3 Ups and 1 Down From Yesterday’s Win Against the Buffalo Bills

A naked man ran onto the field during the game. It was almost like he wanted to get in on the Saints rushing attack as well. In what was another roller-coaster of a game with plenty of ups and downs along the way, here are a couple that stood out.

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Down: Daniel Lasco

Let’s get this one down out of the way. Daniel Lasco was running full speed on a kickoff return and nailed the Bills return man well inside the 25 yard line. However, he suffered a terrible injury that resulted in an ambulance coming onto the field and taking Lasco to a local hospital. He was classified with a “spine injury,” but the good news is that Lasco was reported to have feeling in his arms and legs. But, now that we got over the bad news....

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Up: Run Game

This might seem cheap, but the entire Saints rushing attack deserves a massive “up.” Mark Ingram, Alvin Kamara, and the entire Saints offensive line absolutely man-handled the Bills defense the entire game, rushing as a unit for almost 300 total yards. At one point in the second half, the Saints ran what felt like 167 straight rushing plays. In fact, the Saints ran an entire drive calling only runs (sans the final play), getting capped off with a Drew Brees (what?!) 7-yard rushing score. It was just that kind of day on the ground for New Orleans.

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Up: Saints’ Defensive Front

Linebacker A.J. Klein suffered a minor injury but was able to return. Aside from that brief setback, the New Orleans defensive front had an incredible game. Alex Okafor had his hand on seemingly every pass thrown by Tyrod Taylor and added a sack to his day. Manti Te’o and Craig Robertson were constantly around the Buffalo ball-carrier. The play of the New Orleans Saints front seven was highlighted by an interception and (almost-touchdown-)return by Saints DT Sheldon Rankins.

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Up: Michael Thomas

Michael Thomas failed to reach the endzone as Drew Brees went another game in the 2017 season where he didn’t throw a TD pass but the team still won (what is this world?!), but Thomas still had himself a stellar game. The second year wideout had his first 100+ yard receiving game of the season and made a couple of incredible catches, typically catching balls to convert important first downs. Hopefully this is an upward trend for Thomas as we move deeper into the second half of the season.