More Taysom Hill sparks Saints’ red-zone offense in surge to first place

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Greg Auman

NFC South Reporter

When Taysom Hill threw a short touchdown pass to tight end Juwan Johnson in the fourth quarter Sunday, it not only gave the Saints the margin of victory in a 24-17 win over the Bears, it gave the versatile Hill a place in NFL history.

Hill became the first NFL player with 10 career passing touchdowns, 10 rushing touchdowns and 10 receiving touchdowns since Frank Gifford, who retired in 1964, three years before the Saints became a franchise. The closest anyone had come in 60 years was another Hall of Famer, Walter Payton, who threw eight touchdowns in his career.

“I look back at my career and I certainly didn’t think it would go the way it has,” the 33-year-old Hill said. “But as I hear and think about stuff like that, it’s overwhelming. I have a lot of gratitude to be able to be part of this program, and play with coaches that are creative enough to give me opportunities.”

That creativity has been on display in the past two weeks, as the Saints have turned to Hill in larger doses to help fix their red-zone offense, which had been a problem early in the season. New Orleans has beaten the Colts and the Bears to improve to 5-4 and take over first place in the NFC South, and a Hill-driven goal-line offense has been a big part of that surge.

“I feel like the first quarter of the season, we’ve been so close,” Hill said of early offensive struggles. “You look at a few drives, and it’s a penalty here killed a drive and that type of thing. I think we’ve had penalty-free drives, the ability to keep the chains moving, and that gives you a lot of confidence, and as a playcaller, you have the opportunity to call a lot more plays on your call sheet. The creativity … has always been there. We’ve been sustaining drives, which builds a lot of confidence.”

The Saints have been finishing drives, and Hill is usually involved. In the first seven games, he had just nine carries in the red zone, but he’s had six in each of the past two games. Against the Colts, that meant two touchdown runs, and against the Bears, he caught a touchdown to tie the game before halftime, then threw the game-winner to Johnson in the fourth. The Saints had converted 38% of their red-zone opportunities in the first seven games, but they’re 6-for-9 (67%) in the last two.

“I thought he was really good,” coach Dennis Allen said after Sunday’s win. “I thought our plan to utilize him was good, and I thought he was effective when we utilized him. They kind of had a little bit of a plan to try to load it up to stop him, but it’s the stress of every single play that it could be the one that pops. At the end of the day, for us to be able to close a game out like that, down there in the red area, was big.”

Mark Sanchez and Kevin Kugler break down Taysom Hill’s impact in Saints’ win over Colts

Hill hasn’t been the only outside-the-box addition to the Saints’ goal-line package. They’ve used defensive tackle Khalen Saunders as a 324-pound fullback on 12 plays in the past three games. He was the intended target on the play where Hill connected with Johnson, and his size and athleticism draw a defense’s attention even if the ball doesn’t go his way.

“We’re actually trying to get Bink [Saunders] a touchdown in the flat there,” Allen said. “They did a nice job, but he took two [defenders] in coverage, which allowed Juwan to get open in the back of the end zone. Taysom went through his progression, found Juwan, and when you execute and do the things you’re supposed to do, generally you get good results.”

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Hill is listed as a tight end on the roster but has largely been a running quarterback in recent years, and yet he has grown in his role as a traditional pass-catching option as well. After Sunday’s game, he has already reset his career high with 20 receptions this season, barely halfway through the year. He had just six targets in the first five games but has 19 in the past four.

He’s been the Saints’ leading rusher in each of the past two weeks, with a combined 20 carries for 115 yards and the two scores. In the win over the Colts, he threw a 44-yard pass to Rashid Shaheed, so he’s now 5-for-6 as a passer, making the most of his few chances to show off his arm. Hill, after all, threw for nearly 7,000 yards at BYU. Add it all up, and it’s a central part of why the Saints are clicking again on offense and sitting in first place in the division.

“I don’t get too caught up in thinking about what the stats are or what I’m doing,” Hill said. “At the end of the day, we’re trying to in win football games. I try to take advantage of every opportunity that I get, and hopefully I can contribute to winning games.”

Greg Auman is FOX Sports’ NFC South reporter, covering the Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers and Saints. He is in his 10th season covering the Bucs and the NFL full-time, having spent time at the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.