3 up, 3 down in Saints loss to Rams: Familiar problems doom another winning streak
The New Orleans Saints had an opportunity to inject some serious fun into the back half of their schedule with a win, they didn't take advantage.
The Saints fell 21-14 to the Rams in a result eerily similar to last season, and it came with familiar issues. L.A. dominated the trenches and the results followed
With all that in mind, here are my stock up and stock down players from another discouraging loss to the Rams in a must-win scenario.
STOCK DOWN
The defensive interior
It can be tough to balance praise versus criticism on the defensive interior. For example, when your defensive tackle is leading the team in sacks by a wide margin -- exactly how critical can and should we be about run game deficiencies?
That's the case with Bryan Bresee this year, and he's certainly not alone. No one on the Saints defensive interior this year should be called a star run-stuffer, and it's been problematic in several games the Saints probably feel like they should've won. In close losses to the Eagles, Chiefs, Panthers and now the Rams, it was the inability to put a lid on the run game that made a loss feel inevitable. The same was true in blowout losses to the Bucs and Broncos.
This week it was Kyren Williams going off for 104 yards and stacking positive carry after positive carry after positive carry.
Here's how they broke down:
- +3
- +11
- +17
- +5
- +4
- +2
- +4
- +1
- +8
- +10
- +4
- +6
- +4 (TD)
- +14
- +11
The Saints stopped Williams for less than 3 yards just twice on the day, and didn't stop any behind the line of scrimmage. For perspective, Alvin Kamara had 8 carries stopped for 2 or fewer yards and multiple TFLs.
It's just an image of a team that's been bullied up front, and everyone gets a piece of the blame. One play specifically stood out because I watched John Ridgeway make a tackle 5 yards downfield. Why was he 5 yards downfield? Because that's where he was moved. The run just happened to funnel to where he was, so he gets in the stat sheet.
The Saints got bullied on Sunday by the Rams. They've been bullied a lot of this year. There are no simple fixes.
The pass protection
You might be sensing a theme here, because the bullying happened to the Saints on both sides of the ball.
One of my quick-trigger reactions after watching this game from the sidelines is that this is probably the first game that I felt like the offensive line was the reason the Saints lost. I truly believe that.
Don't get me wrong, the Saints OL has been a problem in games previously. Week 3 against the Eagles, Week 5 against the Chiefs, Week 7 against the Broncos all come to mind as ugly OL games. But it wasn't THE BIGGEST problem. The Saints led the Eagles by 5 at the 2-minute warning. The defense has to close that out. Pat Mahomes ran the Saints defense ragged. The Saints got whipped by the Broncos in all phases.
In Week 13 against the Rams I felt like the Saints held their own everywhere but the trenches. The stat line is misleading because Derek Carr has done an excellent job of avoiding sacks this year, but there was almost constant pressure.
I'll have to watch the tape to really tell for sure, but in real time it seemed like the right side of the line (Trevor Penning and Cesar Ruiz) had a particularly rough day. Rookie Jared Verse dominated. Every week I see young players dominating around the league and I wonder why the Saints never seem to have any of those players. Maybe that'll change soon, because there should be some quality draft picks on the way if this stuff continues.
The Rizzi magic
It's probably an unfair standard to set, but I went into this game hoping to see something different. We've seen this win, win, loss cadence before. We've seen close but no cigar before. This is the 5th two game streak over the past two seasons that didn't extend to three.
I wanted a confident team playing quality football and finding ways to win a game. We saw all of those things in spurts, but not enough of the time. And all the markers of struggle were still there, too.
The Saints played a clean game, something they've excelled at this year, but they didn't force any turnovers. The Saints had nice moments on offense, but things still bogged down in key moments to prevent the Saints from ever really taking control. There weren't many penalties, but they were on back-to-back plays both times and either took 4 points away from the Saints or gave them to the Rams.
Before that pair of defensive penalties was one of the worst gaffs of the game, with the Saints only getting 10 men onto the field ahead of a critical 3rd and 10. The Saints burned a timeout, and after the game Rizz put it on himself.
