Grades from the Saints' 20-14 win against the Eagles in the NFC playoffs - NOLA.com

By Jeff Duncan | Posted January 15, 2019 at 07:00 AM | Updated January 15, 2019 at 07:57 AM

Photo by David Grunfeld, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune

The New Orleans Saints scored 20 unanswered points to rally from a two-touchdown deficit and defeat the Philadelphia Eagles 20-14 in the NFC divisional playoffs on Sunday (Jan. 13) at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

Here are my unit-by-unit grades for the Saints in the game:

Quarterbacks

Photo by Michael DeMocker, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune

Quarterbacks

Drew Brees shook off a slow start, including an interception on the game's first snap, to complete 28 of 38 passes for 301 yards and two touchdowns. His passer rating of 103.1 was impressive. Brees was masterful in the pocket, avoiding the Eagles' rush with crafty footwork to buy time so he could find open receivers against the Philly zone coverage. Time and again, he riddled the Eagles on third down, going 6 for 6 for 96 yards, including completions of 22, 21 and 20 yards to Michael Thomas. Brees admitted he underthrew Taysom Hill on a post route in the third quarter. Otherwise, his final three quarters of work were nearly immaculate. Brees mercilessly picked on rookie cornerback Avonte Maddox, repeatedly targeting him in coverage for key completions. Hill, meanwhile, made a couple of nice runs out of his read-option package and threw a beautiful scoring strike to Alvin Kamara that was negated by a holding call on Andrus Peat.

Grade: A

Running backs

Photo by Michael DeMocker, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune

Running backs

The going was much tougher this time around for Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara as the Eagles' stingy front 7 got after the Saints up front. Kamara finished with a hard-earned 71 yards on 16 carries while Ingram added 53 yards on 9 carries, including a big 36-yard run in the fourth quarter. The Saints needed the ground game to set up their play-action passing attack and Ingram and Kamara delivered a solid combined 168 yards from scrimmage.

Grade: B-plus

Wide receivers

Photo by David Grunfeld, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune

Wide receivers

Michael Thomas was spectacular, setting a franchise postseason record with 12 catches for 171 yards and a touchdown. Four of his catches came on third down, including grabs of 20, 21 and 22 yards to convert third-and-long situations and keep the chains moving. The Eagles has no answer for Thomas, who displayed his uncanny knack for finding the open spots in zone coverage and making tough catches through contact. Ted Ginn Jr. (3-44), Keith Kirkwood (2-8) and Tre'Quan Smith (1-15) made just enough timely grabs to keep the Eagles' honest. The group did not have a single drop in 18 catches. This group also blocked well at the point of attack, especially in the running game.

Grade: A

Tight ends

Photo by Michael DeMocker, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune

Tight ends

Josh Hill and Ben Watson didn't get a ton of action, as usual, but when their numbers were called they delivered. They combined to catch all four passes in which they were were targeted for 22 yards. Hill was outstanding as a blocker, handling powerful end Michael Bennett a handful of times in one-on-one situations and holding his own.

Grade: B

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