One Good Corner on a Defense Running Out of Bodies

Martin Emerson Jr. earned NFC Defensive Player of the Week after his two-interception game against the Giants — the award was announced October 21, and it stands as the clearest individual bright spot this defense has produced all season. Emerson has 22 tackles and both of the team's interceptions through seven games, which tells you something about how thin the secondary has become around him.

The context matters. Lorenzo Styles Jr. has been on injured reserve since before Week 1. Justin Reid, the safety who was already listed as questionable heading into the week, left the Week 7 game in Paris with an injury. The Saints are asking Emerson to anchor a back end that keeps losing pieces, and he is doing it — but one corner winning a weekly award does not change a defense that has been outscored by more than four and a half points per game all season, a pace that has held steady whether the Saints win or lose.

The award is real and Emerson earned it. It is also a reminder of how much the Saints need from one player in a unit that cannot afford to lose anyone else.