he never seems to run out of game balls. Moore isn’t a guy who yells like Dan Campbell or Ben Johnson, but you can tell that he is genuinely excited and happy for the team and the players every single week in these post-game speeches. Players can see straight through a fake personality, which is genuinely what I believe happened with Dennis Allen at the helm. In Moore’s case, he is almost genuine to a fault. If he were this nice to a team that continued to underperform and not execute, maybe it would grow old. But the team didn’t do that; they have overperformed expectations, and Moore has continued to be the same guy he has been all year. The players have definitely seen this, and you can tell they are happy to have Moore as the head coach. Moore gives what he calls “shout-outs” to all of the guys who perform well in games. These shout-outs come with game balls for all of the players named, which leads to a LOT of game balls being tossed around the locker room. This may seem corny to those outside of the locker room, but the players love it; they are all getting recognized for what they bring to the table, something that can quickly win over a team to follow a coach to battle every week. Moore gave so many balls last week and also this week that in this week’s speech, he said he may get in trouble with the league. Kellen Moore has completed a full 180 and is now someone I am confident in to lead the Saints to victory in the near future. I love the way he is calling an offense going through injuries left and right, and I love the way he is currently managing the locker room. He accomplished the hardest thing to do in a rebuild: picking the right quarterback. So, now my question is, how will he follow that up? If Moore, alongside Mickey Loomis, enters this offseason and successfully identifies the weakest position groups and gets talent there, he can earn himself a very long tenure with the organization in New Orleans. The Future I was relatively sure last week that the Saints had their quarterback and head coach of the future, but after this performance, I couldn’t be more sure and positive. With both of those things being locked in, where do the Saints go from here? The team is still lacking talent depth at numerous position groups, but to me, the two biggest concerns are the interiors of the lines on both sides of the ball and the weapons Tyler Shough has to throw to. Before yesterday’s game, I would have had running back on this list too, with Kamara, Miller, and Neal all being injured and not seeing much from Estime or Hull the past couple of weeks. However, Audric Estime had the best game of his career on only 14 carries, finishing with 94 yards and a touchdown. If Estime can repeat a similar performance next year, it makes the conversation of who should stay around next season much harder. I could see Kendre Miller being a guy the Saints move in the offseason for a draft pick, simply due to injury history, but man, he can run the damn ball when he is healthy. This conversation could become even tougher if Kellen Moore decides he wants to build the run game for the team up even more by going and drafting the best RB in college football, Jeremiyah Love. If that happens, I don’t think there’s any chance Kendre Miller is back with the team. I have not gotten the chance to scout interior talent from either side of the line much, but the Saints will need to decide whether or not the weaknesses there are something to attack in the draft or free agency. I believe the Saints could find solid fixes in free agency for the defensive side of the ball and try to find young talent in the draft to shore up the interior offensive line. If the Saints go the route I believe they should pursue, which is to go and get a wide receiver with their first round pick, there are a couple of guys I think they should look at. Makai Lemon and Carnell Tate. Some may say I’m crazy for leaving Jordyn Tyson off of this list, but his injury history and competition level both scare me. Another great route the team could go is to go EDGE in the first round, then Elijah Sarratt in the second if he isn’t a shoo-in first-rounder by the time the draft comes around. All of these guys would be great additions to go alongside Chris Olave, Devaughn Vele, and Juwan Johnson in the passing attack for Shough. The Saints are the best team in the division, and I don’t feel like that is a homer take. The Saints have looked the best on both sides of the ball and beat both of the teams above them. In addition, the Saints may end up finishing in second place in the South with a win over the Falcons next week and a Bucs loss to the Panthers. However, the ideal scenario is for both the Saints and Bucs to win, with the Saints finishing on a five-game win streak and getting the third-place schedule next year. The Saints are crushing expectations to end the season, and causing hope to rise over the win-deprived city of New Orleans. What more could you ask for? Offensive MVP: Tyler Shough Defensive MVP: Chase Young Special Teams MVP: CHARLIE “THE IRISH HAMMER” SMYTH

