NEW ORLEANS — Sean Payton knows his team. He also knows his quarterbacks.
So when he decided to put the ball in the hands of Taysom Hill for Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons, maybe people should have given him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe they should have trusted that the New Orleans Saints head coach knew what he was doing.
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Payton, after all, is the guy who has watched every one of Hill’s passes in his four-year NFL career. He’s the guy who saw how Hill operated behind closed doors, how he inserted himself into Drew Brees’ hip pocket and adopted his exhaustive study habits and weekly preparation routine. Payton is also the one who noticed how Hill’s teammates naturally gravitated toward him in meetings and rallied behind him when he came into games.
Maybe, just maybe, Payton, more than the skeptics who had never seen Hill operate a game plan designed exclusively for his skill set, knew what he was talking about when he said Hill would succeed once given the opportunity to lead an NFL team.
“He deserves this opportunity,” Payton said of Hill on ESPN before the game. “We’ve had a chance to see him play that position a lot more than anyone else. When the fans have seen him, he’s been in a different role.”
And sure enough, Hill validated Payton’s decision and delivered exactly what the Saints needed from him on Sunday.
Hill was more solid than spectacular, but he was good enough to get the job done in a game the Saints had to have to maintain their place atop the NFC South Division and in the NFC playoff race.
He completed 18 of 23 passes for 233 yards and added 51 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries. Most importantly, he commanded the offense and avoided any big mistakes. Yes, he lost a late fumble. But by that time, the Saints had the game well in hand thanks to a dominant performance by their defense.
All in all, it was an impressive effort for a guy making his first quarterback start in more than four years.
“Taysom was lights out,” linebacker Demario Davis said. “It’s great to see any of your brothers ball out. He stepped in (for Brees) in a major way.”
Few people outside of Saints headquarters believed it would turn out this way for Hill and the Saints. The critics brayed on Friday when word leaked that Payton had chosen Hill over the more credentialed Jameis Winston to replace Brees under center. The skeptics questioned Hill’s quarterback skills and passing ability. They wondered if Payton was stubbornly sticking with Hill just to prove a point rather than picking the best player for the job.
Payton, though, got the last laugh. And not just on former Falcons receiver, Roddy White, whose tweet proclaiming the Falcons would “whip” the Saints he quickly retweeted postgame.
Saints about to get whip trying us with taysom hill at qb we about to snack them
— Roddy White (@roddywhiteTV) November 21, 2020
“Even though he doesn’t start during the week, I was never in doubt about his decision-making and ability to do things like (he did against the Falcons),” running back Alvin Kamara said of Hill. “I was happy that he put that on tape. It was a great win as a first-time starter.”
Say what you will about Payton, but his gut on such things is rarely wrong. Obviously, he hasn’t batted 1.000 in his career. Nobody does. But his instincts are better than most, especially when it comes to quarterbacks, the position he played at Eastern Illinois.
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In 2006, Payton had the intuition to go all-in on Brees when few folks were knocking down his door to sign him as a free agent.
Payton was equally all-in on Patrick Mahomes as a future star when the former Texas Tech standout had as many skeptics as fans in the 2017 NFL Draft.
He convinced Teddy Bridgewater to re-sign with the Saints in 2019, telling him it would be the best thing for his career, and that decision proved to be a wise one for the veteran signal-caller.
“He (Hill) played tremendous,” said Saints receiver Michael Thomas, who finally looked like the reigning Offensive Player of the Year on Sunday, catching a season-high nine passes for 104 yards. “Taysom is a dog. Who cares what anyone else says? He’s a baller.”
The Saints have a team full of them right now. They are playing as well as any team in the NFL right now. Sunday’s win was their seventh consecutive, and their third straight in dominant fashion. They shut down Matt Ryan and the Falcons’ second-ranked passing offense and made them look as bad as they made Tom Brady and the Bucs two weeks ago.
With the defense dominating and the special teams and rushing attack clicking on all cylinders, Payton knew the Saints would be just fine with Hill at the controls of his offense. Especially with a game plan tailored to his unique skill set and a full week of practice to prepare for the challenge.
The way the Saints are playing right now, nothing is seemingly capable of slowing them down. Not losing Brees. Or missing Thomas for two months. Or having to negotiate COVID-19 logistics. And certainly not the floundering Falcons, who, like the rest of America on Sunday, learned what Payton has known for some time: Taysom Hill is much more than just a gadget guy.
(Photo: Chris Graythen / Getty Images)