Taysom Time: First-time starting QB, BYU product Hill leads Saints to 7th-straight win

AROUND THE SHIELD — The Taysom Hill era is undefeated in New Orleans.

Hill completed 18-of-23 passes for 233 yards and added a game-high 51 yards and two touchdowns to help the Saints win their seventh-straight game with a 24-9 victory over divisional rival Atlanta on Sunday afternoon in New Orleans.

The former BYU quarterback was making his first career start at quarterback for the Saints, who have used him in a variety of special packages, and started him at tight end and wide receiver. But with star signal-caller Drew Brees on the mend with broken ribs, head coach Sean Payton turned to his $21 million backup quarterback to keep the Saints atop the NFC South with a 4-0 division record.

"Overall, I was happy with what we did," said Hill, who was mentored by Brees all week in preparing for the game against a heated rival. "I was really disappointed that I put the ball on the ground late in the game; I thought it was a drive where we could've put the game away late, and I coughed one up.

"But overall, without looking at the film, I was happy with the way that I played and the way my teammates played. It was a collective effort to get this win."

Nine of Hill's 18 completions — and 12 of his 23 pass attempts — went to Saints receiver Michael Thomas, the three-time Pro Bowler and reigning NFL offensive player of the year who had 104 receiving yards Sunday.

"He was ready all week, ready for his opportunity," Thomas said. "He knew his number was being called, and he went out there and did his thing. I'm proud of him, and I can't wait to see what he does next week.

"I feel like me and Taysom have the same chip on our shoulder," Thomas added. "We're always trying to come out here and prove people wrong … Taysom's a dog. Who cares what anyone else says? He's a baller."

Hill's performance is the best by a first-time NFL starting quarterback since 2000, in many ways. He joins Daunte Culpepper as the only players in the Super Bowl era to rush for 40 yards or more and two touchdowns in their first quarterback start, according to the NFL research department. Drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in 1999, Culpepper's performance came in a Week 1 win over the Bears.

Hill is also the first BYU quarterback to win an NFL start since Max Hall in 2010. But the oft-injured Cougar signal-caller never doubted his place in the league. To the contrary, in Saints coach Sean Payton and Brees, Hill has found allies to make his career what it is.

"I spent a lot of time reflecting this week. My wife and I had so many conversations about where we've been, the process of getting here," Hill said. "If I'm being honest, it was an emotional week."

Hill led a 10-play, 80-yard drive to open the second half with a 2-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-goal that put the Saints up 17-9 with 5:49 left in the third quarter. The Pocatello, Idaho native completed 4-of-5 for 54 yards on that drive, relying heavily on Thomas and running back Latavious Murray.

Over 10 plays, Hill also ran twice, including the 2-yard score behind New Orleans' jumbo set. He nearly added a passing touchdown with a 57-yard dart to Emmanuel Sanders, as well, but the play was called back on a holding penalty.

Instead, Hill used his legs to add another score, rolling out and outgunning three Atlanta defenders past the pylon for a 10-yard score on the first drive of the fourth quarter.

He may be starting in place of Saints star Drew Brees. But Taysom Hill was still Taysom Hill on Sunday.

"He got a win, so that's obviously not too bad," said Alvin Kamara, who became the first player in NFL history with at least 500 yards rushing and receiving in each of his first four seasons. "But being his first start, he did well. He was calm, composed, and he settled into the game.

"I know he wishes he had that big shot to Emmanuel go through. But overall, he played pretty clean."

Hill got a lot of help from the Saints' defense, too. Former Utah safety Marcus Williams pulled down an interception on the goal line to end the half, and New Orleans had eight sacks and two interceptions on the day.

Cam Jordan had three sacks for New Orleans.

For as solid as Hill's debut was, the defense may have been better. So much that Payton, the mad scientist who has pulled Hill along since bring him in as an undrafted free agent in 2017, elected to silence reporter's questions about Hill after a half-dozen, in favor of talking about the defense.

"This is going to be the last Taysom question, and then we're going to get on to the defense," Payton said before eventually moving on to the defense.

"I thought that's a really good offense we were seeing, position by position, and I thought it was key — without one of our starting corners — it was impressive."

Still, even the Saints' defensive players were impressed with Hill's first start — all while Hill praised his teammates around him. It was a good team win, Payton said several times, and one made even more important considering the divisional stakes and the forthcoming rematch in just two weeks.

New Orleans might not have Brees for that game, either, as the future Hall of Famer recovers from serious injury. But the Saints now know what they have in Hill: a winner.

"This team is resilient," Kamara said. "Whoever goes down, it doesn't matter who it is, the next person has to step up. It's nothing personal; it's just the nature of the game. Taysom had to step up today, and we got a win."

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