The New Orleans Saints put on another disappointing performance on Sunday as they hosted the Minnesota Vikings in the Caesars Superdome. New Orleans fell 23-13, ending a three-game dome stretch with three losses. They are 1-4 on the season.
The loss put the Black and Gold in last place in the NFC South, leaving many skeptical of head coach Kellen Moore’s ability to lead a football team.
You will notice the same issues rear their ugly heads game in and game out, no matter the time, place, or opponent.
BEHIND ALREADY
Slow starts on offense every week are unacceptable, especially when the man in charge is an offense-minded playcaller. In his first 22 games, Moore’s Saints rarely have a good first half; they’ve only led four times going into the locker room. New Orleans has scored 35 total first-quarter points in those games and has never scored more than seven points in the first 15 minutes.
This past Sunday against the Vikings was no different, with the offense going three-and-out three times out of its four first-half drives. The only time that didn’t happen was when they scored their lone offensive touchdown on a 15-play possession. New Orleans couldn’t find a consistent rhythm, and anytime they did, the unit fell apart once something didn’t go as planned. Over half of the team’s rushing attempts came on that one scoring drive. The other touchdown came on defense when Martin Emerson Jr. forced a fumble, and Jonas Sanker went 87 yards for the scoop-and-score. That was one of two red zone turnovers the New Orleans defense created to prevent the scoreboard from showing how much the Saints got outplayed.
A team that fails to score 10 or more points in the first half as often as the Saints do doesn’t put itself in a good position to win. They rely too much on second-half adjustments and late-game heroics to try and pull out a win.
BAD GAMEPLANNING
Many of the woes to begin games trace back to the week leading up to the game. Moore made multiple questionable decisions with the offensive line and playcalling against Minnesota.
With left tackle Kelvin Banks being put on the shelf for the majority of the season, Coach Moore decided to schedule offensive line substitutions after certain drives. Asim Richards started the game and played two drives before giving Mason Murphy a shot at the position. Murphy was playing well enough that Moore believed a third-string offensive lineman deserved playing time without additional injuries to the offensive line. The decision was executed against arguably the best defense in the NFL thus far this season when the unit already has problems blocking in the run game and keeping Tyler Shough upright on pass plays.
The Vikings are a team that blitzes around 3/4 of the time with Brian Flores as their defensive coordinator, always trying to put extra pressure on the opposing quarterback. It’s helped hold offenses to 16 points or fewer in four out of five games this season. Sunday’s playcalling and personnel packages showed a lack of interest in not letting the pressure play a factor in the game, as Flores called for a blitz on 91% of Shough’s dropbacks. There were next to no plays where the Saints’ starting quarterback wasn’t pressured or didn’t get hit. Moore’s lack of respect for Minnesota’s pressure packages held the offense back from even having a chance to keep Sunday’s game close.
MENTAL MISTAKES
This team never looks ready to play football or focused throughout games. Penalties on both sides of the ball occur before the ball is snapped.
Procedural penalties are killing this team. You can almost guarantee this offense will be called for false starts, illegal shifts, or illegal formations. The Saints can’t even get the basics down for having a functioning offense, as they go backwards almost as much as they go forward. New Orleans’ defense also can’t get off the field on third down. Penalties on third down and not being able to guard the sticks keep extending opponents’ drives longer than they should, resulting in more points on the board for them and less time for Shough and the offense to work with.
New Orleans will slowly try to battle back but are never mentally tough enough to make these comeback attempts a reality. Sanker’s touchdown on Sunday should’ve shifted the momentum in their favor, with the game being tied at 13. What actually happened was Minnesota went right down the field to score a touchdown as the Saints went three-and-out, turned the ball over on downs, and Shough threw his second interception on a desperation pass in their final three possessions.
The Saints aren’t mentally strong enough to capitalize on opportunities. They are farther behind in the rebuilding process than thought to be going into the season.
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