Many unexpected performances from the Saints.
It's always difficult to predict what is going to happen in Week 1 of a season, but there are still expectations that are built from last season and this offseason. Moves that teams make, comments from the media or coaching staff, or performances from players in the previous season., It creates a precedent that fans and analyst can go off of, but of course, there are going to be surprises that confuse many.
In the New Orleans Saints' opening game, which was against the Detroit Lions, they lost by only 1 point. It was an incredible game in the end, but there were also many moments throughout that surprised many, caused confusion, and need a larger sample size for it to be solidified.
Barion Brown’s Inclusion in the Offense
After a really impressive training camp and preseason from rookie Barion Brown, hope was high that the Saints may have found a gem late in the draft. Then, when Jordyn Tyson was ruled out for the first four games of the season, the Saints made Brown their WR3, and it was exciting to think about what HC Kellen Moore could do with the rookie.
Against the Lions, with their injuries in the DB room, Brown had a perfect opportunity to start strong in the Saints' offense, but that's nowhere near what happened. Brown only had 7 snaps in this game. What makes it even crazier is considering how many times the Saints passed the ball, which was 56 times, and the number of snaps fellow rookie Bryce Lance had (62). This was the complete opposite of expectations going into this game.
Vernon Broughton's Great First Game Back
After dealing with a season-ending injury last season, Vernon Broughton was set to have a starting spot in 2026 once Bryan Bresee was ruled out for this season. We really didn't know the potential impact that Broughton was going to make, and with him missing his entire rookie year, the expectations were not too high. But he outperformed those expectations.
Throughout the game, Broughton was getting pressure consistently, making incredible effort plays (including a forced fumble and recovery), and holding his own in the run game. It wasn't perfect, but an incredible first start back.
The Lack of Run Game
Ending this on a bit of a negative note, the Saints' run game was bad against the Lions. As a reminder, the Saints have put massive investments in this offensive line, including the signing of LG David Edwards this past offseason. They also signed star RB Travis Etienne to take over this RB room. This is a recipe for success, but that was not the case.
The Saints' offensive line didn't block well enough, Etienne and Kendre Miller couldn't get anything going, and the play calling was confusing. For most of the first half, it felt like Moore called up the middle runs just to see what would happen. Against the Baltimore Ravens, this group must be better.
