The New Orleans Saints moved the ball all day against the Texans, but when the heat got turned up it was the Saints who got burned, repeatedly.
That was particularly evident on the final drive of the Saints' 20-13 loss, with Houston sending relentless pressure against a patchwork offensive line that was forced to kick guard Cesar Ruiz to left tackle and hand pivotal reps to untested rookie Nick Saldiveri.
Listen to the full postgame breakdown from Deuce McAllister in the player above. Can't see them embed? Click here.
"Zero pressure, you did not pick it up," Deuce McAllister explained on WWL after the game, "and it was almost like, you know, you’re just dropping back and hoping that your guy is open and he can make a play for you."
With no safeties deep, Derek Carr dropped back four times from the 24-yard line and sent the ball toward the end zone. The first three passes hit the turf. The final heave was intercepted by cornerback Steven Nelson. The Saints were 0-for-3 in terms of scoring touchdowns on red zone trips, while also missing a pair of field goal attempts (52 and 29).
The Saints' line was so scrambled due to injuries to both starting guards in LT James Hurst and RT Ryan Ramczyk. The coaching staff opted to send Trevor Penning to the bench this week, but he was in quickly due to the injuries. The Saints were also largely without Andrus Peat, who was only available in case of emergency due to a groin issue.
Related
The Saints now face a quick turnaround and the Jacksonville Jaguars, and it's likely they'll face something similar, until they prove they can handle it.
"Guess what you’re going to see for the next four weeks? Zero pressure. ... If you can’t pick it up, teams are going to do it," McAllister continued. "So you’ve got to have some routes to get guys open, particularly against zero pressure. I’m gonna move a couple of guys. I’ve got some answers for my quarterback, even if it’s just a quick screen outside, I can’t allow teams just to blitz me and not make them pay down the field.”