Biggest Winners, Biggest Losers in Saints 23-13 Loss to Lions

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The New Orleans Saints fell to the Minnesota Vikings 23-13, losing their third consecutive game of the 2026 season, all of three of those losses at the Superdome.

Biggest Winners

Drew Brees

New Orleans' NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees was honored by the club by being inducted into the Saints Ring of Honor.

He is the ninth honoree to have their names inscribed around the Superdome ceiling.

• Archie Manning, 2013
• Rickey Jackson, 2013
• Willie Roaf, 2013
• Morten Anderson, 2015
• Tom Benson, 2019
• Will Smith, 2019
• Sam Mills, 2021
• Jahri Evans, 2024

The Saints Defense

Twice, the Saints took the ball away from the Vikings when they were in the red zone. The biggest one was safety Jonas Sanker's scoop and score in the third quarter..

The last time the Saints defense had scored was December 28, 2025 on a Chase Young strip sack and score against the Titans. A missed extra point kept the Saints from retaking the lead (more on that miss later). This defense had the intensity we were hoping for, keeping Superdome fans on their feet and making noise.

Carl Granderson

How much did the Saints miss Carl Granderson? Last week, the Atlanta Falcons embarrassed the Saints in the Superdome. Today, Grando had 5-tackles, 2-solos, and 1.5 sacks, including this one from the first half.

Biggest Losers

Saints Offense

Okay, the Minnesota Vikings are an outstanding defense, and there were flashes of "oohs" at times, but New Orleans never really had an offensive rhythm in this one. Saints quarterback Tyler Shough looked shell-shocked as the game wore on, having his worst day as a Saint, going 16-of-25, for a measly 96-yards, no touchdowns, two interceptions, and a quarterback rating of 38.1

Maybe it had to do with the injury to quarterback Shough's left, non-throwing hand, but after seeing a Saints' dynamic offense over the first three weeks of the season, we are not seeing much of the same from Shough and his crew.

Special Teams

The only bright spot here was punter Ryan Wright, who launched some bombs today. Kick and punt coverage was below average and blocking on returns was not just suspect, it was penalized often. Returner Barion Brown can not be expected to block as well as return the ball. This group did not do well today.

Daniel Carlson

We understand missing a 50-yard field goal. That's forgivable. What is not forgivable is missing an extra point. After the Saints defense got its first lead of the game, Daniel Carlson missed the ensuing extra point. Inexcusable.

Saints Mailbag

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