The New Orleans Saints were embarrassed on Sunday losing to the then 3-11 Las Vegas Raiders. Unfortunately for the Saints, their draft position didn’t improve and there wasn’t much good to build on. With one game left in the season, New Orleans football is coming to an end for the season, for the better or worse.
Up: Cameron Jordan
Sunday’s loss at home may be Jordan’s final game in the Superdome as the veteran is nearing retirement. Jordan would lead the Who Dat chant in pregame then light the dome up after back-to-back plays, which included a sack. The rest of the day for the Saints legend would be pretty quiet, but it is important to give respect to the all-time great and cherish the time left.
Down: Darren Rizzi
Rizzimas was fun, but now it’s time for the Saints to get serious. The 2024 season was bad and 2025 doesn’t look much brighter. New Orleans will likely eat a majority of their pending big cap hits and stay conservative in free agency. With some sort of rebuild coming soon, the Saints will begin looking for their future head coach. While interim head coach Darren Rizzi has had his highs, his current three-game losing streak including an embarrassing two-game span of being outscored 59-10 has left a significant stain on his chances of being the next head coach of the Saints.
Down: Defense
How bad is the 2024 Saints’ defense? Running back Ameer Abdullah has appeared in 141 games in his NFL career. Only once in those 141 games did Abdullah reach the 100-yard mark and that was on Sunday against the Saints. Second-year quarterback Aidan O’Connell hasn’t had many good games in his career but just like Abdullah, O’Connell had a solid day through the air throwing 242 yards and two touchdowns.
The offense for the Saints is understandably bad as they deal with several injuries to every position possible, but the defense is relatively healthy. While they are missing their two outside cornerbacks to start the season, New Orleans drafted defensive backs high to fill those roles so the defense for the Saints doesn’t have excuses. They have seasoned veterans, promising young talent, and a lot of money invested on that side of the ball. Despite all the talent, the run defense is bad, the pass defense is struggling, and the defensive line can’t sack the quarterback. New Orleans has housed one of the top defenses over the years but those times are now over.
Make sure you follow Canal Street Chronicles on Twitter at @SaintsCSC, “Like” us on Facebook at Canal Street Chronicles, and make sure you’re subscribed to our new YouTube channel
