Below are five positives, and also five negatives, to take from the New Orleans Saints’ 49-21 home win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday afternoon.

The triumph improved the Saints to 5-6 on the season.

Positives:  

1)—Drew Brees: It would be unrealistic to have expected a better afternoon from Brees, against the Rams, than what he had on Sunday. He completed 28-of-36 passes for 310 yards, to go along with 4 touchdowns. Brees is having a terrific year, and he was great again on Sunday. He was not only accurate, but accurate under a lot of pressure.

2)—Mark Ingram: I thought the Rams' front seven was a little overrated going in, and I thought that the Saints would be able to run the football, but I didn't expect the kind of day Ingram had. 14 carries for 146 yards and a touchdown. Ingram has been great since being benched following a costly fumble a couple of weeks ago.

3)—Mike Thomas: He caught 9 passes for 108 yards and 2 touchdowns. Thomas is special.

4)—Dannell Ellerbe: When he plays, he’s very good, and makes the Saints better. Ellerbe had 5 tackles, including a sack, and provided good pressure off the edge. Let’s just hope he stays healthy for a prolonged period of time now.

5)—Tight ends: Coby Fleener and Josh Hill combined for 10 catches for 133 yards. Fleener probably made his best catch this year, with an impressive grab on a seam route, and Hill blocked well. Outstanding production by these guys.

Negatives: 

1)—Special Teams: Broken record, yes, but this group was not good again on Sunday. Tommylee Lewis muffed a punt at the end of the third quarter, so the Saints are still looking for a return man, and the kick return coverage was not good, allowing 163 return yards on 5 attempts.

2)—Secondary: This group was better in the second half, and Jairus Byrd and Vonn Bell played fairly well, but they allowed Jared Goff to do way too much, at least in the first 30:00.

3)—Terron Armstead: He left the game with an injury. Armstrong has been battling injuries all year, and you have to wonder if he's going to get healthy this year, at all.

4)—Andrus Peat: Aaron Donald beat Peat in the first half, and tallied a sack on Brees. Donald, who finished with 4 tackles, mostly got the best of Peat all afternoon.

5)—Brandin Cooks. Granted, there's only one football to go around, and it's not like the Saints didn't move the ball, or that they needed Cooks, but he was held without a catch.

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