New Orleans Saints 29 - 6 New York Jets I really don’t have much to say about this one, except that everything feels like it’s going in the right direction for the Kellen Moo re-led New Orleans Saints. The offense still looked good with numerous starters out, Brandon Staley has the defense humming, and Charlie Smyth appears to be the answer to the long-term kicking issues. Considering where I and a lot of this fanbase felt about this team at the halfway point of the season, I think the Saints have significantly outplayed all expectations and have instilled hope into the city. Taysom Hill Taysom Hill fumbled on the first drive for the Saints, adding to a slew of ball control issues he has had this season. When that happened, I ended up texting my friends, “It’s time for the Saints to Old Yeller Taysom Hill”. Taysom Hill, if you are, for whatever reason, possibly reading this, just know I firmly retract that statement and appreciate how much you made me eat my own words. After the fumble, Taysom Hill ran for another 30+ yards, had 36 receiving yards, and even threw a touchdown bomb to Chris Olave on the last drive of the game. In this game, where everyone in the fanbase on X (Twitter) decided it was time for him to retire, he ended up having the most touches he’s ever had in a game and helped the Saints immensely on offense. I stand corrected on Taysom Hill no longer being able to be a threat, and I am happy that I was wrong. I wonder if he gets even more touches against the Titans next week, and if he can also have a similar performance against the Falclowns and potentially end his Saints career on a true high. In addition, this performance led to Taysom Hill being the only player in the NFL Super Bowl era to have 1000 yards passing, rushing, and receiving. This leads me to truly believe he belongs in the Hall of Fame as the greatest utility tool the league has ever seen, and I’m curious to see if he ever gets the chance at a gold jacket. Brandon Staley’s Defense I’m going to start this section by giving a huge shoutout to Cam Jordan. With his two sacks, he now has eight and a half sacks on the season and earned himself an extra $800,000 in incentives in this game. He has truly reemerged as a solid rotational piece for the pass rush, which leads me to hope he’s back for one more season as a Saint to compete for the divisional title next year. Another guy who has surprised me this season is Nathan Shepherd, who had a sack and forced fumble in this one. Although his box score numbers don’t look that great, defensive tackles’ (except for the all-pro level ones) performances are never really evaluated by those. He has played extremely well in the run game this season and has also provided a solid amount of pressure from the middle of the pocket. To no surprise, Chase Young had another great game and clutch sack, adding to his stellar season after an injury during training camp. If the Saints can hit in the draft on an EDGE or DT, this defensive line could be a spark for success next season. In addition to the defensive line, the secondary is playing at a much higher level than expected. Although they did play a Brady Cook-led offense in this game, it was great to see the young defensive backs deliver multiple strong performances as the season continues. Jonas Sanker had a great interception and pass breakup, Quincy Riley seemed to shut down receivers in his coverage, Kool-Aid McKinstry had a few good tackles, and Justin Reid really stepped up as a veteran presence. The secondary held the Jets to three yards per pass, exactly what you want to see against a poor offense that has been struggling to find anything successful. Demario Davis is still playing like an all-pro at the ripe age of 36. He has been shooting through gaps and blowing up running backs all season long, and he’s about to turn 37. If he can continue this level of play through the end of the season, I see no reason why the Saints should not confidently bring him back as a key piece of the defense next season. He is one of four linebackers in the NFL playing at his age, yet he is playing like some of the best linebackers in the league that are five or more years younger. He is simply nothing short of incredible. The Offense Tyler Shough led this offense to seven scoring drives, even though the team is missing numerous starters to injury. The two names everyone knew needed to step up with Devaughn Vele down, Chris Olave and Juwan Johnson, rose to the occasion with massive performances. Chris Olave had 10 catches for 148 yards and two touchdowns, which is one of the best performances he’s had in his young career. In addition to these stats, he almost brought down another touchdown, although the defender was able to rip it away last second as they went to the ground. Juwan Johnson was also a huge contributor, finishing the day with eight catches for 89 yards. Shough and Johnson have formed a very solid connection, one that, if they can continue to build on, will be really fun to watch in the future. A lot of people, including myself, were skeptical about whether the extension was worth it after the rough start to the season by Johnson, but he has definitely ended those discussions. At this point, I’m beginning to wonder if the Saints got a deal with the contract. Tyler Shough eclipsed the 300 passing yard mark and almost reached 50 passing attempts, yet was able to keep the ball out of harm’s way throughout the game. If Tyler Shough finishes the season playing at this level, he will 100% be in contention for offensive rookie of the year. Offensive MVP: Chris Olave Defensive MVP: The Pass Rush Special Teams MVP: CHARLIE “THE IRISH HAMMER” SMYTH

New Orleans Saints 20 - 17 Carolina Panthers Let me start by saying this is officially the happiest I have been as a Saints fan since the hot start the Saints had in 2021 with Jameis Winston. I felt great when the team started hot last season, but I also recognized what Derek Carr was for the organization: a placeholder. I don’t mean that as a slight to Derek Carr by any means, but the team needed to find a young and promising quarterback for the team to actually reset for the future. Well… that time has come with Tyler Shough beating the two top teams in the division in back-to-back weeks. Have the games been perfect? No, but I didn’t expect them to be with a rookie quarterback and a roster depleted of talent. That being said, as someone who doesn’t live in New Orleans, I have to imagine that the city is riding on a high tonight, and hopefully that continues into the offseason. With all of that being said, let’s break down the awesome performance by Tyler Shough and Co. Tyler