The New Orleans Saints were able to keep their playoff hopes alive with a double-digit victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Saints entered the day as 2.5-point underdogs at Caesars Sportsbook, but they performed like favorites after a dominant start and were up 20-0 after the third quarter.
The 8-8 Saints can now win the NFC South with a victory next week over the Falcons and a Bucs loss to the Panthers. Here are the numbers that stood out from Week 17.
4
That's the number of turnovers that the Saints created, and they were able to take advantage of the Bucs mistakes to keep control of the game. The Saints defense started to give up yards in the second half, but they were able to intercept Baker Mayfield twice and recovered a fumble as the Bucs were driving down in a comeback attempt late in the fourth quarter. The Bucs ended up outgaining the Saints 349-310, but that was mainly due to them playing from behind, as the Saints stayed in control of the game after their most successful opening drive of the season. They were also able to have success taking care of the football throughout the day unlike the Bucs.
90
That's the number of receiving yards that Juwan Johnson had on the day, which was a career-high number for the Saints tight end who's stepped up as a reliable receiving option for Derek Carr down the stretch. Johnson has battled injuries and struggled for much of this season, but he's become a go-to option for Carr since Michael Thomas was placed on IR and has steadily improved in a high volume role having also caught a career-high eight passes on 12 targets. Chris Olave had been thriving as the Saints top receiver as of late, but it was Johnson who led the way this week in receptions and receiving yards, and he's has now recorded double-digit fantasy football points the past three weeks.
58
That's the number of rushing yards that Jamaal Williams had, which was his best yardage total yet as a Saint in what's been a disappointing first season in New Orleans. Williams needed to step up this week, especially with Alvin Kamara exiting the game early after suffering an ankle injury, and the veteran answered the call in the second half with some big runs to close out the game. It still wasn't a great day from an efficiency standpoint from Williams having averaged only 3.1 yards per carry, but it was encouraging to see him perform in the second half with Kamara and rookie running back Kendre Miller injured.