Quarterback grade: Drew Brees, 87.1

Despite being the oldest starting QB in Week 1 at 37 years old, Brees showed he’s still among the league’s top signal-callers. He was near-perfect throwing between the numbers, going 17-for-19 there, and connected on three of his four deep (20-plus-yard) passes, including dimes down the left sideline to Willie Snead and Brandin Cooks. When not under pressure, Brees finished with a 142.4 passer rating, versus a 63.9 rating when the Oakland rush did get to him. But that only happened on 16.3 percent of his dropbacks, the lowest rate of any QB this week, through the end of Sunday.

Top offensive grades:

QB Drew Brees, 87.1

WR Willie Snead, 82.5

RT Zach Strief, 80.3

C Max Unger, 79.7

WR Brandin Cooks, 78.5

Cooks and Snead make big plays downfield

While Brees looked as formidable as ever, his standout performance came with the help of some of his pass-catchers, notably Willie Snead and Brandin Cooks. Snead especially looked ready to build on an above-average 2015 season after hauling in all nine of his targets against six different defenders in primary coverage, for 172 yards and a touchdown. A fumble (following a 43-yard reception) was his lone blunder on the day. Cooks likewise made multiple big plays downfield, scoring on two of them, including a 98-yarder – his only reception in three targets against Raiders CB Sean Smith.

Among the other players that stood out on the Saints offense were two newcomers, rookie receiver Michael Thomas and tight end Coby Fleener, although their play was notable for different reasons. Thomas has clearly cemented his spot as the team’s third WR entering the season, as his 55 snaps were only seven less than Cooks and actually more than Snead. All but four those came on the outside, where he hauled in all six targets for 58 yards, including an impressive catch and run at 5:36 of the second quarter. Conversely, Fleener struggled, catching just one of four passes that went his way, while grading negatively as a run-blocker, where he surrendered a pair of stops.

Top defensive grades:

S Kenny Vaccaro, 86.1

DT Nick Fairley, 82.0

DT John Jenkins, 77.2

DE Darryl Tapp, 71.5

CB P.J. Williams, 70.5

Saints’ rookie corners struggle in second half

With cornerback Delvin Breaux limited to 24 snaps due to injury, much of the second half featured Oakland taking advantage of the Saints’ inexperience behind him, notably rookies DeVante Harris and Ken Crawley, who played 60 and 47 snaps, respectively. The two combined for five missed tackles and allowed a catch on 10 of 12 targets, with Crawley especially struggling. Oakland QB Derek Carr finished with a 143.8 passer rating on eight throws into Crawley’s coverage, the highest of any Saints defensive back.

Second-year cornerback P.J. Williams fared slightly better in his first regular-season action. He finished with an average grade in coverage after getting his hand on the ball at 11:07 of the second quarter for a pass defense, something neither of his aforementioned teammates managed, although Williams otherwise allowed 99 yards on four catches (eight targets).

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