Terron Armstead and Sean Payton getting some love

SIAP

One of Peter King's offensive players of the week for wildcard weekend

MMQB

Terron Armstead, left tackle, New Orleans. The third start for the third-round rookie from Arkansas-Pine Bluff was his biggest by far, and Armstead repaid the faith Sean Payton had in him (or maybe desperation, not faith) by keeping the heat off Drew Brees from the right side of the Philly defense. The Eagles had two sacks (for one measly yard) and two more significant pressures in the Saints’ Saturday night upset. Armstead, quick and combative, jousted effectively with Eagle pass rusher Trent Cole and won much more than he lost. Cole had five tackles and one sack, but watching the game, Armstead pushed Cole around pretty consistently.


Sean Payton, head coach, New Orleans. Made all the right calls all week, including poking fun at the Saints’ 3-5 road record this year. Payton was lively Saturday night in Philadelphia, airing out his special teams and showing confidence in both the running game (94 yards in the first half, 91 in the second) and recently interception-prone Drew Brees, which paid off in the second half. Payton will figure out some way to mind-game his team into thinking the 34-7 loss in Seattle a month ago was a total fluke.