The New Orleans Saints ended their preseason with an impre sive 27-10 home victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Friday night. Many of the New Orleans starters saw their first action of the preseason, albeit for a series or two. Once the backups filtered in, they had their best outing of the three exhibition games. Here is my thumbs up and thumbs down from the Saints win over the Chargers. 1st Team OffenseMinus WR Michael Thomas and LT James Hurst, who both sat out as injury precaution, we got our first glimpse of the first-team offense in game action. They didn’t disappoint. New Orleans sliced through a highly regarded Chargers defense on their first drive for an easy touchdown. The 75-yard march actually covered 90 yards because of penalties, but didn’t slow them one bit.Quarterback Jameis Winston looked sharp, Rashaad Coward Jersey completing all four of his throws for 59 yards. WR Jarvis Landry was on the receiving end of two of those pa ses for 35 yards, showing great route precision. Rookie WR Chris Olave pulled in another crisp throw for 19 yards. Alvin Kamara looked in mid-season form, catching one pa s and exploding for 37 rushing yards, though half of that was nullified by penalty. Mark Ingram finished off both of the teams first two drives with bruising touchdown runs and picked up 34 yards on the ground. The Saints offensive line dominated the L.A. front, providing exemplary pa s protection and getting great push for the running backs. It was dominance that continued once the second-team line filtered into the game, as they put on their best performance of the preseason. New Orleans gained 366 James Washington Jersey yards on the night and was 9 of 14 on third down conversions. Andy Dalton took over for Winston on the second series and engineered a touchdown while going 5 for 5 for 73 yards in two drives. Even Ian Book looked more comfortable than he had through the first two preseason games. Backup running backs Tony Jones Jr. and Abram Smith combined for 86 yards from scrimmage over the final three quarters, looking decisive despite some blocking struggles late in the game. Wideouts Marquez Callaway and Kirk Merritt made strong claims for roster spots, combining for 8 receptions and 89 yards.It was the first-team offense that stole the attention this night. Even in one series by Winston and two from most of the other starters, the Saints offense looked far sharper and more explosive than its 2021 version. Run DefenseThe New Orleans first-team defense flexed its own muscle early in the game. They were facing a Chargers team without QB Justin Herbert and RB Austin Ekeler, but they also held out ends Marcus Davenport and Carl Granderson, LB Pete Werner, and corners Marshon Lattimore and Paulson Adebo. Los Angeles was forced into a three-and-out on their first Dan Moore Jr. Jersey po se sion. It was a series that ended in a Demario Davis sack after an impre sive end-around stop by Cam Jordan and Eric Wilson, who led the team with six tackles. Marcus Maye also had a solid outing with a few head-turning run stops. Scroll to ContinueThe Saints rush defense continued to struggle as a whole. Los Angeles only gained 64 yards on the ground and averaged le s than 3.4 per carry. However, the New Orleans front was still beaten at the point of attack on several key runs.This shouldn’t be a major concern going into the regular season once the full squad is available and there was significant improvement Arthur Maulet Jersey over the previous two games. However, the Saints defensive front rotation will have to do better at winning their battles at the line of scrimmage once these games count. Justin EvansThere shouldn’t have been much doubt going in, but S Justin Evans may have cemented a roster spot with a spectacular performance against the Chargers.Evans had an impre sive one-on-one special teams tackle on the Saints first kickoff. He also had a strip tackle on a Chargers receiver to force a fumble and set up a third quarter touchdown. Evans has shown terrific range this entire camp in his first action since 2019. Hes proven to be a versatile safety effective in coverage, run support, and on special teams. His standout play could even earn him snaps in the Saints nickel and dime packages into the regular season. InjuriesThe worst thing that could happen to any team in preseason are injuries, especially in the last game before the start of the regular season. Several New Orleans players left last night’s game because of injuries. Trevor Penning, OT (toe)Tre’Quan Smith, WR (shoulder)Malcolm Roach, DT (leg)Albert Huggins, DTKirk Merritt, WR (leg)The most concerning injury is to Penning, the first-round rookie in competition for the left tackle job. Early Saturday reports indicated that he suffered a toe injury, with an MRI scheduled for further evaluation. Smith left after crashing to the turf after a mi sed reception and did not return. Roach was examined in the medical tent, but returned to the game. Huggins went down late in the contest and had to be carted off. Merritt was also hurt late, but was seen jogging along the sidelines by the end of the game. The Saints came into the game without Michael Thomas, James Hurst, Marcus Davenport, and Pete Werner, who are already nursing injuries. New Orleans now has 15 days to prepare for their September 11 regular season opener at Atlanta. Unle s serious, status on these injured Troy Polamalu Jersey players will not be accurately available until game week. These are still concerning i sues for a Saints team whose 2021 season was derailed by a mountain of injuries throughout the year.Saints News Articles