B/R
Times are tough for the New Orleans Saints with five straight losses after a 2-0 start, including a 33-10 drubbing at the hands of the Denver Broncos on Thursday night in Sean Payton’s first game back at the Superdome since he left the team after the 2021 season.
Broncos kicker Wil Lutz, who played for the Saints from 2016 to ’22, seemed to take a dig at New Orleans head coach Dennis Allen in response to a post on X about how Lutz was getting jeered by fans in the Superdome.
Saints running back Alvin Kamara had no problem with the response from the home crowd to anything that happened on Thursday, telling reporters after the game he “can’t blame them” because “they’re fed up” with what they’ve seen.
There was some optimism around the Saints at the start of the season. New offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak seemed to unlock this unit, to the point they were averaging 4.33 points per drive and scored on 15 consecutive possessions through their first two games.
It turns out that may have been a combination of small-sample size randomness and playing against the defenses for the Carolina Panthers and Dallas Cowboys in Weeks 1 and 2.
After scoring 91 points in those two wins, the Saints have scored a total of 86 points during this five-game losing streak. They have been held to fewer than 300 yards of offense three times in the past five weeks.
Some of the offensive woes can be explained by having Spencer Rattler starting at quarterback in place of the injured Derek Carr, but they were on a downward trajectory before Carr injured his oblique in Week 5 against the Kansas City Chiefs.
On top of the poor performance from the offense, the Saints defense is having an abysmal run right now.
The 33rd Team @The33rdTeamFB
The Saints defense has been one of the league’s worst since their 2-0 start<br><br>Since Week 3:<br><br>• 443.6 yards allowed per game (32nd)<br>• 30.2 points allowed per game (30th)<br>• -0.05 EPA per play (22nd) <a href=”https://t.co/rZ8opxXroj”>https://t.co/rZ8opxXroj</a> <a href=”https://t.co/XPt8oDPnNN”>pic.twitter.com/XPt8oDPnNN</a>
Considering that Allen has a defensive background, including seven seasons as defensive coordinator in New Orleans before succeeding Sean Payton as head coach in January 2022, it’s not a surprise that Saints fans might not be feeling great about him right now.
If Saints fans happened to be directing their boos at Lutz, he got the last laugh by outscoring them on his own Thursday night with 15 points. The 30-year-old was 4-of-4 on field goals and 3-of-3 on extra points against his former team.
The Saints will look to end their losing streak in Week 8 against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium. The Broncos are riding high with four wins in their last five games to get over the .500 mark (4-3) going into next week’s home game against the Panthers.
First appeared on bleacherreport.com