What’s up Who Dats! What a weird week New Orleans Saints Hats , huh? I’ll be completely honest and address this once head on. After watching the New Orleans Saints have an opportunity to salt away the clock of NFC Championship game ripped from their hands, it has been hard to get the pen to bleed without complaining about the officiating. Fortunately, like many of you faithful souls, I have rebounded to store this loss away with the handful of other heartbreaks I’ve endured in my lifetime of fandom.Moving forward, solid performances from the team’s marquee players showed not be overshadowed by controversy. When I went back to review the Saints 26-23 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, a player from each unit jumped out at me: Alvin Kamara, Demario Davis, and Wil Lutz. Let’s take a few moments to shed some light on these players who have been standout performers all season.On offense, when the Saints were without their #1 tight end to start the game and lost their #2 TE on the first drive, Drew Brees’ safety valve was Kamara. The Rams dedicated an extreme amount of resources to eliminating Michael Thomas from the game plan but had no answer for Alvin as a receiver. Though his contribution on the ground was limited to less than 2 yards per carry, Kamara averaged 8.7 yards per catch for 96 yards on 11 grabs. A lot of his damage was done in the first half and an adjustment by Rams defensive coordinator Wade Phillips made things a bit tougher in the second half but Kamara’s presence alone opened up things for his teammates down the stretch. As a vital cog in the Saints offensive machine, Kamara came to play on championship Sunday.Defensively, linebacker Demario Davis played his heart out. Not only did Davis lead the team in solo and assisted tackles, he collected the Saints only turnover, an interception off a tipped Jared Goff pass in the first quarter. Over the course of the game, Demario was his usual, active self, popping up all over the field making tackles and remaining a presence that is greatly appreciated on the Saints defense. 9 total tackles and an interception are a statement on one of the games’ biggest stages. Considered a steal of a signing, Davis did not disappoint in the most meaningful game of the year and I am excited to see what level of play he brings next year.Wil Lutz is easy to overlook on a team full of budding stars, stars, and superstars. The 3rd year kicker has been reliable all season and continued to nail his postseason attempts at a high rate. In his most important game to date, Lutz was easy money hitting all 3 of his field goal attempts and both P.A.T.s. Of the Saints 23 points, Lutz had a hand (er, leg) on 11 of them, so there is no way he doesn’t get recognized for his efforts on the big day. What is so cool about Wil is the fact that he split the uprights on almost every kick. His accuracy has made Saints fans very comfortable seeing him line up to kick from every distance and that feeling was intact on Sunday. I’m hoping the Saints will lock him up for a bit longer this off-season.That’s going to conclude our final player of the week article for the 2018-19 season. Next I’ll comb through my previous articles and select a Player of the Year according to Tee Word. Until then, as always New Orleans Saints Hoodie , thanks for reading, Be Cool Who Dats! SCOREBOARDMonday, Oct. 22New York Giants (1-5) at Atlanta (2-4), 8:15 p.m. The Falcons' Julio Jones (98.9) and the Giants' Odell Beckham Jr. (83.7) rank first and third, respectively, in the NFL in yards receiving per game since 2016. ... QB Eli Manning is five TD passes away from becoming the seventh player with 350 in NFL history. ... RB Saquon Barkley aiming to tie Kareem Hunt for the most consecutive games with at least 100 scrimmage yards to start a career. ... Matt Ryan has seven TDs, one interception and an average of 304 yards passing in four games against the Giants.STARSPassing鈥?Andrew Luck, Colts, was 17 for 23 for 156 yards and four touchdown in Indianapolis' 37-5 win over Buffalo.鈥?Tom Brady, Patriots, was 25 for 36 for 277 yards and three touchdowns and an interception in New England's 38-31 win over Chicago.