Minnesota Vikings vs New Orleans Saints: Full Report Card Grades for New Orleans
The New Orleans Saints broke into the “win” column for the first time this season Sunday, as they pounded out a 20-9 victory over the Minnesota Vikings.
The contest was the Saints’ first home game of 2014, and they provided the raucous crowd at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome with plenty to get excited about.
New Orleans shot out of the gates with an 80-yard touchdown march on the game’s opening drive, and coach Sean Payton’s offense drove the field for another touchdown on its second possession.
After struggling heavily against the Atlanta Falcons and the Cleveland Browns, the Saints defense was much-improved in Week 3. Rob Ryan’s unit kept the Vikings out of the end zone for the entire game, as New Orleans received solid play from its front seven.
On a second-quarter tackle, Saints defenders Curtis Lofton and Kenny Vaccaro knocked Minnesota starter Matt Cassel out of the game, which paved the way for rookie Teddy Bridgewater to step in.
Bridgewater gave the Saints some difficulties with his ability to run, although Ryan apparently made the necessary halftime adjustments to bottle up the mobile quarterback for most of the second half.
With New Orleans clinging to a 13-9 lead and struggling offensively, it took a controversial play to reignite the Saints offense as well as the entire team. Minnesota’s Captain Munnerlyn raced off the edge to register a sack on Saints quarterback Drew Brees, and the cornerback capped off the play with a nasty bodyslam that would’ve made WWE champion Brock Lesnar blush.
Munnerlyn drew a personal foul on the crucial third-down play, and he also drew the ire of Brees, who jumped up and began shoving Minnesota defenders. The incident brought both the Saints and the Superdome crowd back to life after the Vikings had begun to gradually seize momentum in the contest.
Moments later, Brees connected with Marques Colston for a 19-yard touchdown strike, and the Saints never looked back.
Continue reading for complete report card grades for the Saints following their big win.
Quarterback
1 of 10
After a solid outing against Atlanta and a subpar game in Cleveland, Drew Brees came up big Sunday in the Superdome, as the Saints rode his right arm to their first victory.
Brees started out by completing his first nine passes, and he looked as sharp as ever throughout the Saints’ first two possessions. Both drives culminated with touchdowns, the latter of which was an impressive 34–yard scoring strike to backup tight end Josh Hill. A Brees pump-fake froze the Minnesota safety on the play, and Hill was wide open down the field to receive the pass.
The New Orleans signal-caller entered a bit of a lull in the game’s third quarter. As the Vikings upped the pressure with a series of blitzes, Brees struggled to find open receivers.
Munnerlyn’s personal foul served as a fire-starter of sorts for the Saints offense, however, as Brees pushed the ball downfield for the game-clinching fourth-quarter score.
On the day, he completed 27 of 35 passes for 293 yards and two touchdowns. Perhaps most importantly, Brees didn’t toss an interception in the contest, although Vikings defenders came close on a couple occasions.
Grade: B+
Running Back
2 of 10
With Mark Ingram sidelined with a hand injury, the Saints benefited from a strong effort from running backs Pierre Thomas and Khiry Robinson, who finished with a combined 99 yards on the ground.
Robinson handled the majority of the heavy lifting between the tackles. The second-year back doesn't pack quite the same punch as Ingram, but he did show a bit more wiggle as he churned out 69 yards on 18 carries. Thomas, meanwhile, scored the Saints’ lone rushing touchdown, and he contributed in the passing game with three catches for 21 yards.
Fullback Austin Johnson also got in on the action, as he bulldozed for a first down in a short-yardage situation, and he was effective as a lead blocker as well.
The New Orleans running backs weren’t exceptional, as the loss of Ingram as a downhill runner was noticeable, but Robinson and Thomas got the job done nonetheless.
Grade: B+
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
Sunday was a busy day for the New Orleans receiving corps, as Brees distributed the football to a host of targets.
Rookie wideout Brandin Cooks led all receivers with eight catches for 74 yards, and he was utilized in a variety of ways in Payton’s wide-open air attack.
Jimmy Graham proved to be a tough assignment for the Minnesota secondary, as the All-Pro tight end was the target of numerous Brees throws in the short passing game, and he finished the game with six catches for 54 yards.
After not catching a single pass last week, wide receiver Marques Colston reeled in a couple balls, including the aforementioned fourth-quarter touchdown strike.
The play was historically significant, as it pushed Brees and Colston past Johnny Unitas and Raymond Berry into seventh place all time in quarterback-receiver touchdown strikes. The scoring pass was the 64th touchdown hookup between the duo.
Josh Hill made a substantial impact with his first-quarter touchdown, and fellow tight end Benjamin Watson was also involved, as he pulled down a short pass on the game’s first play and rumbled 10 yards.
Overall, the group turned in a quality showing, but drops by Graham and Colston knocked the unit’s grade down a notch.
Grade: B+
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
The New Orleans offensive line, like the other offensive position groups, was completely dominant in the first quarter. The group cleared running lanes for Robinson and Thomas and provided Brees with more than adequate pass protection.
In the second and third quarters, however, the Vikings upped their defensive intensity and began to fluster Brees and the offensive line with an array of blitzes coming from various spots.
Jahri Evans and Co. weathered the storm, however, and reclaimed control of the line of scrimmage following the personal foul on Munnerlyn. The unit then closed out the game with an inspired performance on the game’s final drive, as New Orleans ran out the clock to preserve the victory.
