It was another ugly loss for the New Orleans Saints as they fell 22-14 on the road against the Carolina Panthers. The Saints did attempt another fourth quarter comeback; and they did get the ball back at the end, down one possession (a 99 yard touchdown drive with 17 seconds and no timeouts left would have been one of the more improbable things accomplished, granted). But it was too little, too late again.
“That was a lousy game that you played,” Mike Detillier, co-host of Sports Talk, told Tommy Tucker. “Not so much so on defense, but on offense. Yesterday, for the most part, you played winning football on the defensive side of the ball.
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“And you lost to a lousy team,” Detillier went on. “The Panthers aren't a good team. So what does that tell you about you at this stage?”
The Saints defense kept Carolina out of the endzone until the fourth quarter – the Panthers first touchdown was a scoop and score by their defense after an Alvin Kamara fumble.
Despite getting little help from the Saints offense, the defense held the Panthers offense to 15 points in the end. Carolina quarterback Baker Mayfield completed less than 50% of his passes for a lowly passer rating of 83.8. The Panthers were just 29% on third down, failed their only fourth down attempt, and settled for a field goal the one time they got in the red zone.
It was a strong defensive performance. But the New Orleans defense received little help from the offense.
“You see the same mistakes over and over and over again,” Detillier said. You have played one quarter of complementary, good football. And that was the fourth quarter against Atlanta. Every other quarter you have played, your offense hasn't done anything.”
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The Saints did not score until the fourth quarter. They came close a couple of times, but those drives ended in a blocked field goal and a missed field goal (the attempts were from 30 yards and 48 yards). And even in that final period where the Saints gained 43% of their yards, there were still mistakes. Jameis Winston threw an interception in New Orleans territory (the defense held Carolina to a field goal).
“It's all across the board offensively,” Detillier explained. “Your offensive line has not played well. You're fumbling the football. You're making mistakes across the board. You're missing field goals. You have one blocked, so that's a blocking error up front. You have a lot of things that are breaking down.”
The Saints are fourth in sacks allowed (11). They're a woeful -6 in the turnover margin, last in the league, with a league-leading nine giveaways. They're averaging 17 points per game, 23rd in the league. Wil Lutz, who has never averaged below 82% on his field goals in the NFL, is sitting at 50% this year.
It has not been pretty.
The Saints will need a big turnaround as they prepare to face the 2-1 Minnesota Vikings this Sunday in London.