New Orleans Saints vs. Houston Texans: Full New Orleans Game Preview
Fresh off a bye week, the New Orleans Saints will return to action Sunday afternoon, as they face the home-standing Houston Texans at NRG Stadium.
New Orleans (4-6) will be looking to get back into the win column after dropping its last two contests. In their last outing, the Saints suffered a 47-14 blowout at the hands of the Washington Redskins. New Orleans allowed nearly 400 yards of offense in the first two quarters of the Week 10 loss, and its offense fizzled in the second half.
Following the debacle in Washington, the Saints front office quickly fired defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, who’s been the focal point of heavy criticism throughout the season.
In the team's first game without Ryan, the No. 32-ranked New Orleans defense will face off against a potent Texans passing attack that ranks sixth in the league.
On the other side of the ball, the Saints come in with impressive numbers, but quarterback Drew Brees and the New Orleans offense will need to improve on the underwhelming 14-point outing they turned in against the Redskins.
As for the Texans (5-5), coach Bill O’Brien’s squad comes in having won three in a row, and it's looking to seize control of the AFC South with a win on Sunday.
Continue reading for a full preview of this Week 12 matchup, which kicks off Sunday at 1 p.m. ET/noon CT.
Week 10 Recap
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The Saints took to the road for their Week 10 matchup with the Redskins, and they stumbled through what was easily their worst performance of the 2015 season.
Quarterback Kirk Cousins spearheaded Washington’s 47-14 win. He went 20-of-25 for 324 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions.
The Redskins struck first and struck hard, marching 96 yards for a touchdown on their first possession of the game. New Orleans answered with a scoring drive of its own to tie things up, but Washington subsequently jumped back in front with another long march that ended with a second visit to the end zone.
Drew Brees hooked up with Brandin Cooks for a 60-yard scoring pass on the Saints’ next possession, but the game-tying touchdown would be the last points New Orleans would score for the remainder of the contest.
From that point on, Washington outscored the Saints 33-0, as coach Jay Gruden’s club dominated Payton’s sluggish squad in all facets of the game.
The Saints’ bottom-feeding defense was exposed for the entirety of the game, giving up over 200 yards on the ground to a Washington rushing attack that had struggled in the weeks leading up to the matchup.
Offensively, New Orleans was unable to sustain the success it enjoyed early in the game. The Saints stalled and were forced to punt three times after their second-quarter touchdown. They also turned the ball over on downs twice, while Brees tossed two picks.
News and Notes
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Saints-Texans Series
The Saints and the Texans hook up on a regular basis during the preseason, but they don’t have much history, as far as regular-season meetings go.
The two teams have only met three times, with the Saints holding a 2-1 advantage.
In the last meeting, Brees and the Saints’ high-powered offense outgunned the Texans in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, 40-33, back in 2011.
New Orleans’ first meeting with Houston occurred in 2003, as coach Jim Haslett’s Saints hammered the visiting Texans, 31-10.
Rob Ryan Out, Dennis Allen In at Defensive Coordinator
After two full seasons and the better part of a third, Rob Ryan’s time at the helm of the Saints defense has come to a close.
The former Dallas Cowboys, Cleveland Browns and Oakland Raiders defensive coordinator orchestrated an impressive turnaround upon arriving in New Orleans in 2013, as the Saints fielded the league’s fourth-ranked defense in his first season on the job.
Things went south for Ryan in his second year, however. His unit struggled throughout the 2014 season and finished the year ranked No. 31 in total defense.
Hopes for another turnaround were short-lived in 2015, as Ryan’s group struggled from the get-go, giving up 31 points to the Arizona Cardinals in the season opener. The New Orleans defense has been torched on a weekly basis since then, and there were few who could blame the Saints when they parted ways with the 52-year-old coordinator.
In Ryan’s defense, the Saints have endured a plethora of injuries this season on the defensive side of the ball. After New Orleans’ abysmal showing in Washington, however, it came as no surprise that the Saints opted to pull the plug on Ryan’s tenure.
His replacement, Saints defensive assistant Dennis Allen, will take over a unit that ranks dead last in the NFL in total defense. The first week on the job won’t be easy, as New Orleans is tasked with slowing down a capable Texans offense that features a formidable passing attack.
Allen, who’s in his second stint in New Orleans as an assistant coach, is now a coordinator for the second time in his career. He ran the Denver Broncos defense in 2011 before accepting the Oakland Raiders head coaching position.
Four games into his third season at the helm, Oakland fired Allen with an 8-28 overall record.
Injury Report
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New Orleans released its first injury report of the week Wednesday on the team’s official site. The Saints may have collectively benefited from the week off, but nagging injuries are still hampering the team, especially on defense.