The win didn’t come without cost to the group, however, as starting center Jonathan Goodwin left the field with a foot injury in the third quarter. He was replaced by backup Tim Lelito.
Grade: B
Defensive Line
5 of 10
After two consecutive poor outings, the New Orleans defensive line turned it up a notch on Sunday.
Granted, Adrian Peterson wasn’t in the backfield, but Minnesota found the going extremely tough on the ground. The Vikings were only able to manage 59 rushing yards in the game, with an average of 2.7 yards per carry.
Following two extremely quiet games to start the season, Cam Jordan finally graced the Saints defense with his presence in this one. The team’s top pass-rusher from a year ago registered his first sack, and he pressured Bridgewater into some quick decisions late in the game.
Akiem Hicks and Brodrick Bunkley were hardly stat-sheet fillers with one tackle each, but they both held their ground against Minnesota’s offensive front, thus allowing Curtis Lofton and the Saints linebackers to ring up tackles.
As a whole, the group didn’t apply as much pressure on Cassel and Bridgewater as Saints fans would have hoped, but improvement was definitely noticeable.
Grade: B
Linebacker
6 of 10
Much like the defensive line, the Saints linebacking corps was improved on Sunday in the Superdome.
Curtis Lofton turned in one of his better games as a Saint, leading the team with eight stops while recording two tackles for loss. He played a key role in slowing down Bridgewater in the second half, and he was seemingly always around the ball.
Outside ‘backer Junior Galette delivered what was by far his best game of the young season, and he was probably the best defensive player on the field for New Orleans. He was a thorn in the side of Vikings left tackle Matt Kalil, and, like Jordan, he finished with a sack and two tackles for loss. Galette also finished second to Lofton with seven stops on the day.
Parys Haralson was on point for most of the day from the other outside spot, while Ramon Humber was serviceable but not outstanding as he replaced injured starter David Hawthorne on the inside.
Grade: B+
Secondary
7 of 10
The secondary was the weakest position unit on the New Orleans defense throughout the first two games, but the group was better in Sunday’s win.
The big story of the day was the absence of former starting cornerback Patrick Robinson, who was benched after last week’s appalling performance in Cleveland and replaced by nickelback Corey White.
Safety Rafael Bush manned the nickel spot in place of White, and both players were respectable in returning to their old positions from last year’s defense.
No. 1 corner Keenan Lewis drew a challenging assignment in the form of Minnesota wideout Cordarrelle Patterson, who bested the New Orleans native on a few occasions in the passing game.
Safety Kenny Vaccaro was extensively involved in both run support and pass coverage, and he was effective on both fronts. Jairus Byrd was also highly active in the contest, as he recorded six tackles from his free safety spot.
Despite the better showing, there’s still plenty of room for improvement in this secondary, as Bridgewater was able to find wide-open targets on multiple occasions in just over a half of work.
The Saints defense will face off against much more accomplished passers than the Vikings rookie in the coming weeks, and at some point, the defensive backfield will be called upon to step up and make plays. Through three games, New Orleans has yet to record an interception.
Grade: C
Special Teams
8 of 10
Special teams play was actually a bit of a bright spot for the Saints in their first two contests, but Sunday wasn’t the best of games for New Orleans in the kicking game.
The Saints’ second touchdown of the day was marred by a botched extra point, which could’ve easily come back to bite them.
Brandin Cooks was still unable to get going in the punt return game, and his lone return against Minnesota resulted in negative yardage.
The Saints’ kick coverage team was a little on the shaky side, as Patterson returned four kickoffs at an average of 30 yards per return.
Punter Thomas Morstead, meanwhile, continues to cement his status as one of the game’s better punters. He posted a 46.8-yard average on four punts, and he pinned the Vikings inside the five on one occasion.
Grade: C-
Coaching
9 of 10
The New Orleans coaching staff was given an “F” following last week’s loss at Cleveland, but against the Vikings, Payton appeared to have right the ship with regard to game-planning and preparation.
The Saints hadn’t demonstrated enough of a commitment to the running game before Sunday, but against Mike Zimmer’s defense, they were much more balanced offensively. New Orleans finished with 35 pass attempts and 32 rushing attempts on the day.
Defensively, the Saints were much more aggressive in pass coverage without Robinson in the game, as the New Orleans corners often lined up in press-man coverage against Patterson and Greg Jennings.
Rob Ryan’s unit was also faced with the challenge of defending two different quarterbacks, as Bridgewater brought the added element of mobility to the Vikings offense. The Saints appeared to make the appropriate adjustments at halftime, however, as Bridgewater’s running was limited in the second half.
Grade: B
Final Grade
10 of 10
The New Orleans Saints had extremely high expectations entering the 2014 season, and a loss to the Vikings on Sunday would've put them in a deep hole, to say the least.
With the win, the Saints made a step in the right direction while gaining some all-important confidence heading into next Sunday night's showdown with the Dallas Cowboys.
Following last week's loss, New Orleans demonstrated improvement at nearly every position, and while no one was perfect, the victory was the result of a team effort.
It should also be pointed out, however, that New Orleans was clearly the better overall team in its matchup with the Vikings, and anything less than a win at home on Sunday would've been a major setback to its championship hopes.
Final Grade: B
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