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New Orleans Saints achieve another 1-0 week with complementary football

Offense erupted for 21 points in fourth quarter, defense shone in situational football

Check out the game action photos from the New Orleans Saints game against the Cleveland Browns for Week 11 of the 2024 NFL Season on Nov. 17, 2024 at Caesars Superdome.

The big picture is this: The New Orleans Saints are 4-7 entering the bye week, a team in need of time away but still positioned to make a run for the NFC South Division crown.

The small picture is this: The Saints went 1-0 for the second consecutive week, courtesy of a 35-14 victory over Cleveland on Sunday in the Caesars Superdome, and the juice generated when Darren Rizzi was named interim head coach after Dennis Allen was fired took another step toward "sustainable" and away from "temporary."

Sunday's win wasn't New Orleans' most complete of the season, but it was just as satisfying as any outcome this season because it was a three-phases effort.

OFFENSE: The Saints probably provided their best finishing kick offensively this season – touchdowns on all three possessions (except the kneel in Victory formation) and 148 yards in the fourth quarter – and were as balanced as they've been in any game, with 259 yards passing and 214 rushing. They scored on two of three red-zone possessions and were efficient enough to overcome the two turnovers. Penalties were down, quarterback Derek Carr only was sacked once, and third-down conversions were split (5 of 10). All in all, good stuff.

DEFENSE: Yes, the Saints surrendered 443 total yards and, yes, 377 of those (net) yards were passing yards. The gross numbers were this: Jameis Winston completed 30 of 46 for 395 yards and two touchdowns. But the numbers that matter most are the ones on the scoreboard, and there, the Browns were held to 14 because New Orleans was stout in situational football. The Saints shut out Cleveland on the Browns' lone trip to the red zone, produced two stops on fourth down, got 10 stops on 13 third-down attempts and held the Browns to 66 rushing yards on 20 attempts. And, yes, those are winning numbers that were produced when the Saints had to have them.

SPECIAL TEAMS: The Browns missed field-goal attempts from 51 and 27 yards – the 27-yarder was a reprieve, because they missed a 32-yarder that was erased due to a defensive holding penalty, which kept alive the drive and provided the opportunity for another attempt – and Atlanta missed three attempts last week; whatever is happening for the Saints, don't question it. Just ride the wave. Meanwhile, New Orleans may have found a returner in receiver Dante Pettis; his career-best 53-yard punt return in the fourth quarter nearly was an 88-yard touchdown, but he stepped out of bounds. The Saints offense buttoned up the return with a touchdown, and that's the kind of complementary football that needs to be played.

Head inside the New Orleans Saints locker room postgame after the Saints' win against the Cleveland Browns in Week 11 of the 2024 NFL Season presented by Bud Light.