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Saints PFF grades: Highest and lowest graded players in Week 3 vs. Patriots

John Sigler
·4 min read
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The New Orleans Saints defeated the New England Patriots thanks to highly-graded performances by Marshon Lattimore and Malcolm Jenkins from Pro Football Focus, despite low-graded outputs from Jameis Winston and several starters along the Saints offensive line. Here are the top five and bottom five player grades on both offense and defense:

Top 5 Player Grades on Offense

New Orleans Saints running back Tony Jones, Jr. (34) leaves the field after an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers, Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

Harris helped take over a late fourth quarter drive to seal the win, converting several big first downs and making his presence felt throughout the game. Callaway caught his first touchdown pass and 4 of the 5 targets sent his way. Trautman's high grade needs explaining, though. He couldn't hold onto his only target and his ability to execute the blocking assignments asked of him still runs hot and cold. He's been a disappointment. Jones deserves more touches after running so well to start the season. Ramczyk did give up two pressures (including another sack) but in general he seemed more comfortable than last week.

Bottom 5 Player Grades on Offense

New Orleans Saints quarterback Jameis Winston (2) warms up prior to an NFL football game between the Saints and New England Patriots, Sunday, Sept. 26, 2021, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Tough to argue with this. Ruiz and Peat were beaten often in pass protection, each allowing 3 pressures and struggling to stay on the same page. It's another disappointing game from the two of them. Hopefully Erik McCoy can return to steady the ship. And Winston may have not been graded well, but for the most part he did what he was coached up to do: protect the football, take a sack if he needs to, and don't give away free possessions. That turned into a number of sacks and negative plays, but it could have been much worse. Of course saying "it could have been much worse" is hardly reassuring.

Top 5 Player Grades on Defense

New Orleans Saints strong safety Malcolm Jenkins (27) breaks up a pass to New England Patriots tight end Jonnu Smith, left, during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 26, 2021, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm)

No surprises here -- each of these defenders impacted the game in various points, between Jenkins' tipped-pass interception returned for a touchdown and Lattimore's consistent shutdown coverage throughout the game. Davis was flying all over the field. Jordan is still chasing his first career sack, but he led the team with 9 pressures and was constantly pushing the pocket. And Werner made the most of his first real snaps as a rookie, tackling well in space and only allowing a single 3-yard completion in coverage. He immediately fixed some of the issues the Saints had last week with Zack Baun in this role.

Bottom 5 Player Grades on Defense

New Orleans Saints cornerback Paulson Adebo (29) reacts during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 26, 2021, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Greg M. Cooper)

But other rookies had a rough day. Turner was matched up with Patriots left tackle Isaiah Wynn, who is very good at what he does -- which is fold athletes like Turner into nice little origami swans for three or four hours on Sunday afternoons. Turner was credited with just one pressure after his impressive debut a week ago, and while this is discouraging it's good for him to be challenged like this early on so he can learn what he can and can't get away with at the NFL level. It's a big learning opportunity for him. I'll have to disagree with Adebo's low grade, though. He only missed one tackle and allowed 4 of 7 passes into his coverage to be completed for 53 yards, only 13 of which came after the catch. His confidence hasn't wavered and he's consistently in position to force difficult throws. He's on the right track and has played well enough to keep Bradley Roby sidelined.

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