Canal Street Chronicles
The four-win New Orleans Saints will host the three-win New York Jets for their final game at the Caesar’s Superdome this season. The Saints are coming off a second consecutive win for the first time this season and will be looking to make it three in a row as they try to end the season with momentum. But before the black and gold can get too high on themselves after beating two above .500 teams, they’ll have to prove consistency against one of the league’s worst.
Kellen Moore and Aaron Glenn were the two candidates most attached to the Saints through their new coaching search. New Orleans ultimately went with Moore despite familiarity with Glenn, and through 16 weeks, it appears to be the right choice. Glenn is a defensive-minded coach, but it leading the league’s 30th-worst defense in terms of points per game. The former Detroit Lions defensive coordinator has had plenty of hiccups as a rookie head coach, from flip-flopping starting quarterbacks to failing to elaborate with the media on the severity of injuries; there have been numerous other red flags off the field. Despite his early-year struggles, there have been some promising signs of hope for Glenn and the Jets, and they start with the valuable draft assets they have for the future after trading away their defensive superstars.
Kellen Moore hasn’t been perfect as a head coach either. He’s had his fair share of questionable decisions on the field, but has the locker room of a four-win team bought in. Now with a chance for the team to get their first three-game win streak of the season, Moore will have a chance to put up his best play calling against one of the league’s better defensive minds.
The Saints’ defense has been one of the best since Tyler Shough took over with the offense in Week 9, but a lack of pass rush has been a concern over the past two weeks. The Saints left their win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers without logging a sack, and were only able to take down Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young just once.
Luckily for the Saints, they’ll have a favorable matchup against an undrafted free agent rookie in Brady Cook. The former Missouri signal caller was sacked three times in his first career start against the Jacksonville Jaguars, along with four interceptions. Rookies are prone to making more mistakes, such as holding on to the ball for too long or getting happy feet in a clean pocket. With Chase Young’s rise to being one of the best pass rushers in the league and a favorable matchup against a struggling rookie quarterback, the Saints should be able to put an end to their sack drought on Sunday.
Rookie quarterback Tyler Shough has been the least talked-about quarterback from the 2025 draft class, but has quietly been...
