Game Preview, Week 15: Washington at New Orleans
December 14, 2024
by Steve Thomas
Did everyone have a nice, relaxing bye week? We’re jumping right back into the swing of things in week 15, as Washington travels to New Orleans for a battle against the Saints. At this point in the season, every game is important for a team like Washington that is trying to hang on to a playoff birth. They are currently in the third and final Wild Card position, with the Los Angeles Rams breathing down their necks at 7 – 6. With the exception of the week 12 matchup against their hated rivals, the Dallas Cowboys, Washington has done a pretty good job of handling the lesser teams on their schedule, while mostly losing to the better teams. The Saints are in a bit of an odd position this year: they certainly aren’t one of the better teams, but on the other hand, at 5 – 8, they aren’t terrible, either. Plus, they crushed Dallas 44 – 19 in week 2. At the end of the day, though, Washington needs to, should, and can win this. Whether this will actually happen is open for debate. Our game preview starts below.
Game time & location: Sunday, December 15, 2024, 1:00 p.m. ET, Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, LA; Gates open 11:00 a.m. ET parking lots open time is unpublished, so please check parking pass
Television: FOX
Television announcers: Joe Davis, Greg Olsen, Pam Oliver
TV broadcast map: Click here
DC-area radio: BIG-100 (WBIG FM)
Washington radio network: Click here
Saints radio network: Click here
Satellite radio: Sirius: 83 (Wash. broad.); SiriusXM: 227 (Wash. broad.); internet: 831
Washington roster: Click here
Washington depth chart: Click here
Saints roster: Click here
Saints depth chart: Click here
All-time head-to-head record vs Saints: 17 – 11 (last 10: 5 – 5)
Last meeting: L, October 10, 2021, 22 – 33
Washington record: 8 – 5 / away: 3 – 3 / NFC: 5 – 3
Saints record: 5 – 8 / home: 3 – 4 / NFC: 4 – 5
Early odds: Washington, -7.5
3 KEYS TO THE GAME
Make life miserable for the Saints quarterback
With quarterback Derek Carr out with a concussion and a broken left hand, it appears as of publication that 2023 fourth round pick Jake Haener is going to get the start in this game. Haener has never started an NFL game, and the Saints are missing their best wide receiver, Chris Olave. Therefore, Washington needs to make a big effort to relentlessly blitz Haener and generally make life very difficult for him in this game.
Focus on Alvin Kamara
Kamara is the Saints’ “do-everything” guy; he has 223 rushing attempts, which tied for 6th-most in the NFL, for 938 yards, 4.2 yards per carry, and 6 touchdowns, plus 64 receptions in 84 targets for 485 receiving yards, 7.6 yards per reception, and 1 touchdown. That is a total of 287 touches in just 13 games, and if you throw in the incomplete passes, that number rises to 307. That’s a ton. He’s clearly the focal point of the Saints’ offense, and that’s going to be even more true this week with David Carr out due to his concussion and hand injury. His 4.2 yards per carry average isn’t a great number, and he’s only had 3 games of 100 or more rushing yards, so he’s not necessarily killing opposing teams. Still, though: this is the guy Washington’s defense needs to focus on this week.
Get the interior running game going early in the game
The Saints currently are tied with the Carolina Panthers for the honor of worst rushing defense in the NFL, as measured by opponents’ average yards per carry. The Saints are at 5.0 yards per carry at this stat, with Washington only slightly ahead at 4.8, ranked 29th. Simultaneously, the Saints feature a top 5 passing defense by several measures, including both opponents’ average quarterback rating, which is 80.5 (ranked 4th) and average completion percentage, at 61.1%, ranked 4th. The point is that if there was ever a game in which Washington should feature its run game, this is it. Look for Brian Robinson and Chris Rodriguez to get a higher than average number of carries in this game.
3 KEY MATCHUPS
Marshon Lattimore vs Marquez Valdes-Scantling
This matchup is perhaps less important to the defensive gameplan than some others, but it’s definitely a highlight to watch. Lattimore, of course, was traded to Washington from the Saints earlier this season, but hasn’t played in a game while he’s recovered from injury. It appears as though he’s on track to play this week, which was doubtlessly his goal all along. Lattimore will most likely want to have a big game against his former team, and the FOX broadcast team will probably take note of his play. Washington fans should be excited about his addition to the defensive backfield. Keep a close eye on how the coaching staff uses Lattimore – will they allow him to isolate on and follow the Saints’ best receiver, which is probably Valdes-Scantling by default since Chris Olave is on injured reserve? Or will they just mold him into the team’s existing secondary game plan. The latter strikes me as being more likely considering the circumstances: this is his first game back, New Orleans will be playing a second-string quarterback, and they currently lack a true, serious threat at the receiver position. Still, though, all Washington fans should be watching this closely.
This matchup may seem to be a bit off of the beaten path, but Bresee has 7.5 sacks this season, which leads the Saints. Bresee is an interior defensive lineman, so it will fall primarily on Biadasz not just for this one-on-one battle, but also for him to make the right calls along the line to account for Bresee. As I said above, Washington will likely lean heavily on the run, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t have to take interior pressure seriously on passing downs. Watch out for how much pressure Bresee is creating in this game and how it affects Jayden Daniels’ play.
Terry McLaurin vs. Kool-Aid McKinstry
McLaurin has much more impressive better NFL record than does McKinstry, but McKinstry is a fairly high-profile, outspoken player. Combine that with the fact that McLaurin seems to have become Daniels’ favorite target, and that means that this is going to be another battle that the television announcing crew will most likely highlight. Watch out for what kind of numbers McLaurin can post in a big rushing game against the McKinstry.
OFFICIAL INJURY REPORT (active roster only)
LP – limited practice FP – full practice DNP – did not practice
NIR – not injury related Q – questionable O – out
D – doubtful
| Washington | Saints |
| WR N. Brown, kidney; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O | QB D. Carr, left hand/concussion; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: D |
| TE Z. Ertz, hamstring/NIR (rest); Wed: DNP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | LB D. Jackson, ankle; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O |
| DE C. Ferrell, knee/NIR (rest); Wed: DNP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP | RB A. Kamara, illness; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: FP |
| K Z. Gonzalez, left foot; Wed: LP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP; game: Q | TE J. Johnson, foot; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP |
| S Q. Martin, shoulder; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP | WR B. Means, ankle; Wed: LP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O |
| WR J. Crowder, calf; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP; game: Q | DE T. Kpassagnon, achilles; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP; game: Q |
| OLB D. Fowler Jr., groin; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | |
| CB N. Igbinoghene, thumb; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | |
| CB M. Lattimore, hamstring; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | |
| LB J. Magee, elbow; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | |
| T A. Wylie, gameday CPE; Wed: FP; Thurs: NL; Fri: NL | |
| DT D. Payne, back; Wed; NL; Thurs: NL; Fri: DNP; game: Q |
Steve’s Prediction
Washington should be able to handle the Saints fairly easily. Washington got back on track against the Titans last week and will perform well again. Washington wins 32 – 17.