SAINTS 30, VIKINGS 20
Saints vs Vikings: Observations on New Orlean's win in Minnesota
Oct 29, 2018, 5:14 am
Drew Brees was not at his best. Adam Bettcher/Getty Images
The rematch from the Minnesota Miracle in last year’s NFC playoffs took place Sunday night. The Saints came out victorious with a 30-20 victory. Let’s jump right into how I saw this win shake out:
The Good
-Taysom Hill normally comes in the game to run read option plays only. When Sean Payton called a play action pass, Hill found Michael Thomas for a 44 yard catch deep middle that led to the team’s first touchdown. Payton continues to make good use of Hill.
-The defense held the Vikings to only 85 yards rushing. Normally, it’s their pass defense that’s an Achilles heel (more on them later), but the run defense can be just as bad. Some of that can be attributed to…
-…Sheldon Rankins and Marcus Davenport starting to pay dividends. Both are former first rounders, Rankins in 2016 and Davenport in 2018, who have lofty expectations to live up to (especially Davenport since they gave up next year’s first rounder to move up to get him. They both provided key sacks (Rankins with two, Davenport with one) tonight. They were both also key in stopping the run.
The Bad
-Drew Brees threw his first interception of the season in the second quarter. Vikings showed A-gap blitz (between center and guard) and a defensive end came free to pressure him. His pass to Michael Thomas was high and Harrison Smith beat Thomas for the jump ball. Being down 13-10 on the road in prime time to a conference rival mid-season isn’t time to throw your first pick.
-Brees only threw for 120 yards. Normally this is a recipe for disaster, but the defense actually helped them win. Moving forward, he’ll need to have more of an impact if they expect to live up to lofty expectations.
- Saints kicker Will Lutz had to bail out his team twice. Alvin Kamara dropped a for sure first down catch on third and three from the Vikings’ 34, but Lutz hit from 52 yards out. Drew Brees committed an intentional grounding penalty on third and goal from the 10 yard line, but the penalty pushed it back to the 24. Lutz came through with a 42-yarder. Trading field goals for touchdowns won’t win playoff games.
The Ugly
- P.J. Williams was picked on early and often. With Ken Crawley out, Williams had to start. In the first quarter, Stefon Diggs burned him for a big gain and then a touchdown on fourth down on the Vikings’ first possession. His pass interference in the end zone in second quarter led to the Vikings second touchdown.
-Penalties were again a factor. The Saints posted seven for 64 yards this game, with most of those coming on pass interference calls from guys who shouldn’t be playing a significant role as previously stated.
-3.7 yards per carry on 29 rushes for a total of 106 yards is another number that reveals how fortunate the Saints were to win. When this team wins and dominates, so does the run game. Couple this with a subpar yardage performance from Brees, and this was another loss waiting to happen.
The Saints are now 6-1, in lead of the NFC South division, and on course to face the Rams for NFC supremacy next week. They’ve pasted this test and will move on to the next test on their difficult schedule. To consider yourself a true contender in the NFL, you must be able to blow teams out, as well as win ugly. This team has proven to do both. They’ve “exorcized the demon” of the Vikings… for now. Next up is the bully on the NFC block. They win next week, they’ll be the new favorites to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.
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Justin Verlander earns his 262nd win as Astros beat Guardians 4-3
Sep 29, 2024, 11:12 am
Ronel Blanco pitched five scoreless innings and rookie Zach Dezenzo homered, leading the Houston Astros to a 5-2 win over the Cleveland Guardians on Friday night in a matchup of division winners that could meet again this postseason.
Blanco (13-6) allowed just a single in five innings and remained unbeaten in his last nine starts. He combined with three relievers on a three-hitter as the Astros held on to win despite striking out 13 times and stranding 12 runners.
“You could make a case he's one of our best starters,” Astros manager Joe Espada said of Blanco, who has a 0.75 ERA in four September starts. “He has helped us get to this point.”
Blanco was replaced by rookie Spencer Arrighetti, who made his first career relief appearance after 28 starts.
Arrighetti was good for two innings but walked the bases loaded in the eighth. As he was lifted, the right-hander was ejected by plate umpire Mark Wegner, who didn't appreciate him spiking the resin bag on the mound or his words on the way off.
It was a new role for Arrighetti. He hadn't pitched out of the bullpen since college, but could be used that way in the playoffs.
“It felt familiar, I was just a little bit rusty,” said Arrighetti. “I think I'll be able to find a better routine the next time I do it.”
Bryan Abreu came in and got the Astros out of the eighth by striking out rookie Kyle Manzardo and All-Star José Ramírez.
Held to one hit for eight innings, the Guardians got two runs in the ninth off Josh Hader, who finished up.
Victor Caratini and Dezenzo hit back-to-back homers in the fifth inning for the AL West champion Astros, who are locked into the No. 3 seed in the playoffs and will host a wild-card series next week.
If the Astros advance, they'll play in Cleveland on Oct. 5 in Game 1 of the ALDS.
The Guardians are still chasing the New York Yankees for the top seed and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
After going 7-19 in April, Houston has turned it around by going 80-54 — the majors' second-best mark over that span.
After Caratini's shot to right off Eli Morgan made it 4-0, Dezenzo, who was recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land earlier in the day and struck out his first two times up, blasted a 1-2 pitch over the wall in center.
It was quite a moment for Dezenzo. He grew up a Guardians fan in Alliance, Ohio, before playing at Ohio State.
“I grew up coming to this park and I watched a lot of guys like Travis Hafner, Grady Sizemore, Jim Thome,” he said. “So hitting a home run here, there's a lot of nostalgia and really, really cool for me.”
Guardians rookie starter Joey Cantillo allowed six hits in 3 2/3 innings.
“Just threw a lot of pitches,” he said. “Just was not very sharp for the most part, for the entirety of the game. Deep counts. Falling behind."
TRAINER'S ROOM
Astros: LF Yordan Alvarez (knee sprain) ran on a treadmill in Houston and Espada said the slugger is “getting better quickly.” Espada said Alvarez will need to do more to be able to hit before he's considered for the wild-card roster due Tuesday. “You can’t just go from what he's doing now to the baseball field,” Espada said. “He’s a really, really good player but we need him to check some boxes.”
Guardians: RHP Alex Cobb (finger blister) had a productive bullpen session on Thursday as he continues progress from an injury that has sidelined him nearly a month. Vogt was vague in addressing what's next for Cobb, who has made only three starts since being acquired in a trade.
UP NEXT
Guardians RHP Ben Lively (13-9, 3.80 ERA) starts against Justin Verlander (4-6, 5.55), who will be facing Cleveland for the 57th time in his career.