What We Saw: Week 8

Series Navigation

Raiders @ Saints

Final Score: Saints 24, Raiders 0

Writer: Ben Brown (@BenBrownPL on Twitter)

When I turned this game on and heard Kevin Harlan on the call, I thought we’d be in for a wild and crazy game. Instead, we were treated to one of the most boring games of the day as it was essentially over by the end of the first half. Alvin Kamara must have stolen Josh Jacobs‘ powers before kickoff, because he picked up right where Jacobs left off. Kamara scored three touchdowns while Jacobs was pretty much invisible all game. Derek Carr was bad, and Davante Adams didn’t make his first catch until the 4th quarter. All in all, this game was a fantasy nightmare for everyone not named Alvin.

Las Vegas Raiders

Quarterback

Derek Carr: 15/26, 101 Yards, INT | 1 Carry, -1 Yards

Jarrett Stidham: 8/13, 72 Yards

Derek Carr had a very bad game on Sunday. To be fair, however, the Saints did a great job of pressuring him and forcing him to dump it off short. But this game illustrated that Carr is not a good decision-maker and is not accurate without a clean pocket. There were multiple occasions where he had an open receiver but either threw it behind them or over their head. His interception was a terrible throw into triple coverage that shouldn’t have been forced at all.

Werner tips it, and Mathieu picks it off – SAINTS BALL!!!#LVvsNO | 📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/3Ia8hul544

— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) October 30, 2022

It’s tough to perform when you’re constantly under pressure, but Carr has to be smarter. He was benched in the 4th quarter once the game was out of hand.

DEREK CARR GOT THAT DOG IN HIM #Raiders pic.twitter.com/HLOmn03ksn

— @me (@therealtmeza) October 30, 2022

Running Back

Josh Jacobs: 10 Carries, 43 Yards | 4 Targets, 2 Receptions, 11 Yards

Ameer Abdullah: 5 Targets, 4 Receptions, 28 Yards

Matthias Farley: 1 Carry, -3 Yards

The New Orleans Saints clearly showed up to this game with one goal in mind: Make Derek Carr beat us by limiting Josh Jacobs on the ground. Jacobs struggled to find anything early, being held to 35 yards on the ground in the first half. The Saints’ front seven did an excellent job of penetrating the offensive line to keep Jacobs from hitting a hole with a full head of steam. It’s one thing to dance around and avoid defenders in the second level, and a totally different thing to be doing it behind the line of scrimmage. Generally, if you have to dance behind the LOS, you’re gonna have a bad time. And Jacobs had a very bad time on Sunday

Down 24-0 before they even touched the ball in the second half, the game script was already flipped against Jacobs and he barely saw the ball for the rest of the game. He did catch a short pass across the middle late in the 3rd quarter, however, it’s only notable because he was tackled onto his head and was clearly shaken up on the sideline after the play. He did come back into the game a few plays later, but his day was done shortly after that. It’s unclear if it’s because of an injury or because the game was out of hand, so this is worth monitoring.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Davante Adams: 1 Carry, -1 Yard | 5 Targets, 1 Reception, 3 Yards

Mack Hollins: 8 Targets, 7 Receptions, 64 Yards

Foster Moreau: 9 Targets, 6 Receptions, 31 Yards

Keelan Cole: 5 Targets, 2 Receptions, 30 Yards

Hunter Renfrow: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 6 Yards

Jesper Horsted: 1 Target

Davante Adams‘ first catch came with 14 minutes left in the 4th quarter. Yeah, he’s probably the most talented WR in the league, but why even target him when you’ve got guys like Foster Moreau, Mack Hollins, and Keelan Cole on the same offense? In all seriousness, Derek Carr simply wasn’t looking Adams’ way at all in this game despite how awful they were playing on offense. Adams did make a phenomenal catch on the sideline earlier in the game that was ruled incomplete, but otherwise, he was invisible. Chalk it up to a good defensive gameplan by the Saints and hopefully Adams can turn it around in their next game.