鈥?Carson Wentz, Eagles, was 30 for 37 for 310 yards and two touchdowns in Philadelphia's 21-17 loss to Carolina.鈥?Philip Rivers, Chargers, was 19 for 26 for 306 yards and two touchdowns in Los Angeles' 20-19 win over Tennessee in London.鈥?Joe Flacco, Ravens, was 23 for 39 for 279 yards and two touchdowns in Baltimore's 24-23 loss to New Orleans.鈥?Cam Newton, Panthers, was 25 for 39 for 269 yards for two touchdowns in Carolina's 21-17 win over Philadelphia.Rushing鈥?Kerryon Johnson, Lions, had 19 carries for 158 yards in Detroit's 32-21 win over Miami.鈥?Marlon Mack, Colts, had 19 carries for 126 yards and a touchdown and added a receiving touchdown in Indianapolis' 37-5 win over Buffalo.鈥?Lamar Miller, Texans, had 22 carries for 100 yards and a touchdown in Houston's 20-7 win over Jacksonville.鈥?Latavius Murray, Vikings Customized New Orleans Saints Jerseys , had 15 carries for 69 yards and two touchdowns in Minnesota's 37-17 win over the New York Jets.Receiving鈥?Zach Ertz, Eagles, had nine catches for 138 yards in Philadelphia's 21-17 loss to Carolina.鈥?John Brown, Ravens, had seven catches for 134 yards and a touchdown in Baltimore's 24-23 loss to New Orleans.鈥?Trey Burton, Bears, had nine catches for 126yards and a touchdown in Chicago's 38-31 loss to New England.鈥?Tyrell Williams, Chargers, had four catches for 118 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown, in Los Angeles' 20-19 win over Tennessee.鈥?Adam Thielen, Vikings, had nine catches for 110 yards and a touchdown in Minnesota's 37-17 win over the New York Jets. He is the second player in NFL history with at least 100 receiving yards in each of his team's first seven games of a season. The other was Charley Hennigan with the 1961 Houston Oilers.鈥?Mike Evans, Buccaneers, had seven catches for 107 yards in Tampa Bay's 26-23 overtime win over Cleveland.鈥?Tajae Sharpe, Titans, had seven catches for 101 yards in Tennessee's 20-19 loss to the Chargers.Special Teams鈥擟ordarrelle Patterson, Dont'a Hightower, Kyle Van Noy, Patriots. Patterson returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown, Hightower blocked a punt and Van Noy returned it 29 yards for a touchdown in New England's 38-31 win over Chicago.鈥?Matt Prater, Lions, was 4 for 4 on field goals in Detroit's 32-21 win over Miami.Defense鈥?Aaron Donald and Cory Littleton, Rams. Donald had four sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery, Littleton added two sacks and a blocked punt for a safety in Los Angeles' 39-10 win over San Francisco.鈥?Ryan Kerrigan and Preston Smith www.authenticsneworleanssaints.com , Redskins, Kerrigan had a strip-sack of Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and Smith recovered the fumble in the end zone in Washington's 20-17 win over Dallas.鈥?Jadeveon Clowney, Texans, had two sacks and a fumble recovery in Houston's 20-7 win over Jacksonville.MILESTONESAt least one game has gone to overtime in each of the first seven weeks of the season, a first. ... Saints quarterback Drew Brees threw his 500th career touchdown pass in a 24-23 win over the Ravens. It was also his first career win over the Ravens, meaning he has defeated every NFL team at least once. Brees joined Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Brett Favre as the only quarterbacks in league history with 500 TD passes. And Brees is one of three quarterbacks 鈥?along with Favre and Manning 鈥?to defeat every team in the league. ... The Colts' 37-5 win over Buffalo snapped a four-game losing streak. It was the Colts' most lopsided victory since a 37-3 victory over Jacksonville on Sept. 29, 2013 and it was the franchise's 300th win since moving from Baltimore to Indianapolis in 1984. ... The Buccaneers had rushing touchdowns from quarterback Jameis Winston, running Ronald Jones and wide receiver DeSean Jackson in Tampa Bay's 26-23 overtime win over Cleveland. It's the first time in team history that the Bucs had a rushing TD from those positions in the same game. ... It was the Browns' fourth overtime game this season. The previous time a team played four overtime games in one season was the 2011 Arizona Cardinals, who won all four games. The Browns are 1-2-1. The four overtime games are one