The New Orleans Saints are doing fairly well to start the 2021 NFL season.
They’ve won two of their three games to share second place of the NFC South with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
However, their story so far is like a rollercoaster ride.
They shocked the league by defeating reigning Most Valuable Player Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers, 38-3, at a neutral field.
One week later, they were on the bitter end of a beatdown by the Carolina Panthers, 26-7.
In Week 3, the Saints went back to their winning form by defeating the New England Patriots, 28-13.
3 INTs for the #Saints yesterday 👏 pic.twitter.com/HFKeS5wTbn
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) September 27, 2021
But while their season already has some ups and downs, Jameis Winston remains consistent in a weird way.
It was typical to see Drew Brees throw for at least 300 yards in a game.
However, the Saints are winning even if Winston hasn’t thrown for 200 yards in any of their games.
He has 387 total yards, which is lower than winless starting quarterbacks Zach Wilson, Trevor Lawrence, Daniel Jones, Jared Goff, and Carson Wentz have through three games.
Despite the shortage of passing yards, Winston already has seven touchdown passes, which rank third in the league.
Five of those scores came against the Packers, even if he finished with only 148 yards.
JAMEIS WINSTON HAS FIVE TOUCHDOWN PASSES. #Saints
📺: #GBvsNO on FOX
📱: NFL app pic.twitter.com/bqrTNmxwLe— NFL (@NFL) September 12, 2021
His most significant pass was a 55-yard touchdown strike to Deonte Harris, which settled the final score.
The game was already out of reach for Green Bay by then.
Therefore, Winston would have won by throwing for just 93 yards if not for that bomb.
He did make up for his passing yards by gaining 37 rushing yards on six carries.
Against the Panthers, he led the team with 19 rushing yards and a touchdown.
But his passing stats remained relatively similar.
Less Is More For Winston
The seven-year veteran completed 50 percent of his passes for 111 yards against Carolina.
Unfortunately, his interceptions to Juston Burris and Jaycee Horn hurt their chances of remaining undefeated.
The Saints bounced back in Week 3 even if Winston threw for 128 yards and two touchdowns.
Jameis Winston in his 2 career games vs. New England….
39 of 67 for 462 yards, 3 TDs and 0 interceptions (1-1 record)
— Rod Walker (@RodWalkerNola) September 26, 2021
Even if he is not hitting Brees-like numbers, Winston is having success, and their running game is a huge factor.
They did not score a rushing touchdown against the Packers, but they gained 171 yards while Green Bay had 43.
That huge discrepancy allowed the Saints to keep the drives going until they needed short passes to score touchdowns.
So far, the running game is directly proportional to New Orleans’ success because they only had 48 rushing yards in their loss to Carolina.
The Saints bounced back against New England with 142 rushing yards, 89 of which were courtesy of Alvin Kamara.
Need for speed 🔥@A_kamara6 | #Saints pic.twitter.com/1NCaVNJOK9
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) September 19, 2021
Backup quarterback Taysom Hill also scored the Saints’ second rushing touchdown of the season.
Their defense also deserves some credit for limiting their opponents to 14 points per game, which ranks third-best through Week 3.
They also limit their opponents to 60.3 rushing yards per game.
New Orleans also has at least one interception in all three outings.
The Saints could not care less about Winston’s numbers, as long as they keep on winning and he minimizes his in-game mistakes.
They can improve to 3-1 by defeating the New York Giants in Week 4 as they play at home for the first time this season.
NEXT: Saints Offense Looks Horrific In Week 2 Loss