Saints snap counts: Marcus Williams goes distance in Week 2’s win over Browns

Week 2 was crazy across the NFL, and there’s just no other way to put it. The New Orleans Saints picked up their first victory of the year after surviving the Cleveland Browns, who missed two field goals and two extra points. The 21-18 win was an important first step for Sean Payton’s squad, but they clearly have a ways to go. Here’s a look at the snap count detail and playing time percentage for the black and gold. (Note: All data is provided by the NFL)

Offense

• Max Unger, Larry Warford, Ryan Ramczyk, Terron Armstead, Drew Brees - 66 (100%)
  Brees went 28-of-35 for 243 yards and 2 touchdowns. His rating was 114.6, and was sacked three times on the afternoon.
• Andrus Peat - 60 (91%)
• Michael Thomas - 58 (88%)
  Thomas overcame an early fumble to turn in 12 catches for 89 yards (7.4 yards per reception) and 2 touchdowns on 13 targets. Thomas’ 28 receptions through the first two games is a new NFL record, which was previously held by Andre Rison (26) in 1994.
• Benjamin Watson - 54 (84%)
  Watson had 3 catches for 19 yards on 5 targets.
• Alvin Kamara - 51 (77%)
  The Saints didn’t have a strong ground attack, but Kamara led the way with 46 yards on 13 attempts (3.5 yards per carry). He had a two-point conversion to go along with 6 grabs for 53 yards on 6 targets. He also fielded a punt due to the Tommylee Lewis injury.
• Josh Hill - 39 (59%)
  Hill had a lone reception for 5 yards on his one target.
• Austin Carr - 32 (48%)
  One target for Carr, which could have been that touchdown. It drew an interference call that did set the Saints up with a 1st and Goal, however.
• Ted Ginn Jr. - 30 (45%)
  Ginn also fumbled, but finished with 4 grabs for 55 yards on 7 targets. That long pass play of 42 yards set up the eventual game-winning field goal. However, it wasn’t a strong showing for Ginn, who didn’t seem anywhere on par with Drew Brees on the three misses.
• Zach Line, Tre’Quan Smith - 22 (33%)
  Line had a lone reception for 4 yards, and Smith got the first reception of his NFL career for 18 yards, but was targeted just once.
• Mike Gillislee - 9 (14%)
  8 carries for 18 yards (2.3 yard average) - Mark Ingram is missed.
• Josh LeRibeus, Jermon Bushrod, Jonathan Williams - 6 (9%)
  Williams had a lone carry for -1 yards - Mark Ingram is missed.
• Marcus Williams - 1 (2%) Victory formation

Defense

• Marcus Williams - 62 (100%)
  Williams had 2 tackles, a pass defense, and an interception that he was 15 yards away from scoring on. The pick was reminiscent of what we saw during training camp.
• Marshon Lattimore, Ken Crawley - 61 (98%)
  Lattimore had 5 combined tackles, including a tackle for loss, while Crawley had 4 combined tackles, a tackle for loss, and a pass defense. The late Antonio Callaway touchdown saw Crawley get burned in coverage.
• Cameron Jordan - 60 (97%)
  Jordan picked up 2.0 sacks on the day, finishing with a stat line of 2 total tackles, 2 tackles for loss, and 2 quarterback hits.
• Sheldon Rankins - 50 (81%)
  Rankins had the other sack for the Saints, and added 5 total tackles, a tackle for loss, and 2 quarterback hits.
• A.J. Klein - 48 (77%)
  Klein tied for the team lead in tackles made in Week 2, finishing with 9 combined (6 solo).
• David Onyemata, Demario Davis - 42 (68%)
  Onyemata had 4 combined tackles, while Davis tied Klein for a team-high 9 combined tackles (3 solo). Davis also had a tackle for loss.
• Patrick Robinson - 41 (66%)
  5 combined tackles and a very questionable pass interference call that helped the Browns get into the end zone.
• Vonn Bell - 40 (65%)
  Another defensive player to finish with 5 combined tackles (tied with four players for second-highest in Week 2)
• Alex Okafor - 39 (63%)
• Manti Te’o - 35 (56%)
• Taylor Stallworth - 26 (42%)
• Alex Anzalone, Kurt Coleman, Marcus Davenport - 23 (37%)
• Mitchell Loewen - 4 (6%)
• P.J. Williams - 2 (3%)

Special Teams (Top Reps)

• Craig Robertson, Taysom Hill - 23 (85%)
• Chris Banjo - 17 (63%)
• Justin Hardee - 16 (59%)
• J.T. Gray - 15 (56%)