Mack Hollins got shaken up on his first target, and he shouldn’t have been. He was wide open down the sideline on 3rd and long, with nobody within 10 yards of him. Carr saw him late, threw it high, and Hollins had to go up to get it. He couldn’t, and he got lit up by a defender. He was shaken up on the play. He was also hit hard a few plays later on a ball he once again had to go up for, but credit to him for staying in there and toughing it out.

Foster Moreau was Carr’s most reliable target on the day, converting multiple third-down catches. Despite being mostly empty production, it goes to show how important the tight end position is in this offense and how desperately the Raiders need Darren Waller back.

New Orleans Saints

Quarterback

Andy Dalton: 22/30, 229 Yards, 2 TD

Taysom Hill: 1/1, 2 Yards | 10 Carries, 61 Yards | 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 11 Yards

Early on, this looked like a Taysom Hill game. Hill spent time as both a wildcat QB and as a receiver early, and he was a big reason why the Saints were in position for Alvin Kamara‘s early TD run. However, the Saints seemed to give up on that game plan once they realized the Raiders weren’t stopping Kamara in the screen game.

Enter Andy Dalton. He didn’t light up the box score, and he isn’t the reason why the Saints won, but he got the job done. He was efficient and smart with his throws – efficient in that he got rid of the ball quickly and didn’t let himself get flustered by the pass rush, and smart in that he targeted Kamara a billion times. We all know what Dalton is – he’s the guy who gets picked on the first play of a drive but the pick doesn’t count because the defender comes down out of bounds. Yes, that Andy Dalton showed up today. But he wasn’t asked to do much today because Alvin Kamara went straight beast mode and the Saints have to be happy to win that way anytime they can.

Running Back

Alvin Kamara: 18 Carries, 62 Yards, TD | 10 Targets, 9 Receptions, 96 Yards, 2 TD

Mark Ingram II: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 2 Yards

Alvin Kamara had himself a huge game. In the first half alone, Kamara scored a touchdown on the ground as well as in the air. He had seven receptions on eight targets and, along with his work on the ground, accounted for 85 of their 205 total yards.

https://twitter.com/PodSideKick/status/1586773170119270400?s=20&t=FAmH8wxxGdieOmrm9Iv0HQ

Alvin Kamara won't be denied!!
Touchdown New Orleans and the Saints increase the lead!!!
🏴‍☠️ ⚜️#LVvsNO #RaiderNation #Saints pic.twitter.com/Y4YCIDYESn

— Sportskeeda Pro Football (@SKProFootball) October 30, 2022

In the second half, Kamara picked right back up where he left off with a 36-yard catch and run for his third score of the game.

Alvin Kamara with his 3rd TD of the day 👏

Dalton to Kamara for the 36-yard TD #LVvsNO | 📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/eM61FEMsSg

— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) October 30, 2022

This was Kamara’s sixth career 3 TD game.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Chris Olave: 7 Targets, 5 Receptions, 52 Yards

Rashid Shaheed: 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 38 Yards

Juwan Johnson: 4 Targets, 2 Receptions, 14 Yards

Marquez Callaway: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 10 Yards

Nick Vannett: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 8 Yards

Tre’Quan Smith: 1 Target

With Alvin Kamara dominating the show and the game essentially over at halftime, there was no need to put the ball in Andy Dalton‘s hands. That means the opportunities for this group were few and far between. The Saints are cool with it because they won, but if you’re a fantasy manager who was hoping for big things out of Chris Olave you likely came out of this sorely disappointed. Olave did have a few late catches that helped make up for his lackluster performance, but he wasn’t asked to be the focal point in this game.

Rashid Shaheed continues to be involved in this offense making plays. The rookie UDFA out of Weber St. had a 30 yard catch in this game and caught all three of his targets. He’s FAST, and he’s a decent route runner. The Saints may have something in Shaheed.