Four New Orleans defenders missed practice Wednesday, including a couple of key starters.
Keenan Lewis
The New Orleans cornerback hasn’t been fully healthy all season, and he sat out Wednesday’s workout with injuries to both his hip and knee. With Delvin Breaux being tasked with covering Texans wideout DeAndre Hopkins, New Orleans could use Lewis’ services against Houston’s other outside receiver, Nate Washington.
Dannell Ellerbe
Like Lewis, Ellerbe has battled injuries for the better part of the season, and a hip injury sidelined him Wednesday. The seventh-year inside ‘backer out of Georgia has seen significant action in just three games this season, but he's racked up 26 tackles in those three outings.
There’s no question that the New Orleans linebacking corps is faster and more capable in pass coverage with Ellerbe in the lineup, but his availability for Sunday is still in question.
Other Injuries
Meanwhile, backup linebacker David Hawthorne (thigh) was also out Wednesday, while rookie corner Damian Swann continued to miss time as he recovers from a concussion.
Four other Saints were limited in the workout, including left tackle Terron Armstead (knee), linebacker Ramon Humber (hamstring) and running back Mark Ingram (shoulder). Linebacker Hau’oli Kikaha, who attempted to play through an ankle injury against the Redskins two weeks ago, was also limited in practice.
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Key Matchups to Watch
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Saints Offensive Line vs. Texans Pass-Rushers
New Orleans’ pass protection left a lot to be desired in the weeks leading up to the bye. Opponents have sacked Brees six times in the past two games, and he’s faced heavy pressure on a consistent basis.
The going certainly won’t get any easier on Sunday, as the Texans come in with 27 sacks, 11.5 of which belong to defensive end J.J. Watt. Keeping the All-Pro out of the Saints' backfield will undoubtedly be the offensive line’s biggest challenge on Sunday, and it will take more than one blocker to handle the job.
Watt is arguably the NFL's best defensive player, and he possesses a devastating combination of size, strength and speed.
Saints left tackle Terron Armstead will see plenty of Watt, who’s officially listed as the Texans’ right end, but New Orleans can expect to see the 6’5”, 289-pounder lining up at different spots across the Houston front over the course of the game.
Look for the Saints to use plenty of heavy formations and to use tight ends Michael Hoomanawanui and Benjamin Watson to double-team Watt on a regular basis.
Of course, he won’t be the only Texans defender Brees and Co. will have to worry about. Outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus is quite the capable pass-rusher in his own right, and he’ll be looking to add to his sack total (6.5 on the season) come Sunday afternoon.
Delvin Breaux vs. DeAndre Hopkins
As they do in most defensive categories, the Saints rank near the bottom of the league (No. 31) in pass defense.
Despite the team’s struggles in the secondary, cornerback Delvin Breaux has managed to make his mark as a cover man. The New Orleans native has been the lone bright spot in an otherwise subpar New Orleans defensive backfield, and he’s already tested his mettle against some of the league’s best wideouts.
Breaux went toe-to-toe with Julio Jones in Week 6, and he held his own on most occasions against the Atlanta Falcons star. The former CFL standout didn’t fare as well against the New York Giants’ Odell Beckham Jr. a couple of weeks later, but he’ll get a chance to lock up with another top-flight receiver on Sunday.
Houston’s DeAndre Hopkins comes in with 76 receptions, nine of which went for touchdowns, and he’s already eclipsed the 1,000-yard receiving mark for the season.
There’s no question Breaux will have his hands full in man coverage against the third-year wideout, but the first-year corner is capable of winning his share of battles.
Either way, this matchup should be fun to watch.
Prediction
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After receiving some much-needed time off, the Saints will attempt to snap their two-game losing skid Sunday, but they’ll have to get the job done on the road.
New Orleans has struggled in the visiting role all season, and it has just one road victory to its credit.
The Texans, meanwhile, sport a 3-2 record at NRG Stadium, but it’s their recent winning streak that should be more concerning to the Saints. Houston has posted three consecutive victories, and in their most recent triumph, a Week 11 win over the New York Jets, the Texans were without starting quarterback Brian Hoyer.
Hoyer will return to action Sunday, and he’ll be facing a banged-up New Orleans secondary. He’ll team with one of the NFL’s top receivers in Hopkins, and there’s a good chance the Saints will again be facing an uphill battle on the defensive side of the ball.
Brees and the Saints should find the end zone on multiple occasions, but it isn’t reasonable to expect the New Orleans offensive line to hold Watt and Co. in check for long.
The Saints will keep it close for a half, but in the end, they won’t be able to make enough defensive stops, and the home team will prevail.
Texans 28, Saints 20
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