Juwan Johnson — Week 3: Eight Catches, Two Touchdowns

35 to 27, Raiders, a minute two left, first and 10 at the New Orleans 40. Tyler Shough threw short right to Juwan Johnson at the line, and he was tackled at the 41; the ball came loose and Las Vegas recovered at the Saints 35. −3.7 expected points added — expected points added is what a play was worth given down, distance and field position. It was his eighth catch on his eighth target, and Kirk Cousins knelt twice to end it.

The line: eight targets, eight catches, 53 yards, two touchdowns, five first downs, +1.9 expected points on the targets. The catches: six yards on the first snap of the Saints' second possession; two yards on third and two for the first Saints touchdown, with 54 seconds left in the first quarter; 14 on second and one to the Raiders seven late in the second, three snaps before Noah Fant's touchdown; 12 on second and six to the 24 in the third; one yard on second and one for the touchdown that put New Orleans ahead 19 to 16 with six 44 left in the third; 22 to the Raiders 29 with three 52 left, down eight; −4 with a minute 31 left; and the last one. Three targets before halftime, five after; his one third-down target was the first touchdown. Eight catches matches the most of his career, which he also reached in 20 23 20 25, and it is the fourth game of his career with two touchdown catches.

Three more plays carry his name. A nine-yard catch to the Raiders four in the first quarter came back on an illegal shift. With a minute 38 left, a throw intended for him was intercepted, and a Raiders illegal-contact penalty wiped it out. And on Shough's interception with eight oh three left, Johnson made the tackle on the return at the eight and the ball came loose, but the Raiders recovered at the four.

Eight of Shough's 42 throws went to Johnson, second on the Saints behind Chris Olave's 13, ahead of Devaughn Vele's six and Fant's four.

Back in June the preview's read on Johnson was a tenth-place tight end season across 17 games, with the question of whether his volume would hold once the Saints added mouths to the room. Week 1 was seven targets, three catches, 54 yards and a touchdown, all three catches in the last 73 seconds of regulation or overtime. Week 2 was four catches on four targets for 66 yards, again with the big catches at the end. Sunday was his most targets of the season and two touchdowns, and the game ended on his fumble. Three games, 19 targets, 15 catches, a hundred 73 yards, three touchdowns. Second on the team is the volume the preview asked about, for one Sunday; three games settle little. New Orleans is home to the Falcons on Monday the fifth.

_Data via nflverse._