One area the Saints excelled in this season is forcing turnovers. The Saints have 12 interceptions this season, the fourth-most in the NFL this season. They’ve added an additional three fumble recoveries.
Eight different Saints players have at least one interception, with CB Paulson Adebo and S Tyrann Mathieu leading the pack with three each.
“Obviously, this [defense], they do a great job at taking the football away,” offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey said. “They’re aggressive. I think the why behind it is one, they’ve got schematically, they create some issues in terms of post snap, doing some different things, showing looks and then running out and giving you different looks up front, especially on third down.
“I think the other thing is, they’ve got players who are effective,” Dorsey continued. “They’ve got aggressive safeties, physical corners that’ll come up and press you and get hands on you. And I think that’s the scheme of how they do things, it’s really what they’re taught. They’re taught to be aggressive.”
In order for Winston to have a successful first game back in New Orleans, limiting turnovers against the Saints’ ballhawk defense will be crucial.
Winston did not throw an interception in his debut as the Browns starting quarterback in Week 8 against the Ravens but threw three picks in the Browns’ Week 9 loss to the Chargers.
“We have to trust our eyes, trust what we see out there,” Dorsey said. “So, I think when you do that as a quarterback and you trust your progressions, everything else takes care of itself.”