Saints winners and losers: 3 takeaways from second-straight win

The Saints went to 2-0 under interim coach Darren Rizzi on Sunday with a 35-14 win over Cleveland, even though they needed a Superman sequel to do it by the name of Taysom Hill. First, Hill had to recover from his personal kryptonite, though. Meanwhile, quarterback Derek Carr is suddenly a steady machine.

The only bad news is the 4-7 Saints, who looked like they needed a vacation throughout a seven-game losing streak, do not get to play this week as they have an open date after two straight wins. New Orleans next plays on Sunday, Dec. 1 against the Los Angeles Rams in the Superdome.

1. Taysom Hill is Superman

The Saints got everything from RB/TE/QB/RET Taysom Hill on Sunday that former coach Sean Payton was dreaming about back in 2017 when he picked up the former BYU quarterback on waivers from Green Bay just before the season opener. The Packers had signed him as an undrafted free agent.

Hill returned to the form he flashed here and there with Payton over the years with the Saints and was the difference in the game with Cleveland. He rushed seven times for 138 yards with three touchdowns from 10, 33 and 75 yards out. He caught eight passes for 50 yards, returned a kickoff 42 yards, and completed 1 of 2 passes for 18 yards.

"When he touches the ball, and when he’s on the field, it affects the game tremendously," Saints interim coach Darren Rizzi said. "And sometimes, he doesn’t even have to get the ball. He ran it. He threw it. He caught it. When you're defending that, and you're not sure where he's going to line up, it neutralizes the defense a little bit."

Hill became the first NFL player in history to rush for 100 yards or more with three rushing touchdowns while catching passes for 50 or more receiving yards and throwing for 10 yards or more, according to CBS Sports.

2. Taysom Hill avoids more kryptonite

Too bad for Hill that there aren't any phone booths around anymore, because he was looking for one to hide in as the first half ended Sunday, and he had two turnovers.

Hill fumbled at the Cleveland 7-yard line after catching a 6-yard catch and run for what would have been a first down and potentially a 17-6 or 21-6 lead at the half. Instead, the Saints led only by 14-6 at the half because of Hill's fumble, and they found themselves tied 14-14 midway in the third quarter. Hill, who plays quarterback in spots, had also ridiculously thrown into a crowd late in the first quarter for an interception after the Saints had good field position at their 41-yard line.

The FOX announcers repeatedly said that maybe the Saints were trying to do too much with Hill. Was he just a gimmick? It has been a criticism that has cropped up from time to time during his career. Hill has been turnover prone. He has 12 career fumbles in what has been a career of only spot duty. He has thrown nine career interceptions in only 195 attempts. That's one every 21 attempts. Even interception-prone Jameis Winston of Cleveland isn't that bad. He has thrown an interception every 29 attempts.

But when Rizzi was asked at halftime if he would shut down down Hill in the second half, he said they were going right back to him. And the rest was history.

3. Derek Carr showing consistency

In two games under Rizzi, Carr has an off-the-charts 128.5 quarterback rating on 37-of-52 passes for 517 yards with four touchdowns and zero interceptions. He completed 21 of 27 for 248 yards and two touchdowns Sunday.

"It's been my best football that I've played in my career," Carr said.

New offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak has worked well with Carr, who missed three games with an oblique injury during the 7-game losing streak before returning on Nov. 3.

"I feel confident in the building that I'm in. They continue to breed confidence into me," said Carr, who completed passes to seven receivers.

"He's a true point guard if you watch him," Saints middle linebacker Demario Davis said. "He had a field day out there finding players."