Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young is sacked by New Orleans Saints defensive end Carl Granderson (96) and defensive tackle Nathan Shepherd (93) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Rusty Jones)
Rusty Jones
The most impressive part about what the [New Orleans Saints](https://www.nola.com/tncms/asset/editorial/302ea411-2ce4-4adc-b46b-f41239d8bc90/) did to Bryce Young is what the Carolina Panthers quarterback did next.
Last week against the Atlanta Falcons, Young threw for a career-high 448 yards — seven days after the Saints held him to 124 yards. New Orleans also held its NFC South rival to just seven points, a season-low.
“I feel like we had a great plan,” Saints cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry said. “We understood the assignment. We had great energy.”
Defensive coordinator Brandon Staley said the performance was his unit’s best of the year, and it was hard to argue otherwise. Before Carolina, the defense had played well in spurts but occasionally looked overmatched.
The Saints’ problems could be attributed to the bumps and bruises that come with learning a new system, though it wouldn’t tell the whole story. The quality of opposition mattered, too.
The Saints have faced six of the league’s top 12 offenses by expected points added (EPA) per play this season, a stat that measures efficiency. The results haven’t been pretty, either. The Seattle Seahawks hung 44 points, 37 of which were allowed by the defense. The Los Angeles Rams scored 34. The Buffalo Bills ended up with 31. Only one of New Orleans’ eight losses has come against a team currently under. 500.
The Saints took their lumps early, but they believe they’ve benefitted from the slate “in a big way,” Staley said.
“(We’re) battle tested, for sure,” said Staley, who called the quality of competition “premium” through 10 games. “Our guys have gotten a really good taste of what it’s like to compete at the highest level.”
To Staley, the Panthers game was an example of the Saints putting it all together. He was proud of the team’s tackling, specifically with how the defense eliminated space in the lead-up to the tackles. Staley said his players flourished at the point of attack, then had several players ready to pounce to stop the play. Staley even called their tackling “elite,” a phrase the coordinator rarely has used in a news conference setting this year.
One game, of course, isn’t proof the Saints have turned around their defense.
But quietly, the Saints are tied for 10th in fewest yards allowed per game. And, as pointed out by Fantasy Life’s Ian Hartitz, they’re the only NFL team this year to not allow a player to reach more than 100 yards receiving in a game. Some of that may be explained by opposing offenses not needing to push the pace when holding significant leads throughout the game, but according to Next Gen Stats, the Saints still rank 14th in defensive EPA per play.
The Saints also have made meaningful strides in areas that plagued them last season. After giving up an explosive play rate of 11.6% in 2024, the 10th-highest in the league, the Saints have cut it to just 8.6% in 2025 — the fourth-lowest. The run defense, as inconsistent as it has been, ranks 21st in yards allowed after ranking 31st last year.
Coach Kellen Moore said over the last month, he’s seen the secondary start to gel, and Staley agreed. Though the Rams’ outing was particularly “tough” for the group, Staley said it was a useful game for teaching the secondary how it needed to play. The coordinator noted the little things their cornerbacks and safeties have done better of late, from using their eyes to playing with the right technique.
The secondary has established veterans such as Alontae Taylor and Justin Reid, but a trio of young players in McKinstry, rookie cornerback Quincy Riley and rookie safety Jonas Sanker also are coming on fast.
“Man, we’re just getting to know each other,” said McKinstry, a 2024 second-round pick. “We’re knocking out those kinks. We’re building chemistry. I feel like that’s important. Being able to play with your brother and not being able to play with a teammate, those are two different things.”
McKinstry said the defense took pride in facing top offenses early in the season, adding that the unit learned from each experience. The losses, he said, didn’t break the Saints.
Reid, in his eighth season, said the defense wants to test itself against the best.
“We’ve seen a lot of talented offenses,” Reid said. “We just get to use that experience to build, especially (having) so many young players getting valuable experience playing on the field, playing against these high-caliber offenses. As a defense, as a team, we continue to take strides week in and week out.
“We’re just continuing to build this thing the way we want to build it.”