After a wild 40-33 shootout win over the Houston Texans on Sunday, the Saints moved up in several offensive categories and dropped in the major defensive rankings released Tuesday.
The Saints rolled up 454 total yards to move up three spots to second with 437.7 yards per game, but the defense fell nine spots to 21st in allowing 372.7 yards a game after the Texans had 474 total yards Sunday.
The Saints also rank second in passing yards (338.0 yards per game) and are tied for second in scoring (34.7 points per game).
Defensively, they also dropped two spots against the run to ninth and plummeted from 18th to 27th after the Texans had 364 net passing yards.
Here are the rankings for the 2-1 Saints and 1-2 Jacksonville Jaguars, whom the Saints will play Sunday at Everbank Field:
SAINTS
Offense: Total yards, 437.7 (2nd); rushing, 99.7 (14th); passing, 338.0 (2nd); scoring, 34.7 (tie, 2nd).
Defense: Total yards, 372.7 (21st); rushing, 90.7 (9th); passing, 282.0 (27th); scoring, 29.3 (30th).
JAGUARS
Offense: Total yards, 261.0 (28th); rushing, 134.3 (6th); passing, 126.7 (32nd); scoring, 9.7 (31st).
Defense: Total yards, 280.0 (4th); rushing, 83.7 (5th); passing, 196.3 (7th); scoring, 20.7 (tie, 13th).
NEVER SAY NEVER: The NFL announced Tuesday that Drew Brees and the Saints are one of three nominees for the GMC Never Say Never Moment of the Week, which recognizes determination and perseverance.
The Saints trailed the Texans, 26-17, early in the fourth quarter before scoring 23 points in the final 9 1/2 minutes to pull out a 40-33 victory.
The other nominees are the Buffalo Bills, who upended the New England Patriots, 34-31 after trailing 21-0 early in the second quarter, and the Detroit Lions, who roared back from a 20-0 halftime deficit against the Minnesota Vikings to take a 23-20 overtime win.
Fans can vote online at http://www.nfl.com/gmc until 11 a.m. Friday with the winner being announced later that day on NFL Network as well as nfl.com.
