The New Orleans Saints lost a rough matchup with NFC South rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Saints were outmatched in 3/4 quarters and eventually allowed the Buccaneers to run away with the win. New Orleans is now on a four-game losing streak and their identity as a team is now evident. Here’s what we learned from the 51-27 loss.
The defense was BAD
The Saints’ defense struggled in the first quarter, came back in the second quarter played phenomenally, and then went on to have an abysmal performance during the entire second half. The Buccaneers were able to establish a run game and finished the day with 277 yards rushing on 7.9 yards a carry. If it couldn’t get any worse, the defense allowed 317 yards through the air resulting in 4 touchdowns. While they were able to force three turnovers, giving up 51 points will always result in a loss and Dennis Allen has a lot to fix if he wants to cool his seat down.
Spencer Rattler is a rookie. but there’s a lot of promise
Spencer Rattler had a lot of hype surrounding him before his first start and he showed lots of promise. While playing behind a banged-up offensive line, the rookie showed his play-making ability to get out of pressure. He either escaped the pocket and kept his head downfield or tucked the ball and ran himself. Along with the great things he has shown, he faced a problem most rookie quarterbacks face when making their first starts, he struggled when blitzed. After a solid second quarter for Rattler, Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles began calling different blitzes in the second half that rattled the rookie and caused the offense’s downfall. The Saints also didn’t help Rattler much throughout the game, however, failing to develop a running game and allowing 51 points. Rattler will now have to quickly shift focus to the Denver Broncos on a short week.
Injuries, Injuries, and more Injuries
New Orleans has had an aggravating number of injuries in recent years that has always followed the team throughout the years. This season is no different. After being without important starters such as Erik McCoy, Taysom Hill, and Derek Carr the team’s list of injuries got even longer during the loss against the Buccaneers after star wide receiver Chris Olave left after the first drive with a concussion. In addition to the loss of Olave, Tyrann Mathieu, Bryan Bresee, Alontae Taylor, and Johnathan Abram left with injuries. New Orleans is already dealing with a serious injury problem that plagues the team and will now head into a short week with an extended list.
Saints injuries from that first half:
– Chris Olave (concussion): out
– Tyrann Mathieu (forearm): questionable
– Alontae Taylor (shoulder): questionable – returned
– Johnathan Abram (unknown)
– Bryan Bresee (unknown)— Jeff Nowak (@Jeff_Nowak) October 13, 2024
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