Was it really on him? Probably not, in the direct sense. Tyrann Mathieu was hurt and that threw personnel out of sorts. Instead of Mathieu it was J.T. Gray who was supposed to be on the field, and the special teams ace clearly hadn't gotten the memo. That's one of the issues with injuries that rarely gets talked about. Suddenly players have to step into roles they were not expecting to. Are they ready for it?
In the end it lands more on Joe Woods and the defensive staff. Rizzi isn't coaching those players up throughout the week. It's the DC and the DBs coach and whatever assistants are involved. But it's the head coach who falls on the sword, always.
And that's why at the end of the day a frustrating loss falls on Rizzi, because he's getting graded by and for all those guys. It's what makes life even more difficult for a special teams head coach. He's not directly accountable for either side of the ball, but he has to be.
It's clear the players like him, and his personality is easy to get behind.
In this case it's not even about the season, which is teetering on over if you haven't already toppled it in your own mind to 2025 mode. This conversation is really about whether the Saints should be seriously considering keeping the interim on as the full-time head coach. That's often going to be an uphill battle, and you're still going to have to convince the powers at be in the end that they should pick you. The best way to do that is to show them something they haven't seen before and saying: This is what you'll get with me in the driver’s seat.
Fair or not, his fault or not, this game wasn't that. It was the opposite. It was a game that showed how far off you really were, and if this situation isn't close enough to run back in a similar form, that makes the decision for you.
I still like Rizz as a head coaching candidate for this team and others down the road. I think he was what it takes, truly. He set up the Saints for success in this game, and his aggressive decision-making early in the game is what helped the Saints carve out the lead they did have. Multiple fourth down attempts, one being a fake punt pass by Taysom Hill. Loved it.
Rizzi was also all-in on the strategy to go for 2 if the Saints scored the touchdown to pull within 1. We'll never know how that might've turned out, but I loved that mindset, too. The defense wasn't playing well, and I didn't want it to come down to another 2-minute drill. I'd much rather drain the clock down and take my chances. We'll never know how it might've worked out, but it's the type of confident/aggressive decision-making that this team has been missing.
Are those last few paragraphs enough to run things back? I don't know. The result I saw today certainly makes me feel like Mr. Outside Hire and a full reset would be the way to go. Still, there are five games left for Rizzi to make his case. Let's see what happens.
A few more
I buy everything Derek Carr says in terms of getting to the right read on the final offensive play. The Saints ended up in a man-beater play against zone. That meant it took more time to get open and Carr had to be patient. I get all that, but you've still got to be aware of your surroundings and create whatever time you need. On the Saints' final 4th down he didn't do that and stood like a statue as Jared Verse closed in to kill the play. There's a fine line between pocket presence and happy feet, but I needed more. It's like a basketball game that's coming down to the buzzer. Any shot is better than no shot, because any shot can still go in. The Saints had no shot on their final play, that's got to be on the QB. ... The Saints safety depth is still a problem for me. It's basically Tyrann and no one else as far as deep safeties are concerned. When he went out Matthew Stafford immediately attacked with Will Harris back there. I get that it's not a premium position as far as assets are concerned, but it's rough back there. ... The refs weren't good in this game. I don't need to get into it more than that, but I did want to say it. It's exhausting to watch.
STOCK UP
The young DBs
Listen, I know this didn't all go perfectly. The Saints lost this game and we should be mad about it, but I can't be mad about what we saw from the two young, developing outside defensive backs that were out there today.
Both Alontae Taylor and Kool-Aid McKinstry got beaten a time or two. That's the reality of playing defensive back in the NFL. If the standard for every game is zero catches for zero yards, everyone is below it.
In this game I saw both those guys locking down for stretches, including on some key 4th downs early in the game. In fact, Matthew Stafford went into halftime with a stat line of 4-10 for 23 yards. You didn't misread that ... 23 yards. The duo of Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp was held to 3 catches for 14 yards on 7 targets.
Things did come a bit unglued in the second half, but it felt like that was more a product of the Rams running the ball so effectively than anything else. Play actions sucked in the entire defense and gave Stafford all day to pick apart the coverage. The Saints had to devote extra bodies in the run game, which made the back end thin.
Taylor did get handed another PI flag, but that really seemed soft considering the physicality Nacua plays with and the level of contact that had been let go throughout the game. Still, it was a key moment and Taylor didn't get the job done. He's got to be better, but I always appreciate his willingness to come up and lay a big hit.
