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My heart cannot take too many games like that, but this season is just starting to feel special, isn’t it?
A win is a win, and it was another roller coaster of an adventure with plenty of ups and downs along the way. Here are a couple that stood out.
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Up: Drew Brees
Let’s get this one out of the way.
Drew seems to be making history game-by-game nowadays. This week, he threw his 500th touchdown pass of his career and managed to finally shake the monkey off his back that was beating the Baltimore Ravens. Drew has joined Brett Favre and Peyton Manning as the only three quarterbacks in NFL history to beat all 32 NFL teams.
Individually, Drew finished the game 22/30 for 212 yards and 2 TDs. He has still yet to throw an interception in the 2018 season. A big “up” for Drew.
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Up: Sean Payton
Say what you will about the botched option play at the end of the Saints long, opening drive, but it’s easy to see the logic behind the call.
Coach Payton called this game like a playoff game, making aggressive decisions and pushing all of the right buttons as the game went on. He went it on fourth down multiple times, successfully executed a fake punt, and caught the Ravens defense off-guard late with aggressive passing plays.
You could tell that this game was important for Sean and Drew, and they played like it.
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Up: Demario Davis
It’s been a while since a Saints individual defensive player made the “Ups” list, but Demario Davis absolutely deserves it.
He’s been one of the brightest spots (along with Cam Jordan and the constantly-improving Marcus Davenport) of the Saints defense all season. He finished today’s game 6 total tackles, including a huge tackle-for-loss on a big third down stop. He’s playing at a Pro Bowl level, and it’s time for the league - and Saints fans - to take notice.
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Down: Defensive Play-Calling
Whatever Dennis Allen is doing for the majority of games this season isn’t working. It’s time to make in-game and in-season adjustments.
Rushing two down linemen in the red zone isn’t working. Playing Ken Crawley way off the line to allow opposing receivers to sit in front of him for easy completions isn’t working. It’s time to make adjustments.
The Saints needs to either change their defensive scheme to fit the performance of their current personnel, or they need to change their personnel.
Patrick Peterson, anyone?