New Orleans Saints: Reasons why the Saints are the best in the league
By Jason Reed
2. The Saints’ defense is no longer a weakness
In past years the Saints’ offense has been the primary reason for success with the defense being the weak point of the team. Heck, it was a defensive miscue that led to the Minneapolis Miracle two years ago.
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The Saints’ defense was not expected to be terrible heading into the 2019 season but most analysts predicted it to be right around league-average. The Saints have blown those expectations out of the water and the defense has been a huge reason why the team has remained successful this year.
Heck, there were two games in which the Saints scored 12 and 13 points—they won both. That doesn’t just happen.
The Saints’ defensive line has been with Sheldon Rankins in the fold after an early-season injury and the secondary has been really good with Marshon Lattimore and Marcus Williams both really picking up their play.
The linebackers do a great job at filling in the space in between and round out a Saints’ defense that is explosive and athletic.
The one gripe that can be pointed out about the Saints defense is that they have not played many great quarterbacks, which is absolutely true. Deshaun Watson and Russell Wilson are great, but outside of that, the Saints have gotten to see some bad quarterbacks.
But still, it is hard to deny what we are seeing on the field and unless they have a terrible showing against a good quarterback when they come across one, it is safe to say that the Saints have one of the best defenses in the league.