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Saints could be without starting quarterback vs. Commanders
With around four minutes remaining in Sunday’s 14-11 win over the New York Giants, Carr rolled to his right and tried to leap over two defenders before picking up around nine yards to make it third-and-1.
Derek Carr #saints
Injured on this play, not moving his left arm as he walked off the field. Landed hard on his left hand which would lead to concern for a wrist/forearm fracture or wrist sprain. Possible shoulder but less likely. We’ll see what the reports say pic.twitter.com/JPUwEf99sg
— Tom Christ, PT, DPT, OCS, FAAOMPT (@FantasyInjuryT) December 8, 2024
The Saints have not confirmed Carr’s injury or status for Week 15. However, according to Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, New Orleans fears Carr did indeed suffer a fractured hand.
#Saints QB Derek Carr is feared to have suffered a fracture in his left, non-throwing hand, sources tell me and @TomPelissero. Another frustrating injury situation for Carr and New Orleans. pic.twitter.com/6hHDHD3pao
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 8, 2024
When Carr departed Sunday’s game, second-year quarterback Jake Haener relieved him. However, when Carr missed time earlier this season, rookie fifth-round pick Spencer Rattler started in his place. Rattler completed 59 of 99 passes for 571 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. The Saints lost all three games, and, most alarmingly, Rattler was sacked 14 times in those starts.
The Saints have been sacked 27 times as a team, meaning Rattler has taken over half of those sacks in only three games.
If Carr is out on Sunday, the Saints may want to get an extended look at Rattler with four games remaining and three games out of the final playoff spot. However, Haener is also a young quarterback, which could give New Orleans an extended opportunity to see if he can move the offense.
Riggo’s Rag
Mike Sainristil and 3 (other) Commanders with soaring stock at the 2024 bye week
These players have proved their value.
Sainristil has proven that he is going to be a great cornerback for years to come. As a prospect coming out of Michigan, he was evaluated more as a nickel in the NFL. Instead, he has shown his elite ability as a boundary cornerback after being shoved into that spot due to the lackluster room.
The defensive back showed he is an elite boundary cornerback after holding superstar wide receiver A.J. Brown to two receptions for 31 yards on three targets in the Week 11 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Something that earned Sainristil a 90.0 coverage grade from Pro Football Focus.
Although this was the game where Sainristil started getting more media praise, he has been playing at a borderline-elite level since Week 3. Peters and Dan Quinn have found a franchise cornerback in the first-year pro.
Sheldon Day – Commanders DL
A player who has had their stock skyrocket more recently is defensive tackle Sheldon Day. It happened out of nowhere, as he was one of the best players in the Commanders’ loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 10. He earned an 89.9 grade from Pro Football Focus and racked up three stops against the run to enhance his influence.
Ever since his breakout game against Pittsburgh, he hasn’t looked back. Day has become a valuable piece of the Commanders’ defensive line in a short timeframe, which is impressive considering his late arrival.
Day has been a stalwart in the run defense for the Commanders and has racked up a few pressures. Jonathan Allen going down to a season-ending injury was a huge loss for the defense, but the veteran has done a fine job filling in.
Sports Illustrated
Three Commanders Who Can Make Big Contributions Late in Season
The Washington Commanders are a young team, but there are veterans scattered across the roster that have helped guide the group to an 8-5 record at the Week 14 bye.
Commanders coach Dan Quinn called some of them out by name and challenged them as players who will step up in the final four weeks of the season.
“Jeremy [Chinn] being down in the line, near the line of scrimmage and Zach [Ertz] and his ability to catch the ball. So, the unique things they have, making sure we could feature them in the offense and the defense or even on the special team side of things. A [LB] Nick [Bellore] to say, he’s not going to play a lot of snaps on defense, but he will have an impact on the team. And so, those are what I would consider the lead sled dogs. And when it comes time and you get into December and January football, you lean on players like that,” Quinn said.
If the Commanders can continue to have strong showings from those players among others, the team could be a surprise in the postseason.
Commanders Wire
Commanders WR Luke McCaffrey’s time is coming
According to Pro Football Focus, only four players in the NFL create more consistent separation than McCaffrey. PFF data gives McCaffrey a 71.62% separation percentage. McCaffrey has 74 opportunities, and he has created separations on 53 of those routes.
Here’s how PFF defines its separation percentage metric:
Separation percentage measures how often a receiver beats the coverage to get open rather than benefiting from a defense more focused on limiting yards after the catch or stopping them short of the first down.
McCaffrey’s time is coming. No one knows his NFL ceiling, but McCaffrey gets open. It’s only a matter of time for Jayden Daniels and McCaffrey to get on the same page. When they do, McCaffrey’s numbers will rise.
Hogs Haven
Where in the World is Ben Sinnott? Investigating the rookie tight end’s lack of production
Let’s start by referencing one of BiB’s offseason articles.
