NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans Saints have been on a downward slide for about a month now.
Injuries haven’t helped, but a four-game losing streak has coaches reexamining and reevaluating almost everything.
“Everybody needs to look at themselves — coaches, players, everybody — and make sure we’re doing everything we possibly can to get this thing going in the right direction,” Saints coach Dennis Allen said. “Right now, it’s not where we want it to be.”
The Saints were brimming with optimism after two head-turning, lopsided victories against Carolina and Dallas to open the season. In hindsight, however, neither of those wins look as impressive. The Panthers are 1-5 and all five of their losses have come by 10 or more points. The Cowboys are 3-3 and their 47-9 loss to Detroit on Sunday was even more-sided than their Week 2 loss to New Orleans.
Meanwhile, the Saints’ past two losses haven’t been close. They fell by 13 points at Kansas City and by 24 points to the Bucs.
Time will tell if this is just a rough patch or the start of a fourth straight season without a playoff berth. If it’s the latter, it could spell doom for Allen, who is 18-22 since being promoted from defensive coordinator to head coach in 2022 after Sean Payton announced what turned out to be a one-year retirement.
“We’re dealing with some injuries right now. We’ve got to fight through this rough patch and hopefully get some guys back,” Allen said. “But I’ve got all the confidence in the world that our guys are going to stick together.”
What’s working
Special teams had a good day against the Bucs, with the top highlight being Rashid Shaheed’s 54-yard punt return for a touchdown. Rookie Australian punter Matthew Hayball pinned the Bucs at or inside their 10-yard line three times. Meanwhile, five of Tampa Bay’s six kickoff returns were stopped inside the 30-yard line — the new starting point for offenses after touchbacks under kickoff rules adopted in the offseason.
What needs help
Saints defenders need to start filling gaps, taking better angles and wrapping up if they don’t want to continue to get gashed like they’ve been in their past two games.
Allen called the Saints’ tackling “atrocious” against Tampa Bay, which broke off numerous big gains after defenders’ whiffs.
It happened on Bucs receiver Chris Godwin’s 55-yard touchdown, when three defenders missed him. And it happened on running back Bucky Irving’s zig-zagging 31-yard scamper in the fourth quarter.
“We have to tackle better. I thought that was the biggest thing in the game,” Allen said. “It was not a good defensive performance at all. That needs to be an area that we can count on — it’s been an area we can count on, but right now it’s not.
“We’ve got to figure it out in a hurry,” Allen added.
Stock up
Rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler exhibited raw ability, composure and maturity in the way he handled his first NFL start behind a banged-up offense line and without New Orleans’ most accomplished receiver, Chris Olave.
Pressed into service because of an oblique injury to veteran first-stringer Derek Carr, Rattler went 22 of 40 for 243 yards, one TD and two interceptions. Those numbers weren’t flashy, but they were solid in the context of the overall mismatch that played out Sunday between the Saints and Bucs.
“He did some really good things,” said Allen, who has indicated Rattler will start again this week. “He was poised, I thought he went through his progressions, I thought he was able to create some things with his feet. I thought he threw the ball well.”
Stock down
Allen’s defense has been considerably better than average during most of his tenure as both defensive coordinator and head coach. Now, however, the Saints rank at the bottom of the league in terms of yards allowed per game at 395.8.
“Right now, we’re not playing defense the way we have and the way we’re capable of,” Allen said
Injuries
Olave is in the concussion protocol and safety Tyrann Mathieu has a forearm injury. New Orleans entered Sunday’s game missing Carr, tight end Taysom Hill (ribs), center Erik McCoy (groin), Cesar Ruiz (knee) and guard Lucas Patrick (chest).
The concussion for Olave is of particular concern because it’s his third with New Orleans in three seasons, and it didn’t sound like the Saints are inclined to allow him to come back quickly.
“We’ve got to be certainly cautious with him in terms of when he’s available and when he’s ready to go,” Allen said.
Key number
594 — The number of yards allowed against Tampa Bay, second-most in Saints history. That figure is eclipsed only by the franchise-worst of 605 yards yielded to a prolific Minnesota Vikings offense led by Daunte Culpepper and Randy Moss in 2004.
Next steps
The weary Saints have a short week to prepare for their third game in 11 days on Thursday night. It’s also the return of Payton to the Superdome when he brings the Denver Broncos to the Big Easy on the same night that his former New Orleans QB, Drew Brees, is inducted into the Saints Hall of Fame.
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