Aside from the Obvious, Here Are the Saints Offensive Highlights Through Week 12

The New Orleans Saints’ offense is off to a fast start in 2024. The Saints scored 91 points in their first two games, reached the end zone 11 times and racked up 811 yards of total offense.

In nine games since then, New Orleans has averaged just 18.2 points per game and has been held to 20 points or fewer five times. Injuries can be blamed for many of these falls. Derek Carr, Taysom Hill, Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, Jamaal Williams and many offensive linemen missed big pieces of action. Shaheed and perhaps Olave will be out for the rest of the year.

Despite the extra defensive focus, complementary weapons, and a core team of blockers, Alvin Kamara has remained extremely productive. Kamara has a career-best rushing pace with 782 yards and six scores on the ground. He also leads the team in receptions, catching 55 passes for 443 yards.

Alvin Kamara is obviously the team’s MVP through the first 12 weeks. Apart from Kamara, who were the other prominent names in the New Orleans offense? The Saints News Network team discusses exactly this topic.

Alvin Kamara is the clear choice to be the Saints MVP right now, but for the sake of being different, let’s go with Erik McCoy on offense.

Why McCoy? Look at how much the team struggled without him in the lineup*. There’s no guarantee the Saints would have had a different result and record had he not been lost to a groin injury, but there’s a really good argument.

*In two full games and most other games with McCoy on the roster (Cleveland), the Saints averaged 40 points, 428 total yards and 194.7 yards on the ground while averaging 5.6 per rush. Over seven complete games, plus all but three of another without McCoy (Philadelphia), New Orleans averaged 17 points, 317 yards and 106.8 on the ground, averaging 4.1 per carry.*

Outside of Alvin Kamara, the New Orleans offense is ineffective without a No. 7 on the field. Kamara gives the Saints the overall lead with his performance, but Taysom Hill is the catalyst or spark when the team needs life. Without Taysom Hill, we could have had at least three victories that would have ended in defeat.

Taysom Hill 2024 Stats

Rushing = 34-268 yards, 6 TDs
Retrieval = 18-150 yards
Passing = 2-4 50 yards, 1 interception

Hill missing five games this season has created a noticeable absence on offense. In Week 11 against Cleveland, Hill had 248 all-purpose yards, 138 of which were on the ground, and recorded three scores.

Derek Carr deserves some consideration. He played pretty well for the most part. This despite missing the playmaking of Olave and Shaheed when he returned from his own injury.

I have to match the double tackle of Taliese Fuaga and Trevor Penning. Unlike the rest of the offense, they stayed healthy all year and also maintained a pretty high level of play. Remember that this year every player plays a fundamentally new position.

Many considered Penning a bust entering the season. His move to the right changed this perspective. He is a dominant run blocker, and while his pass protection still needs work, he has shown noticeable improvement there.

An All-American right tackle in college, Fuaga immediately became a standout on the left side. He had a few tough games in the middle of the season but mostly played at a high level. Fuaga was a terrific run blocker and, despite his inexperience, controlled some of the best pass rushers in the league.

The Saints have answers at both tackle spots for the first time since 2021. Despite all the issues this offense has had, this is an area that has been consistent and shows promise for a bright future.