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Saints offense has a huge edge on the Browns defense in this key stat

Nov 10, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA;  New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr (4) hands off to running back Alvin Kamara (41) against the Atlanta Falcons during the first half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
Nov 10, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr (4) hands off to running back Alvin Kamara (41) against the Atlanta Falcons during the first half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Pro Football Focus would suggest the New Orleans Saints offense has one huge advantage over the Cleveland Browns defense. That comes in the form of play action passing.

Derek Carr grades out as one of the best quarterbacks in the league when using play action. The lack of play action was one of the things missing from last year's offensive game plan. Under Klint Kubiak, PFF grades Carr as the third-best quarterback when using play action. Against play action, the Browns allow the 30th most yards in the NFL.

That creates a matchup between a top-five quarterback and bottom-five defense in this specific stat. You can't run play action all game, but New Orleans does like to hit shot plays off of play action. We saw it last week with Marquez Valdes-Scantling's big debut. A defense that allows a good amount of yardage on play action could open the door for more explosive plays like we saw last week.

According to charting from Pro Football Reference, the Saints are tied with the Browns for the 11th-most pass attempts off of play action (72), but New Orleans has been much more successful on those plays. They're one of six teams to gain 700 or more yards off of play-action passing. If the Saints are going to win back-to-back games, they'll need to lean on this aspect of their offense.

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This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Saints offense has a huge edge on the Browns defense in this key stat