Shough Shough has continued to improve every single week as a starter, and he seems to consistently take over in clutch moments. Against the Dolphins, he gave Olave a chance to win the game for the team, but it was dropped. Against the Bucs last week, he took over with his legs to take the lead in the fourth. This week, he once again showed up against the Panthers and delivered as perfect a pass as you will see in the NFL to Chris Olave against all-out pressure with Jaycee Horn in coverage. You cannot ask for more from this young rookie, and I will continue to be baffled if I don’t see all of the NFL pundits on ESPN and the other sports networks putting the word out there that Tyler Shough may be the guy for the Saints. Shough finished the night 24/32 for 272 yards and a touchdown, in addition to being the leading rusher of the day with 32 yards. Not only did he elevate this Saints offense, but he also did so even after Cesar Ruiz, Devin Neal, and Devaughn Vele went down. As much as I love Rattler, I can’t say that I believe he would have been able to overcome a similar situation. The Saints have their quarterback of the future, and now the question is, do they give him weapons or try to go and get pieces to make the defense more disruptive? In my mind, they should go and get Jordyn Tyson, Carnell Tate, or Jeremiyah Love and do whatever it takes to see what Shough has in him in 2026. The Defense After allowing another opening drive touchdown in this game, the Saints’ defense has allowed the opposing team's offense into the endzone in five of their last six matchups. That being said, the defense has played well enough in these games to allow their offense chances to make plays to win games. I love what I am seeing for Chase Young, as he has exceeded all of my expectations since coming back from injury. He now has six sacks in the nine games he’s been healthy, and I can all but guarantee he’d have more if the opposing offenses had anyone else they had to worry about on the Saints’ defensive line. If the Saints do go defense to start the draft, Arvell Reese will be the obvious first choice, but I’m not sure they’ll be in the range to pick him. So instead I could see them going with Caleb Downs if they choose to go that side of the ball with their first, or instead wait to go defensive line with their second. I believe the Saints can wait to take a corner in this one, with Quincy Riley and Kool-Aid both showing they are at least average cornerbacks in the NFL. Yes, Quincy Riley did allow a touchdown in this one, but it was mainly because he tried to look for the football instead of simply playing the receiver after being beaten. This will quickly be coached up and is a common mistake you see made by cornerbacks across the league. In my eyes, the key to truly making this defense take another leap would be to fix the interior defensive line. Although they can somehow stop teams repeatedly in goal-to-go situations, opposing teams have found dominant success with inside run schemes. Once the team can fix that in the offseason or in the draft, this defense may find itself in the top half of the league for the foreseeable future. Kellen Moore If this game ended at halftime, I would once again be on here with numerous negative things to say about Kellen Moore. He made a bad challenge on the Panthers' first drive, he wasn’t aggressive to end the half, the offense started slow once again, and the penalties began to pop up, similar to earlier in the season. That being said, the game didn’t end at halftime, and Kellen Moore helped lead this team back in a divisional game, building more and more confidence for this team and what they’re building. Moore finally won his first challenge of the season, and his playcalling on the final two drives was textbook. He knew exactly how to take advantage of the clock and the Panthers’ “soft” defense, and was a major reason the Saints were able to win this game. If Kellen Moore can continue to build hope and make it look like he knows what he’s doing while navigating this roster in the middle of a rebuild, he’ll keep me in his corner. Let’s see what he does to start next week’s game against a Jets team that just let Trevor Lawrence look like he was back playing at Clemson The Irish Hammer I don't have too much to say, but a huge shout-out to Charlie Smyth for going two-for-two on the day with two 40+ yard field goals and a 47-yard game-winner to take down the divisional rival. Charlie Smyth is still developing, but it appears the Saints have found their kicker, and I'm excited to see when he gets the chance to break the new 67-yard field goal record. Cheers to the Irish Hammer. Offensive MVP: Tyler Shough Defensive MVP: Chase Young Special Teams MVP: CHARLIE “THE IRISH HAMMER” SMYTH

New Orleans Saints 24 - 20 Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Saints have taken down Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers, providing a spark of hope for the future of this team, as well as for the Carolina Panthers. The team had great performances from many of the young players in this one, and Brandon Staley appears to have officially turned around a defense that looked hopeless last season. In a year where all hope seemed lost, Tyler Shough has provided life for the fanbase and has 100% earned his role as the 2026 starter for the team (barring any drastic decrease in play quality). Two games ago, I was praying the Saints landed as high of a draft pick as possible, and now I see myself not caring too much about it if Shough continues to play like this. If the Saints can rely on Shough to uplift a team void of talent at different positions, then they can quickly scratch off the QB position from the offseason needs list and turn their focus to other positions. With that being said, let’s dive into how the team did and where they need to focus this offseason. Tyler