The New Orleans Saints survived a furious comeback by the New York Giants to escape with a much-needed victory before their trip to Paris, France. The game was out of hand for long stretches on Sunday, but J.J. McCarthy relieved Jameis Winston and attacked the Saints' prevent defense to the tune of 244 yards in under 11 minutes.
The bottom line is the Saints won a game they had to have. It got ugly and tense, but this isn't college football; you don't need style points, just wins.
Here are the highest and lowest-graded players from Sunday's win, according to Pro Football Focus.
Highest grades
Offense: RT Tailese Fuaga 75.0
On 35 pass-blocking snaps, Fuaga surrendered just a pressure and a hurry. The right tackle finished with the third-highest pass blocking grade with 78.3 behind center Erik McCoy and right guard Cesar Ruiz.
Fuaga was the highest-graded run blocker at 73.4. The Saints offensive line has been stellar through six weeks. Fuaga turned in a fine performance against the Giants.
Defense: CB Martin Emerson, Jr. 88.4
The cornerback was everywhere on Sunday. With a team-high coverage grade of 90.2, Emerson, Jr allowed four catches on ten targets for 38 yards. Not to be dismissed is his seven tackles, but the cornerback added a pressure and a hurry to the stat sheet.
Even more impressive is his work against star receiver Malik Nabers. Nabers went off down the stretch, but Emerson, Jr limited the former LSU receiver to two catches for ten yards on five targets. For reference, Nabers finished with 12 catches on 15 targets for 165 yards.
Oh, did I leave out his interception and PBU while guarding Nabers? I did? That's kind of important.
Lowest grades
Offense: TE Juwan Johnson 45.2
It seems PFF dinged Johnson for his pass blocking opportunities handing him a 14.8 pass blocking grade. Johnson was unable to bring in either of his two targets and was hit with a 48.0 receiving grade. The funny thing is Johnson finished with a clean sheet as a blocker on four pass blocking snaps.
I wonder what PFF saw to be so harsh on Johnson?
Defense: EDGE Cameron Jordan 41.3
Ok, I have to admit it was kind of funny seeing Jordan in coverage against Nabers. It's totally not his fault, but the call itself was strange. Jordan finished with a pressure and QB hit to go with his two tackles.
A defensive stop for the veteran helps, but I'm confused as why his grade is so low.