The New Orleans Saints have a built-in excuse, thought they won't use it themselves. Missing half a roster's worth of star players, their furious rally fell short in a 29-40 loss in Week 11.
The result drops the Saints to .500 with their third consecutive loss, their first three-game skid since Weeks 1-3 of the 2016 season. That year finished 7-9.
The Saints will certainly hope to get healthy and finish the 2021 season with a charge, but that didn't come in Philadelphia.
With all that in mind, here are my three quick takeaways after another offensively challenged New Orleans defeat.
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1. FIRST QUARTER WASTELAND
Trevor Siemian has been solid in a very tough situation, taking over for an injured Jameis Winston in Week 8. But after three games, it's pretty clear where the biggest struggles have come.
That'd be the beginning of games, and particularly the first quarter. The Saints trailed 14-0 after the first quarter against the Eagles, and that's been true in all three of Siemian's starts.
Blame it on receivers not getting open. Blame it on key players missing due to injury. Call it whatever you want, it's been ugly, and it's going to have to change for the Saints to make any noise this season.
SIEMIAN'S Q1 STATS
- DURATION: 3 games, 9 Saints drives
- PASSING: 9-of-19, 58 yards, interception
- FIRST DOWNS: 10
- PUNTS: 5
- POINTS: 0
Not all of that is on Siemian, obviously, but some of it is. He didn't see TJ Edwards sinking in coverage for a costly interception that turned into the Eagles' first score of the game. He's never been a mobile guy, and that's been made more difficult by the inconsistency -- mostly from a health perspective -- across the OL and pass-catchers.
But the Saints simply have to figure out a way to get the ball moving early in the game. Digging out of a hole EVERY SINGLE WEEK is not a recipe for this season ending in the way the Saints want it to.
Siemian did what he does, lifting the Saints back into contention with a furious fourth quarter rally. But, again, it fell short with Jalen Hurts leading a backbreaking drive for a TD after the Saints trimmed a 26-point lead to 11. If Taysom Hill is healthy, is it time he gets a shot to run the offense? How about rookie Ian Book? Something's gotta change, it could be the starting QB.
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2. THE EAGLES ARE EXHAUSTING
The Saints have had one of the NFL's top defensive units the past two seasons. They've faced the Eagles on the road both years. Both times the Jalen Hurts-led offense spent four quarters running them ragged.
That's not to say the Saints played poorly. The rush was composed, they funneled Hurts where they wanted him more often than not, he's just a guy that consistently puts you in the spin cycle.
I'd say the Saints handled Hurts reasonably well. He still finished with 71 rushing yards and three TDs, to go with 147 yards through the air.
The defense made plays. They held up well in coverage, but it was tiring to even watch. Clean wins in the pass-rush constantly turned into a full sprint to the edge. Every undisciplined snap was hit with a QB keeper. DBs are forced to run forever. DeVonta Smith is a blur.
Couple that with a Saints offense that struggles mightily to extend drives and you have a scenario that's hard on any defense. That fatigue manifests later in games, particularly on the ground. The Eagles happen to have one of the most pounding runners in the league in Jordan Howard, and he did what he does best.
It's likely that folks will look at the box score and try to pin this on the defense, but that would be a mistake.
The Saints allowed 27 points in the first half. One TD came on a pick-6. Another came after a Trevor Siemian interception set up the Eagles in plus territory. They came up with big stops that ended in field goals, with Marcus Williams making incredible plays to even manage that. The Saints' ability to have even the slightest hope at a comeback was the defense not giving up an inch for the first three drives of the final frame.
There was always going to be a very specific recipe for a Saints victory despite all the injuries to star players, and costly turnovers on the offensive side of the ball were absolutely not on that list.
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3. THIS COULD GET UGLY ... FAST
If "there's no rest for the weary" is a cliche, we'll need to invent something new to describe exactly what faces the Saints the next few weeks.
They went out to Philadelphia missing their star WR, their star RB, their star RT and LT, and that's only the tip of the iceberg. This team is beat up. This team is demoralized. This team is a clean .500 after 10 games.
What it isn't yet, is out of the race for the NFC South or the NFL playoffs. But that's something that could change quickly. After a painful day in Philadelphia, they now turn around for another game in 4 days against one of the AFC's top teams in the Buffalo Bills on Thanksgiving. That means limited time for those injured players to get right. Even after that there's no extended break, with a game the following Thursday against the NFC East-leading Dallas Cowboys.
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They'll finally get a few extra days to lick their wounds heading into a Week 14 matchup with the Jets, then trip over to Tampa for a showdown with the Bucs. But will that game be a chance to take over the NFC South race? Or will it be a desperation game and a must-win for a Saints team trying to snap out of a second-half skid?
It's been years since this franchise even flirted with a sub-.500 record, but this feels a lot more like those 7-9 seasons than it does double-digit wins. We always knew the post-Drew Brees era would come with challenges. I'm not sure anyone predicted anything quite this significant.
I know two things for sure: There's no time to linger on the memories from Philly, and this season has to turn around fast or it might not happen at all.