CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Here was an interesting development for a team that has spent most of the last two months trying and failing to win football games: The New Orleans Saints played with a sense of togetherness at the exact time everyone expected them to fall apart.
It was earlier in the week when the Saints shipped off two of their starting players at the trade deadline. They entered Sunday’s game with a 1-8 record, with the last three losses making them look like a team close to falling apart. And then they aligned as one and punched an ascending Carolina Panthers team in the mouth.
Carolina mustered just 175 net yards against the Saints defense. Running back Rico Dowdle, who’d rushed for more than 650 yards in the previous five games, managed just 53 yards and 2.9 yards per carry against New Orleans. With the run game shut down, Bryce Young looked flustered against the Saints rush.
“We’ve been talking about it and it came to fruition today: We played together,” said safety Justin Reid. “We played disciplined football. Guys stayed in their gap; it was gap sound, and we trusted each other. Guys played fast.”
The performance against the run was especially impressive. Dowdle had come into Sunday’s contest having rushed for 206, 183 and 130 yards in recent weeks, and he looked like he might be on track for another big performance early. He punctuated the Panthers’ opening drive with a 5-yard touchdown run, then opened the ensuing Panthers drive with a 14-yarder.
His longest run after that went for just 4 yards.
“Great player; you look at his film, he’s making explosives all over the tape,” said Saints defensive lineman Nathan Shepherd. “We just kind of told ourselves as a defense, hey, not one of us can go stop him, but we’ve got to stop him with all 11.”
With the run game snuffed out, the Saints zeroed their sights in on Young. The former No. 1 pick found very little room to breathe against the Saints, who brought consistent pressure and stayed glued to the Carolina pass catchers in the back end.
All 11 were consistently doing their job, even when they were getting in their own way. New Orleans committed several penalties that nullified third-down stops, including one roughing penalty on Reid that negated a Demario Davis interception. Those type of miscues have sunk this Saints team at times this season, but not Sunday.
The buy-in came from everyone, including (and maybe especially) from those who weren’t sure they’d be there.
Alontae Taylor stood behind a lectern at Bank of America Stadium and acknowledged the truth: Earlier this week, he had no idea where he’d be playing on Sunday.
It comes with the territory for a talented young player on an expiring contract who is playing for a team that had won just one of its first nine games. He woke up on Tuesday morning as a Saint, but as the day stretched toward the 3 p.m. trade deadline, he had several conversations with his agent about the possibility another team would trade for him.
No deal was struck. Taylor remained with the Saints, then played a central role in the club’s best defensive performance of the season.
“I enjoy this group, I enjoy this team. I know we’re in a rough patch right now, but I love going to work with these guys,” Taylor said. “I’m glad to be here, super excited to finish out this season.”
Taylor picked off a pass and contributed to another turnover. He made five tackles and a tackle for loss, and he got into Young’s head when he showed pressure off the edge.
“Big time,” Reid said. “Just a huge performance by him. And he’s capable of doing that every week. That’s the type of player he is. I’m so proud of him that he was able to shine like that, and when we come back from this bye week, the first thing I’m going to tell him is we need more of it.”
Remember the season opener last year, when Taylor sacked Young three times in a blowout Saints win? That memory may have lingered when Young saw Taylor walk up to the line of scrimmage with 13 minutes left, the Saints leading 10-7.
But instead of blitzing, Taylor quickly dropped back into the flat. Young either didn’t see him or made a poor decision. Either way, Taylor made an easy interception, setting up the offense’s final touchdown drive of the game.
“I made a little bold move myself going super close to the line of scrimmage, but I knew what my job was and trusted everybody else around me,” Taylor said.
That was the name of this game for the Saints this Sunday: When the world thinks you’re falling apart, show them how much you trust the guys next to you.
“Everybody was doing their job … and when you do that good things happen,” Taylor said.