shy of the record five Green Bay played in 1983. ... Cordarrelle Patterson's 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown was his sixth career kickoff for a TD in New England's fourth straight victory, 38-31 over Chicago. ... Houston's 20-7 victory against Jacksonville was the Texans' fourth consecutive win and the third consecutive loss for the Jaguars. The Jaguars failed to score in the first half for the third straight week, the first time they've done that in franchise history. They have been outscored 57-0 in the opening two quarters in losses to Kansas City, Dallas and Houston. ... The Panthers rallied from a 17-0 deficit for a 21-17 victory against the Eagles with the biggest comeback in franchise history.STREAKS & STATSJustin Tucker missed the first PAT of his career in the Ravens' 24-23 loss to New Orleans. Tucker had connected on 112 straight extra points and was the only NFL kicker without a miss since the placement of the ball was moved back in 2015. He made the first 222 tries of his career. ... The Rams opened the season 7-0 for the first time since 1985. The Rams began 6-0 for three straight seasons in 1999-2001 before losing the seventh game. ... Colts quarterback Andrew Luck has four consecutive games with three or more TD passes and it's the longest active streak in NFL. He has 15 passing TDs over his past four games. ... Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri scored five points to move within five of becoming the NFL's scoring leader despite missing two extra points in one game for the first time in his career. ... The Chargers enter their bye on a four-game winning streak after holding off the Titans 20-19 in London. ... The Vikings earned their third straight victory with a 37-17 win over the Jets. ... Rams running back Todd Gurley, who has 14 touchdowns (11 rushing, three receiving), is the third player with at least 14 touchdowns in his team's first seven games to start a season, joining Hall of Famer Jim Brown (15 in 1958) and Priest Holmes (14 in 2002 and 14 in 2004). He scored three times Sunday against San Francisco. ... Tampa Bay's Chandler Catanzaro made the winning 59-yard field goal with 1:50 remaining in the Buccaneers' 26-23 overtime win over Cleveland. Catanzaro's 59-yarder is the longest winning field goal in overtime since the regular-season overtime rule was instituted in 1974, surpassing the previous record of 57 yards set by Oakland's Sebastian Janikowski (Oct. 19, 2008 vs. the New York Jets).SIDELINEDThe New England Patriots lost running back Sony Michel to a knee injury. And Bills running back LeSean McCoy suffered a head injury. Bilal Powell sustained a neck injury in the second quarter of the Jets' loss to the Vikings. Michel had to be helped off the field after he got twisted around by Bilal Nichols as he was tackled on the first play of the second quarter. Michel lost a fumble on the play and had to be helped to the sideline. McCoy got injured on the Bills' second offensive play when he hurt his head while going out of bounds. He walked slowly across the field and into the injury tent, where he was checked by team doctors. After a few minutes, McCoy came out of the tent and walked across the field with one arm around a trainer or team doctor. ... Miami lost receiver Albert Wilson and Kenny Stills. Wilson left with a leg injury in the second quarter after his foot appeared to buckle when he was tackled on a 25-yard reception. Stills limped to the locker room with a minute left in the loss to the Lions.SPEAKING"I loved the call. I love that he has confidence in us to go make that. We just didn't execute." 鈥?Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota on coach Mike Vrabel's decision to go for a go-ahead 2-point attempt in the final minute against the Los Angeles Chargers. The attempt failed and the Titans lost 20-19 to the Chargers."This is the same stuff I've been doing since I was a little boy. I've been up in Detroit freezing my tail off. To finally get to play in the sun and heat and humidity, I was loving it." 鈥?Lions running back Kerryon Johnson, an Alabama native, on playing in 88-degree sunshine in Miami. Custom Los Angeles Rams Jerseys
