There were plenty of positives for the New Orleans Saints in their gut-wrenching 26-24 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, but there were some glaring mistakes, too.
Pro Football Focus' weekly grades reflect that reality.
In particular, PFF was bearish on the performance of defensive back Paulson Adebo, who committed the crucial pass interference penalty that allowed the Falcons to get in range for Younghoe Koo's game-winning field goal.
Adebo received a 37.5 grade from PFF, which grades every player in every NFL game combining traditional scouting and film study with statistical analysis. It was by far the lowest for any Saints player in Atlanta.
On the flip side, New Orleans' highest-rated defenders were other defensive backs or pass rushers. Defensive end Payton Turner garnered a 90.3, although it came in just 16 snaps. On one of them, he had a strip-sack of Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins.
Carl Granderson (81.2) and Chase Young (71.7) were the Saints' second- and fourth-highest graded defenders, respectively, with cornerbacks Marshon Lattimore (79.6) and Alontae Taylor (68.2) ranked third and fifth.
Cam Jordan, whose playing time has diminished, had a 67.2. Linebackers Pete Werner (66.9) and D'Marco Jackson (64.8) also graded out among the team's top 10 defenders with regular linebackers Demario Davis and Willie Gay both out injured.
Defensive tackles Khalen Saunders (49.7) and Bryan Bresee (46.7) joined Adebo's with the defense's lowest grades.
On offense, wide receiver Chris Olave (86.2), who was playing despite a hamstring injury suffered in practice, and quarterback Derek Carr (85.0) were the Saints' highest-graded players. Carr didn't pass for a touchdown and also had a tipped pass returned for a touchdown, but the PFF analysis was still positive.?
Two more skill players came next: Running back Alvin Kamara, who also played through injury and scored the Saints' go-ahead touchdown with a minute left, received a 78.6, and Rashid Shaheed had a 69.2.
Shaheed, who muffed a punt resulting in an Atlanta touchdown in the first quarter, had just a 59.8 grade on special teams.
As for the makeshift offensive line, playing without starters Erik McCoy and Cesar Ruiz because of injury, rookie tackle Taliese Fuaga (68.7) had by far the highest grade.
Guards Landon Young (58.2) and Lucas Patrick (58.1) were middle of the pack, while tackle Trevor Penning (54.5) and backup center Shane Lemieux (52.4) were two of the offense's lowest-rated players.
None, however, were rated as poorly as Adebo, who had the lowest single-game PFF grade for a Saints defender with more than 20 snaps since Taylor had a 27.9 against the Rams on Dec. 21 of last year.