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Oct 29, 2024

Saints' reset button not as close as they thought | Saints | nola.com

Los Angeles Chargers running back J.K. Dobbins (27) carries against New Orleans Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore in the first half of an NFL football game in Inglewood, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 27,

Los Angeles Chargers running back J.K. Dobbins (27) carries against New Orleans Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore in the first half of an NFL football game in Inglewood, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

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Nine days wasn’t enough time to fix the New Orleans Saints’ issues.

And the possible return of Derek Carr next week may not be enough to fix them, either.

But at least Carr gives them a chance.

The Saints have dug themselves in a hole that they probably just aren’t good enough to climb out of.

On Sunday, the losing streak hit six, which is also how many points New Orleans would have scored if it wasn’t for a bad snap on a Los Angeles Chargers’ punt in the first quarter of this 26-8 loss at SoFi Stadium.

“We go forward, then backwards, forward, then backwards,” said Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler.

But it’s been a whole lot more backward than forward.

The Saints have lost six games in a row, the team’s worst losing streak since 2005, when they started 2-8. That team finished 3-13, ending the Jim Haslett era as head coach and beginning the Sean Payton-Drew Brees era.

This team probably won’t end up being quite that bad.

The defense hasn’t completely quit yet, although they gave up just enough big plays yet again that were way much too much for a struggling offense to overcome.

The Saints were coming off a mini-bye after that debacle to the Denver Broncos 10 days ago. This was supposed to be them hitting the “reset” button. Instead, it’s almost time to hit the panic button. They aren't just losing. They are losing decisively. This is first time since 2001 the Saints have lost four straight games by double digits.

Any thoughts you may have had that the extra time off and a few returning starters would solve the Saints’ issues were dismissed in a game that was as ugly as this season has been.

Yeah, it was a welcome sign to see the return of Taysom Hill, Chris Olave and Cesar Ruiz.

But this team doesn’t have much of chance of winning without Carr, who Dennis Allen says could possibly return next week when the Saints play at Carolina.

For the past 20 years, it’s been pretty easy to predict who would win a game between the Saints and Chargers.

Just pick the team with Drew Brees.

Brees led the then-San Diego Chargers over the Saints in 2004, then switched to a black and gold jersey and led the Saints to four straight victories over his former team.

Fast-forward to Sunday and the first meeting between the two teams in the post-Brees era, and one thing remained the same: the team with the best quarterback won.

The Chargers had Justin Herbert, a Pro Bowler and NFL Rookie of the Year in 2020.

The Saints had Rattler, a rookie who remains a work in progress and not yet ready to move the offense the way it needs to be moved to get out of its current funk.

"I thought their quarterback was the difference," Dennis Allen said.

Rattler is now 0-3 since taking over as starter after Carr suffered an oblique injury.

He was replaced by Jake Haener in the second half.

Neither could get the offense going.

The Saints converted just 2 of 16 third downs, a recipe for disaster.

They’ve scored just one touchdown over the past 10 quarters, that one coming on a Haener-to-Cedric Wilson pass in the fourth quarter against the Broncos. More often that not, they were put in third-and-long situations because they kept getting costly penalties at the most inopportune times.

“We all shot ourselves in the foot,” Rattler said.

It's been a common theme during this losing streak.

There’s always something.

Penalties. Missed tackles. Red-zone failures. Injuries. Something.

“I think we all understand it’s a results-oriented business, and we need to play better football,” Allen said.

The results just haven’t been there.

The Saints travel to face the Panthers (1-7) next Sunday.

The Saints blasted the Panthers 47-10 in the season opener in the Dome.

But that seems like forever ago now.

The current Saints aren’t anything close to that team you saw back in September.

Cam Jordan summed it up best in a message he posted on social media after the game.

"Nothing to be said. New territory to be in."

It's territory they may not be able to get out of.

Email Rod Walker at [email protected].