It also seemed like there were some communication breakdowns when Tyrann Mathieu left the game with his shoulder injury.
Now, trust me, I know that's a lot of excuses in a short span, but it all boils down to the same thing. I like the upside of these two young players. They need reps to develop, and we're seeing that development. They're going to get better every week and they'll fix the mistakes. If this season is lost, I like the idea of getting all the hiccups out right now. I'd bet folding money that's your starting outside CB tandem in Week 1 next season.
The new WRs
Derek Carr joked today that if you'd told him back in training camp who his starting WRs would be in Week 13, he wouldn't have believed you. But here we are. These are the WRs that caught passes in today's game:
- Marquez Valdes-Scantling: 3 for 36, TD
- Kevin Austin Jr.: 3 for 31
- Cedrick Wilson Jr.: 1 for 19
- Dante Pettis: 1 for 5 (2PT conversion)
Only one of those players was on the active roster in Week 1. Two of those players are still on the practice squad. One of those players didn't arrive until Week 8 of the season. Sure, sure, sure.
I still don't hate what I've seen out of those guys. MVS has four touchdowns in three starts and proven he's still a downfield threat that can change games. I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if the Saints try to keep him around next year.
Austin has the most upside out of anyone and I think he could be a legit weapon down the road. I'd be stunned if he's not on the active roster by this time next week.
Dante Pettis had a key play of his own going up to high point a 2-point conversion to tie the game. I wouldn't be surprised if he's signed to the active roster, too, though the numbers will definitely get complicated.
There's probably one star WR missing from this group even when Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed return. There's a lot of talent, but I don't know if there's game-changing talent. Still, depth is tested every year. It's good to know some of these guys can get it done.
Long-range Grupe
I really wish Blake would've made this writeup simple, but he couldn't help himself.
I also feel personally responsible. When Alvin Kamara caught a 6-yard pass to set up a 36-yard field goal, I turned to my spotter and said "the problem is now we're in prime Grupe miss range." I was joking, but not really. Whether it's been in camp, games, warmups, whatever, Blake has always seemed way more likely to miss from close in than from far out.
That's exactly what happened. I feel responsible. Mea culpa.
But wait, this is the up column. Yes, it is. And that's because Grupe's other two kicks were each from 54, each drilled and each demonstrating exactly why he's a weapon at the kicker spot.
Now, I get it, a 36-yard miss is a lot more frustrating than a 54-yard make is gratifying, but it shouldn't be. A kick from 36 yards is more a failure of the offense than a failure of the kicker, because the offense needs to score touchdowns when it gets inside the red zone. Turning to a kicker to salvage a possession means you failed.
That said, a kick from 54 means the offense only got to the 36 yard line. In one case it was because a drive bogged down, in another it was because the clock ran out. Either way, being able to steal points on those possessions is far more valuable than the gimme.
Obviously I want both, but misses happen. Grupe is now 20-22 (91%) on the year and 5-5 from 50-plus. He's one of just three kickers to still be perfect on those kicks with a minimum of five attempts. That three points missed didn't change the game, but the six points generated kept you in touch. He deserves credit for that.
Oh, and did I mention that Blake MADE A TACKLE?
So what if there was a hold. I'm counting it.
Honorable mention
Alvin Kamara had a ho-hum 119 total yards behind an offensive line that struggled all day. He just keeps getting it done. He's a stud and the Saints were right to extend him, now it's just a matter of whether they can put a competitive team around him before the new contract is up. ... Juwan Johnson has really come on of late. The line of 5 for 36 doesn't jump out, but there wasn't a ton of offense in this game overall. He's made big catches and been, generally, a weapon. He didn't get an obvious PI call downfield early in the game, and he would've been the target on the final offensive play had Carr gotten the ball off. The TE position has been coming on of late. ... Jamaal Williams didn't do a ton, but he did pick up an important third down conversion on a checkdown. Gold star. ... Taysom Hill didn't have his best game, but he went out doing what he does and picking up a key 4th down. Who knows how bad his injury is, how long he's out or if he ever even comes back. He's a true Saints.