Shough Tyler Shough played an incredible game today, although it may not appear that way when glancing at the box score. Passing-wise, he finished 13/20 with 144 yards and an interception on a clear communication with Chris Olave, but shined in the run game with 55 yards on seven carries and two touchdowns. One came on a designed run play, with Shough shooting out of the hole alongside a great block by Devaughn Vele. The other came on a play where it looked like Shough would be taken down for a disastrous sack, from which he broke free and broke Kevin Harlan’s mind. He has showed multiple times this season that he can make plays in the clutch, and played an excellent second half to close this game out. He made multiple pro-level throws in big moments and displayed why some commentators have compared him to guys like Josh Allen and Ben Roethlisberger. If Tyler Shough continues to play the way he has, the Saints will have found their guy, and the worry about Shough’s age will disappear into thin air. I will say I’m surprised at the low level of hype he has gotten across social media and sports commentary, so I’m interested to see the discourse about him after this massive win. The Young Guys The Saints appear to have made all of the right picks in this past draft, with every drafted player performing well. This does not include Broughton, who was injured earlier on, and the seventh rounders, which are as good as blind shots in the dark anyway. Specifically in this game, Devin Neal played an excellent game, and all of the other guys have shown they definitely belong in the National Football League. Neal finished with 70 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries, with a few really solid runs where he had to fight for extra yardage through contact. If he continues to play this way with Alvin Kamara out, he will likely be the Saints' RB2 for the foreseeable future, and possibly work his way into the RB1 role if he continues to develop. If the Saints were to go the Jeremiyah Love route in the draft, he and Love would be an amazing duo to watch every week. The Saints' young guys in the secondary also played well today, with Kool-Aid McKinstry leading the team in tackles and having a clutch PBU late in the game, and Alontae Taylor having a big-time interception to start the third quarter. I also really liked what I saw from Jonas Sanker and Jordan Howden in this one, which is a positive without Justin Reid being able to play. Another young player that wasn’t drafted this offseason but is new to the team, Devaugn Vele, had two huge catches for third-down conversions on the last offensive possession. Although Vele is not young in the traditional age sense, he is on a rookie contract. If he can be the bigger body receiver that the Saints depend on to get first downs, the trade they made with the Broncos will pay off massively. Brandon Staley’s Defense The Saints' defense ranked 19th and 30th last season in points and yards allowed, respectively. Brandon Staley has the defense turned around in the points allowed per game department, where they currently rank 12th in the league. Although the Saints' defense currently ranks 22nd in points allowed per game, it’s hard to put that fully on Staley, as the offense has struggled to stay on the field and constantly has put this defense in poor positions this season. This is not at all to say the defense is perfect or that it doesn’t have holes, but it is nice to see the defense slowly starting to find its identity, even without a lot of high-level talent. This is a team that can acquire a high-level impact player like Arvell Reese or Caleb Downs in the draft and see their defense truly take a leap with the current coordinator at the helm. I will say, I can’t end this section without noting that Demario Davis has continued to play out of his mind for yet another season, and that I would happily watch another couple of years with him in the black and gold on if the team decides to bring him back. Kellen Moore I absolutely dragged Kellen Moore the last couple of weeks, and well, if the Saints didn’t win this one, you’d be seeing a common occurrence with another dragging of the Saints' head coach. That being said, the Saints DID win this one, so I will go a little easier on Kellen Moore than I expected to just a few hours ago at halftime. Kellen Moore has made mental mistakes time and time again this season. His playcalling when needing a yard on offense is that of a five-year-old mashing buttons on Madden… random. The most recent instance came in this one on fourth and one when he called an outside toss to Devin Neal, which proceeded to get stuffed for a loss of two. On plays where a Taysom Hill touch possibly makes sense, he refuses to call one, and will then call a Taysom Hill RPO on first and 10, or leave Taysom Hill in to drop two passes. In addition to playcalling woes, Kellen Moore’s decisions of when or when not to challenge plays have been worse than bad. On a third and one in the middle of the third quarter, Audric Estime went up the middle and seemed to gain a yard past the first down marker, yet the ball was marked a yard short. Instead of challenging this seemingly clear first down that was terribly spotted, he simply went for it, and an illegal man downfield penalty led to the Saints taking the field goal. This is by far not the worst mistake he’s made as a head coach, but as a 2-10 team with nothing to lose, it makes sense to throw the red flag and try to avoid the four-point swing that occurred. Tyler Shough is the future for the Saints at the quarterback position. By the end of the season, I would really like to see Kellen Moore give me reasons to believe he is the future at the head coach position as well. Offensive MVP: Tyler “Turn That Nine Upside Down It’s a Six” Shough Defensive MVP: Whole defense Special Teams MVP: Mason Tipton