Hogs Haven: The 5 O’Clock Club:Players Over/Unders TE Edition
Bill looked at 2nd round tight ends listing their overall draft selection along with their offensive snap counts for their rookie season. I added another third set of numbers in bold for total receptions and receiving yards for their rookie regular season.
2023
- Sam La Porta (34) – 981 (86)-889
- Michael Mayer (35) – 602 (27)-304
- Luke Musgrave (42) – 468 (34)-352
- Luke Schoonmaker (58) – 368 (8)-61
- Brenton Strange (61) – 307 (5)-35
2022
- Trey McBride (55) – 599 (29) 265
2021
- Pat Freiermuth 598 (60) 497
The over/under for the number of snaps in the article is 598. Currently, Ben (53 overall) is at 252 snaps and if he maintains his current averages will end up with 329 snaps, 6 Recs, and 31 Receiving yards. Considering both Schoonmaker and Strange only played 12 and 14 games respectively, I would say we have a clear-cut theft of receiving statistics and possibly snaps.
So, who’s to blame?
Upcoming opponent
Canal Street Chronicles
What we learned from Saints win over the Giants
Rizzi is 3-1 as head coach
Interim head coach Darren Rizzi is 3-1 since taking over after Dennis Allen got fired. While each of the Saints wins is against teams currently under .500, Rizzi has shown he can lead the team to win games they’re supposed to win, something Allen couldn’t do. When the season is over, New Orleans will be looking for their long-time replacement for Dennis Allen and if Rizzi continues to win games, he will earn strong consideration for the position.
NFL.com
2024 NFL season, Week 14: What We Learned from Sunday’s games
Saints at Giants
Saints hung on late, thanks to Bresee’s blocked kick. The Saints kept their dim playoff hopes alight with a blocked field goal in the waning seconds, as Bryan Bresee jumped over the Giants’ line to get just enough of his hand on Graham Gano’s 35-yard field goal try. The Saints led, 14-3, into the fourth quarter, but the Giants scratched back with an 82-yard TD drive, a two-point conversion and a subsequent stop on defense. The Giants actually had ample chances to try to win the game outright, but the Saints defended Drew Lock’s final two passes well and made the big play on special teams. It made up for an otherwise dismal day in that phase of the game, which doesn’t reflect as well on Darren Rizzi. Blake Grupe had one miss and one FG try blocked, and the Saints appeared to allow a punt-return TD in the first half, but it was negated by a holding call. Still, when they needed it most, the special teams – and namely the indefatigable Bresee – came up big.
Saints offense hit the skids, but lack of aggression was also a problem. New Orleans’ offense had found some momentum since Rizzi took over, but Sunday was a step backward. The Giants have boasted a respectable defense this season, but they were missing several key contributors. Yet the Saints couldn’t get much going on the ground, even with Dexter Lawrence leaving a massive hole up front. They tried getting Kendre Miller involved with 10 carries, and he scored the game-winning TD, but Miller’s long run was nine yards. Alvin Kamara was mostly bottled up, but it was a little surprising that Rizzi didn’t go for it on fourth-and-2 from their own 46-yard line early in the fourth quarter. The Saints had forced five straight punts at that point, so there was logic to the decision, but it also felt like the Saints needed to keep their foot on the gas after taking the 14-3 lead on the prior possession. Instead, they punted and watched the Giants go down and score. Derek Carr’s one true deep pass attempt was picked, but it was the Giants’ first INT in 11 games. The Saints could have tested the Giants downfield more often. This game was closer than it needed to be.
Next Gen Stats Insight for Saints-Giants (via NFL Pro): Chase Young generated 10 pressures on 36 pass rushes (27.8% pressure rate), tying a career high in pressures while generating the most pressures in a game by a Saints pass rusher over the last two seasons. Six of Young’s pressures came in under 2.5 seconds, the most quick pressures by a Saints defensive lineman since 2018. Young generated nine of his pressures on 32 matchups (28.1%) against Giants left tackle Joshua Ezeudu. Overall, Ezeudu allowed 12 pressures on 55 pass block snaps (21.8%), tied for the fourth-most pressures allowed in a game by any player this season.
NFL Research: The Saints blocked their second field goal in their past four games on Sunday (also doing it in Week 10 vs. Atlanta). That ties them for the most in the NFL in 2024, along with the Steelers and Giants.
Podcasts & videos
Resetting the post-bye scene. Playoff race. Lattimore Derek Carr injury. Logo update/confusion.
Then, @DaltonRoss asks me Commanders questions. Sainristil-DeJean trade. What if Jayden went 1. Will starters play in Wk 18? (plus, “Survivor” talk).https://t.co/z0NlQcLHni
— Ben Standig (@BenStandig) December 9, 2024