Hogs Haven
Marshon Lattimore made his Commanders debut against his old team
The Commanders entered this game fresh off of a Week 14 bye, while the Saints returned home a bit battered and bruised from their winning road trip vs the NY Giants in which Derek Carr was doubly-injured on a play in which he badly hurt his left (non-throwing) hand and suffered a concussion. Jake Haener started at QB in place of Carr. Also missing from the Saints lineup was their top offensive playmaker, Taysom Hill, who was injured in the game against the Rams and would miss the remainder of the season.
One other significant player who wasn’t in a Saints uniform for this game was cornerback Marshon Lattimore, who was dealt to the Commanders at the trade deadline. Lattimore was injured (hamstring) at the time of the trade and hadn’t yet taken the field with the Commanders. He made his debut in the burgundy & gold against his former team in a stadium he knows well.
The Commanders were also missing a few players. One was RB Austin Ekeler, who was on IR with a concussion. Another was WR Noah Brown, Washington’s 2nd-most productive receiver behind Terry McLaurin, who was placed on IR late this week, where he remained for the rest of the ‘24 season. A late scratch was starting center Tyler Biadasz, who was inactive with an illness; his backup was Michael Deiter. All three players — Ekeler, Brown and Biadasz — were critical members of the offense and their absence would likely impact Washington’s ability to move the ball against the Saints.
While the Saints had not been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, with a 5-8 record, they would need to win every remaining game just to finish with a winning record.
The Commanders, meanwhile, were in the middle of the hunt for a wildcard seeding (and not yet mathematically eliminated from winning the NFC East division title). Although the Commanders would remain at least the 7th seed in the playoffs for another week regardless of today’s outcome, to remain in control of their playoff hopes, the Commanders needed to keep on winning. The expectation was that a rested and healthy Commanders team, favored by more than a touchdown against the home team, would do just that against a wounded Saints team that was limping towards the end of a difficult 2024 season.
The Saints, apparently, didn’t get the memo.
New Orleans lost 14 yards on the opening drive
After two short runs, the Saints faced 3rd & 3 at the 41 yard line. A completed pass was negated by an offensive holding call, bringing up 3rd & 13 at the 31-yard line. On the second try at 3rd down, Haener faced pressure, lost his composure, tried to scramble, and took a bad sack for a loss of 11 yards, with Payne & Armstrong credited with the sack.
Jamison Crowder, just returned from IR, fielded the 45-yard punt and returned it 9...
