Most Intriguing Game for Week 5
Los Angeles Chargers vs. New Orleans Saints
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The LA Chargers are coming off a loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after leading the game 24-7 at one point. They were completely unable to close that game out and it resulted in a 38-31 loss. However, rookie quarterback Justin Herbert has shown again that he is the future of this franchise, passing for 290 yards to go along with three touchdowns and one interception. He will need to play at his best in order for them to defeat a very talented yet injured Saints team.
The Saints are coming off of a 35-29 victory against the Detroit Lions while missing multiple key starters such as Marshon Lattimore, Michael Thomas and Janoris Jenkins. They found themselves down 14-0 early against the Lions but rallied back and scored 35 unanswered points and were able to hold that lead until the clock hit zero. Drew Brees showed that he still has a good amount of arm strength left in the tank and that the Saints running back duo remains as one of the best in the league.
They will need to run the ball even more effectively against a good Chargers defense. The Saints offensive line is pretty banged up right now and their health is a major factor in this matchup, with injuries to their two tackles, the duo of Melvin Ingram and Joey Bosa may wreak havoc on Brees and throw a wrench into their entire game plan. Brees will need to air the ball out and limit mistakes if he wants to have a successful day against this defense.
They are coming off a game in which they allowed Tom Brady to throw for five touchdowns against them so Brees may have the same success. On the other side of the football, Herbert likes to push the ball downfield and create big plays for an offense that may be without their starting running back Austin Ekeler in this matchup. The Saints secondary still doesn’t look that great so far this season and if they are to be without Lattimore or Jenkins in this game then Herbert may have himself a field day against this below average defense.
This game will be so exciting because both of their defenses currently rank in the bottom half of the league right now and should set up a big scoring game for both offenses. It wouldn’t surprise me if this was a 38-35 game with the winner being determined on the very last drive of the game. As for my pick in this matchup, I believe that the Saints will somehow find a way to pull out this victory. They may be getting Thomas back into the lineup which will be huge for this offense and they appear to be finding their identity on the offensive side of the ball which is a scary thought for the rest of the league.
Defensively, if they are able to get a few of their starters back then they should be able to at least limit the Chargers offense by causing him to make some mistakes early on and rattle him with constant pressure. That should give Brees and the offense a ton of time to gather a lead for themselves and eventually come out with a win.
