Saints post Week 10 power rankings

NFL.com – 23 (+3)
“My kids randomly shout ”Rizz!” and ”Rizzler!” all around the house (who knows?), so they seemed pretty fired up when I told them about interim head coach’s Darren Rizzi’s big victory over the Falcons on Sunday. Saints fans also had something to cheer about for the first time since Week 2, as the team showed far more energy than it had at any point during the seven-game skid. That was a pretty big factor — along with Marquez Valdes-Scantling turning into Joe Horn for a half. MVS caught three passes for 109 yards and two TDs before halftime, helping the Saints get out to a 17-7 lead; he had only 97 receiving yards in his previous 14 games, dating back to last season. The defense hung tough. Alvin Kamara and Kevin Austin Jr. also chipped in with big plays. And Atlanta helped by missing two field-goal tries and having another blocked. Even with the Browns up next, no one is talking playoffs in New Orleans, but at least they’re not talking about breaking a losing streak anymore.”

USA Today – 24 (+8)
“Has Darren Rizzi fixed all that is wrong with the Saints? Unlikely but a win is a great first step.”

Bleacher Report – 27 (=)

“The New Orleans Saints entered Week 10 with a new head coach and trying to prevent their first eight-game losing streak in over 40 years.

It wasn’t an especially pretty win—the Saints’ best offensive performance Sunday came from a player in wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling who only recently joined the team. But the Saints were able to rally and down the first-place team in the NFC South, and interim head coach Dennis Rizzi lauded his team’s performance while speaking to reporters after the game.

“What an unbelievable week,” said Rizzi. “Today doesn’t happen without complete buy-in. This city is starving for some wins, and we were hungry to give them one — and that was awesome.”

Running back Alvin Kamara, who became the Saints’ all-time leading rusher Sunday, returned the compliment to the team’s new (at least for now) head coach.

“Rizzi came in and he had a clear message,” Kamara said. “Unity was one of the words of the week. When you’re united, you all believe and you’re all together, man, there’s so much you can do.”

Analyst’s Take

I don’t think that firing Dennis Allen is going to save New Orleans’ season. However, the switch to Darren Rizzi did give the Saints a spark for at least a week.

The Saints are good enough to play spoiler over the final eight weeks, and they may pick up wins over teams like the Browns and Giants. However, a rebuild and a very unfavorable cap situation are still waiting for New Orleans in the offseason. — Knox”

CBS Sports – 28 (+3)
“Darren Rizzi brought some juice to this team as the interim coach. The question now is whether that bump carries over.”

Sports Illustrated – 22 (+10)
“I don’t care about common sense. The Saints do not belong anywhere near this point under any normal circumstance but this club is really pressing all the right buttons for me. High-energy interim special teams coordinator/head coach who talks about what happens in the bathroom before games? Check. Reclamation project wide receivers? Check. #RizzBall now and forever. ”