In victory, the standout individual performances almost are too numerous to count.
Not so in defeat.
But, still, there was a decent amount of them for the New Orleans Saints in Sunday's 15-12 loss to Philadelphia in the Caesars Superdome, the Saints' first after opening the season with two lopsided victories.
OFFENSE: New Orleans didn't produce much offense Sunday, totaling just 219 yards on 55 plays. Receiver Chris Olave was responsible for a chunk of it: 86 receiving yards (of 142 total for the team) on six catches (14 overall) and the Saints' lone touchdown, a 13-yard toe-drag in the left back corner of the end zone with 2:03 left. Olave had a catch each time he was targeted, and likely would have had much more production if quarterback Derek Carr had more time. Philly's best defense for him was getting to Carr; otherwise, Olave found space and produced.
DEFENSE: I know, I know – the defense gave up two big plays that were brutally costly. Trust that the unit was sickened by that and made no excuses for it. That doesn't take away from the fact that defensive tackle Bryan Bresee and defensive end Carl Granderson spearheaded a pass rush that yielded four sacks against a mobile quarterback (Jalen Hurts) and helped force Hurts off his spots, on a day where the defense probably deserved a better fate. Bresee's relentlessness led to two sacks, two tackles for loss, two quarterback hits and two tackles. Granderson had 1.5 sacks (he's now tied with Alontae Taylor for the team lead with 3.5), two tackles for loss, two quarterback hits, a forced fumble (recovered by linebacker Willie Gay) and five tackles. Honorable mention to safety Tyrann Mathieu, whose end zone interception was his third forced turnover this season (two interceptions and a fumble recovery, off his own forced fumble).
SPECIAL TEAMS: No way you won't be highlighted here if you block a punt, which is what All-Pro, special-team ace J.T. Gray did. Gray came off the right side and blocked Braden Mann's punt attempt with 1:35 left in the third quarter, and Jordan Howden's recovery and 9-yard return gave New Orleans possession at the Eagles' 27-yard line. The Saints didn't capitalize, but Gray again displayed why he is a team captain and valued special team player.
