The New York Jets (3-11) will visit the New Orleans Saints (4-10) at the Caesars Dome on Sunday. Let's take a deeper look at what to expect from their Week 16 opponent.
Playing Spoiler
While the Saints may have been eliminated from NFL playoff contention in Week 13, that has not stopped them from making an impact on the NFC playoff picture.
The Saints began the season 1-8, with their lone win coming in Week 15 against the Giants, who are tied with Tennessee with the worst record (2-12) in the NFL. Since then, New Orleans has won 3 of 5, including consecutive victories over the Buccaneers and the Panthers, the two teams atop the NFC South battling for division supremacy.
New Orleans has not thrown in the towel on the season and the Jets should be ready for a fight when they go south to visit the Black & Gold and their rabid home crowd.
Tyler Shough's Team
A key reason for the Saints' recent winning ways has been the play of rookie QB Tyler Shough, a second-round pick (No. 40) in last April's NFL Draft. Shough took over as the Saints' starter in Week 9, following 8 starts by second-year signal-caller Spencer Rattler.
Over Shough's 6 starts, New Orleans is 3-3, and the Louisville product has completed 69% of his throws for 6 touchdowns, 4 interceptions and 226 yards average per game.
"When your best is needed, [Shough] shows up," first-year HC Kellen Moore said after their Week 15 victory over the Panthers. "Obviously, he made some big-time plays. … His steadiness is really special. I think that is really important when you play quarterback in this league."
In the New Orleans win over Carolina last Sunday, Shough led the Saints on 2 scoring drives in the final 3 minutes to tie the game -- a 12-yard TD pass to WR Chris Olave to tie the game, then a 62-yard drive that ended in a 47-yard game-winning FG by Charlie Smyth as time expired.
"I think he has been executing at a really high level and understanding the situational aspect," Moore said. "There were a lot of situational plays that came up toward the end of this game. To execute at that high of a level, I thought, credit to him and really the entire offense."
Shough's favorite targets since taking over the offense have been Olave and TE Juwan Johnson, who made a spectacular one-handed catch Sunday. Olave leads the team with 896 yards and 6 touchdowns and Johnson is second in both categories with 644 and 3.
Additionally, the Saints' offense has seen improvements despite being without Pro Bowl RB Alvin Kamara, who missed the last four games due to a knee injury. The explosive tailback was upgraded to questionable going into last week's game for the first time since the injury, making it possible he could return against New York.
Check out the top photos from the Jets' Week 15 against the Jaguars.
Strong Secondary, but a Struggling Run Defense
The Saints' defense has been an average unit throughout the season, rankings 18th in points allowed (23.7 per game) and 11th in yards allowed (311.2 per game). The defense's strength has been its stout pass defense, while struggling to contain the run.
New Orleans have allowed the sixth fewest passing yards in the NFL (180.5) this season, partly because the team has the third-most time trailing in the league this season. The Saints still limited the Panthers and the Buccaneers each to fewer than 160 yards passing the last two games, both victories.
Second-year CB Kool-Aid McKinstry leads the team with 3 interceptions and 10 pass defenses, while fourth-year CB Alontae Taylor has 2 interceptions and 7 pass defenses. As a duo, since Week 12, they have allowed 1 touchdown passing TD in coverage.
The Saints' run defense has allowed the seventh-most yards (130.6 per game) and has failed to hold an opponent under 120 yards since Week 10. In the last 3 games, opponents have averaged 157.6 yards per game rushing.
A bright spot up front has been the emergence of former top 10 selection DE Chase Young. The 2020 Defensive Rookie of the Year leads the Saints with 6 sacks, including 3 in the last 4 games, and 7 tackles for loss, 5 in their last 3.
"[Young] has brought so much effort and resiliency," Moore said. "Not everything is perfect on film. We are going to have plenty of things to correct as a team. But I thought for Chase to just kept going and kept fighting."
