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Taysom Hill made his highly anticipated first career start on Sunday, which marked a familiar result for the New Orleans Saints – another victory. Hill certainly wasn’t Drew Brees in New Orleans’ 24-9 win over the Atlanta Falcons, but he was effective.
Hill finished 18 of 23 for 233 yards and recorded a 108.9 passer rating, with no touchdowns and no interceptions. Hill is only the seventh NFL quarterback since 1950 to have competed on 78% of his passes in his first career start (minimum 20 attempts). Of those seven quarterbacks in this category, he joins Stan Humphries as the only quarterback to average over 10 yards per pass attempt (Hill averaged 10.1 yards per attempt on Sunday).
Hill also rushed for 51 yards and two touchdowns (and a lost fumble), leading the Saints in both categories. He joined Daunte Culpepper as the only player in the Super Bowl era with at least 40 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns on their first start at quarterback (Culpepper accomplished the feat in the week 1 of the 2000 season).
“I thought he played well,” said Saints head coach Sean Payton, evaluating Hill’s performance. “He had the only roll late in the game. … We had a big touchdown pass called back. It’s a good team victory.
“I think he called a formation (and) turned the wrong way. There was a movement. It all calmed down and he felt very comfortable with the flow of the game. We did a good job up front, I thought, blocking it. “
The Saints were just 4 of 11 (36.7%) on the third down, but scored on 3 of 4 trips to the red zone and are averaging 6.1 yards per game. Their season average on the third down was 47.9% and touchdowns on red zone attempts were 65% before Week 11. The Falcons also have a defense from the last five yards allowed, which the Saints took advantage of. of 378 yards.
Hill played well enough to win and deserves another start as a result.
“He played tremendously. I can say, throughout the week, his preparation, I can see the look in his eyes. He was ready for the moment every day,” said Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas, who finished with nine catches for 104. yards. “He found a way to win today. And he just progressed today and everyone saw him. And I am very proud of him.
“I’m a little at a loss for words because I know he’s been waiting for this moment and he’s finally figured it out. And he’s shown what he can do and we still have a lot of room for improvement. C ‘is the exciting thing. “
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