Taysom Hill’s performance for Saints against Falcons shows Sean Payton chose wisely

NEW ORLEANS – Sean Payton made the right choice.

Drew Brees is going to miss at least the next three games for the New Orleans Saints because of rib and lung injuries.

The Saints head coach could have chosen Jameis Winston or Taysom Hill to start at quarterback in Brees’ place against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.

Winston was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft; Hill went undrafted in 2017.

Winston had started 70 games at quarterback in the NFL; Hill had started none.

Winston had completed 1,570 passes, including 121 for touchdowns; Hill had completed 10, none of which went for touchdowns.

Payton chose Hill.

He chose wisely – and he was rewarded with a 24-9 victory in the Superdome – the seventh straight win for the NFC South leaders.

Winston was the expected choice. He would have been the conventional choice.

But Payton isn’t a conventional coach. He doesn’t run a conventional offense. Hill isn’t a conventional quarterback.

Hill has evolved into one of the Saints’ most valuable players because he can play running back, wide receiver, tight end and a slew of special teams positions.

He can even play quarterback.

But he doesn’t play quarterback the way Brees does – or Winston does. He’s a bruising runner who’s evolving as a passer.

Payton could have started Winston and used Hill as a change of pace as he uses him when Brees is the quarterback.

He could have started Winston and reduced Hill’s snaps – as he did last season when Teddy Bridgewater helped the Saints go 5-0 while Brees recovered from thumb surgery – in order to reduce the chances of losing a second quarterback to injury.

Instead, Payton chose not only to start Hill, but to use him as a starter essentially the same way he uses him as a backup.

Good decision.

It wouldn’t have made any sense to start Hill and run the offense the way Brees runs it or the way Winston presumably would have run it.

Hill is different.

If Hill is ultimately going to be the full-time successor to the 41-year-old Brees, he’ll have to prove that he has evolved enough as a passer to run the entire playbook efficiently over 16 games for several seasons.

But for these next few weeks, Hill’s job is to play quarterback as he has played it as Brees’ backup. That means making good decisions, making accurate throws, and producing enough points to win.

It also means running when Payton and offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael direct him to run as well as running when the evolution of a play requires it.

Hill was efficient with his passing against the Falcons. He completed 18 of 23 for 233 yards. He didn’t throw a touchdown, but he didn’t need to. He didn’t throw an interception either.

He connected with All-Pro receiver Michael Thomas nine times – just one fewer time than he had connected with all other receivers in his NFL career – for 104 yards.

He was the Saints’ leading rusher, gaining 51 yards on 10 carries for a higher yards-per-carry than both Latavius Murray and Alvin Kamara. Hill ran for two touchdowns and Kamara ran for one.

Both Payton and Hill seemed to be searching for a comfort level with the new dynamic for much of the first half.

But on the Saints final possession of the half, things started to click.

It started when Hill scrambled and instead of immediately ad-libbing a run, as he might have done a couple of years ago, he merely bought time with his legs, then found Thomas for a 16-yard gain.

After a seven-yard run by Kamara, Emmanuel Sanders bailed out Hill on a badly underthrown ball for a 44-yard gain. Hill found Jared Cook for six yards on third-and-six, setting up Kamara’s three-yard touchdown run for a 10-9 halftime lead.

Hill wouldn’t need to produce any more points thanks to the defense shutting out the Falcons in the second half. But Payton and Hill both seemed more comfortable in the second half.

On the first possession of the third quarter the Saints mixed four runs and four completions to a fourth and goal from the two, and Hill ran it in for a touchdown and an eight-point lead.

Early in the fourth quarter, Hill ad-libbed his way to a 10-yard touchdown and some breathing room.

The Saints were poised for a knockout blow when Hill got loose for a 20-yard run, but he lost a fumble at the Falcons 18.

It didn’t matter because the defense wouldn’t let it matter.

Now the Saints go on the road for three consecutive games, beginning next Sunday at Denver. Brees is guaranteed to miss at least the next two, including a rematch with the Falcons, before he’s eligible to come off of injured reserve.

He could be out longer.

Hill is still a work in progress, but the progress he has made since Payton claimed him off waivers from Green Bay at the end of the 2017 preseason is remarkable.

The game Sunday provided the first meaningful evidence of whether Hill is a viable candidate to ultimately succeed Brees.

It’s too early to draw any conclusions, but there was nothing in Hill’s first start to suggest that’s not a realistic possibility.

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