Everything you need to know about Saints vs Washington

Where/how to watch the game

The game will be played at FedExField, Washington. Kickoff is at 10:00 AM PST, 12:00 PM CT, and 1:00 PM EST. Here’s a map of who gets the game locally on Fox:

If you don’t get the game or can’t watch it for some reason, links to live streams of the game will be sent to my Saints groups chat. Link is here to join: https://relevnt.app/vibe/44763

Uniforms 

The Saints will be wearing white jerseys with white pants. 

Injury Report 

T, Terron Armstead (elbow), out

C, Erik McCoy (calf), out

Roster moves

Signed Kenny Stills to the 53 man roster

Elevated OT Jordan Mills to the roster from the practice squad for Sunday’s game 

DR Christian Ringo was released 

Inactives

QB Ian Book, DB Desmond Trufant, LT Terron Armstead, C Erik McCoy, WR LJ Humphrey and DE Jalyn Holmes.

Players to watch

  • CB2, if it’s Adebo, can he have a bounce back week and improve off of the Giants game? If it’s Roby, how is he used and how consistently does he win his matchups 
  • Marshon Lattimore, can he win his matchup vs Terry McLaurin
  • Cody Parkey, can he be better than Aldrick Rosas 
  • Deonte Harris, can he continue to be WR1 for probably one more game and get consistent playing time
  • Chauncey Gardner Johnson, he’s been quiet on the field this season, can he get into momentum and start to show out 

Thing to keep an eye on

  • Can the Saints get pressure on Taylor Heinicke, he’s only been sacked 4 times which is 2nd best in the league 
  • With Tony Jones out does Sean Payton get RB2 involved? Whether it’s Dwayne Washington, Devine Ozigbo, or possibly Ryquell Armstead
  • Do the Saints air the ball out more this week? Or do they stick to the game plan they’ve been having until Michael Thomas comes back
  • Can the offensive line give Winston time, Washington is 23rd in sacks with 7
  • Do the Saints play zone or man against Washington 
  • How often do the Saints blitz Taylor 

Keys to the game 

  1. Control the clock, Washington on average allows 118.5 rushing yards a game while the Saints have been averaging 144 rushing yards a game. It’s a game plan that most might not like but one that worked week one vs the Packers and week three vs the Patriots. Obviously we wanna see Jameis air it out, but if it’s just one more game where the run game carries the offense until Michael Thomas comes back then it’s worth it. If the Saints run the ball consistently well with not just Kamara, but Hill and the second string running back and put up points while milking the clock, the Saints will be in a good position to win. 
  2. Win in the trenches, the Saints lost in the trenches last week vs the Giants and it was an ugly sight. No sacks, no pressure, and too much time for Daniel Jones to throw. Taylor Heinicke can and will run, so the Saints front seven has to have a plan to keep him contained and have constant pressure on him. If the Saints put pressure on Heinicke then that will force mistakes, like a turnover and the offense has to capitalize on those turnovers/punts. 
  3. Keep Terry McLaurin quiet, he is one of their best if not their best player so Lattimore cannot let him get into a rhythm. Whatever the Saints game planned for Davante Adams should be similar for McLaurin. He simply doesn’t drop passes and makes the most of every opportunity. If he catches a ball they need to tackle him immediately and not let him get yards after the catch. Prevent him from big plays and the defense won’t have much to be concerned about. 

Stat Leaders 

Passing Yards — QB Taylor Heinicke (960

Passing TDs — QB Taylor Heinicke (8)

Rushing Yards — RB Antonio Gibson (253)

Rushing TDs — J.D. McKissic (1), QB Taylor Heinicke (1) and RB Antonio Gibson (1)

Receiving Yards — WR Terry McLaurin (354)

Receiving TDs — WR Terry McLaurin (6)

Tackles — LB Cole Holcomb (41)

Sacks — DT Jonathan Allen (3) and DE Montez Sweat (3)

Interceptions — CB William Jackson (1)

Team Stats

Total offense — 20th (342.0 YPG)

Scoring offense — 12th (25.0 PPG)

Passing offense — 19th (238.8 YPG)

Sacks allowed — 2nd (4)

Rushing offense — 19th (104.3 YPG)

Third-down offense — 31st (30.2%)

Total defense — 29th (417.5 YPG)

Scoring defense — 28th (30.5 PPG)

Passing defense — 29th (299.0 YPG)

Sacks — T-23rd (7)

Rushing defense — 17th (118.5 YPG)

Third-down defense — 32nd (59.7%)

Time of possession — 29th (26:28)

Turnover differential — 27th (-3)

  • 3 interceptions, 2 fumbles 

Strengths 

  • Offensive Line 
  • Terry McClaurin 

Weaknesses 

  • Third down
  • Defense gives up a lot of yards and points 

Who to root for

Rams @ Seahawks – Rams

Jets @ Falcons – Jets

Eagles @ Panthers – Eagles 

Packers @ Bengals – Bengals 

Lions @ Vikings – Lions 

Dolphins @ Bucs – Dolphins 

Bears @ Raiders – Raiders

49ers @ Cardinals – Cardinals

Giants @ Cowboys – Giants * if the Cowboys win the Giants stay a few games behind us; if the Giants win then Cowboys go down a game.

Written By Kadin Janisch

Images used under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976 allowance are made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research.

If you own the rights to an image being used and would like it taken down, please email me (whodattnation@gmail.com) and I will kindly do so.

Related articles here

Day five of Saints training camp was their first practice in pads which was a day dominated by the defense
Day four of training camp has been by far the most active practice so far. The quarterbacks had their best