The Saints' rushing yards with Travis Etienne and since Travis Etienne’s last game
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Against what the season’s ratings expected, the Saints were 2.0 yards under with Travis Etienne and 30.2 yards under since Travis Etienne’s last game in 2026, 3 games against 4. The plain averages are 101.3 and 74.5, a difference of 26.8. All 3 first-half games were with Travis Etienne. All 4 second-half games were since Travis Etienne’s last game.
Travis Etienne, running back: 128 rushing yards, 30 carries and 11 receptions in 3 games this season, 42% of NO’s rushing yards in those games.
3 games with Travis Etienne is still too small a sample for the statistics to say much, but maybe you can find something if you squint.
rushing yards a game over expected
A +28.2 difference in rushing yards over expected with Travis Etienne vs since Travis Etienne’s last game is about what you’d expect.
A +26.8 difference in rushing yards with Travis Etienne vs since Travis Etienne’s last game is about what you’d expect.
The games
| Side | Date | Game | Result | rushing yards | Expected |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 13, 2026 | @ DET | L | 91 | 99.8 | |
| Sep 20, 2026 | @ BAL | W | 65 | 102.3 | |
| Sep 27, 2026 | vs LV | L | 148 | 107.9 | |
| Oct 5, 2026 | vs ATL | L | 50 | 109.5 | |
| Oct 11, 2026 | vs MIN | L | 55 | 106.7 | |
| Oct 18, 2026 | @ NYG | W | 175 | 106.3 | |
| Oct 25, 2026 | vs PIT (neutral) | L | 18 | 96.2 |
Method
- Expected is an offense and a defense a team, fit over every 2026 game between two teams in the table with the game being read left out, plus 0.6 for the home team (the edge the fit finds once strength is in), nothing at a neutral site.
- Each expected number is then fit to the season’s games: a game bears out about 32% of the difference the model predicts.
- The two sides are the games before and after one date, so the shuffle moves any game between them.
- Who played is read from the snap counts, which name every player who took a snap on offense, defense or special teams.