It was another rough game in front of the home crowd for the New Orleans Saints as they dropped their Week 9 matchup with the Baltimore Ravens 27-14. The temperature in the locker room and stadium was dull and the Saints are facing massive questions at the most important position in football. 3-of-11 on third downs, 0-for-2 in the red zone and one late touchdown catch and run away from a single-digit scoring game. It was a rough game that was summarized by a rare early exit for a usually adoring audience.
Here are seven takeaways from a dreary night in New Orleans as the Saints fall to 3-6 through their first 9 games, a mark the team has not seen or been worse than since going 2-7 in 2005.
1
There is no more mystery around who Andy Dalton is
Just a week after putting together the most compelling evidence for head coach Dennis Allen’s highly-questioned decision to start Dalton moving forward, he crashed back down to Earth in a major way. Dalton was under pressure quite a bit throughout the evening and was not able to handle it well. He missed on a couple of endzone passes on a critical red zone possession and just looked uncomfortable and not in control of the offense. As many observed before the season began, Dalton will the quarterback that can put away a win when everything is going well, but is not the passer that can get you back into a game or help your offense claw its way out of a deficit.
This game felt lost early. A big reason why is the lack of game-changing option at quarterback. A lot of folks have suggested “blowing things up” in order to restore the Saints roster over time. A strategy that just about never works. However, starting over at quarterback is absolutely what New Orleans should be looking to do this offseason.
2
All eyes are on Dennis Allen and his next decision at quarterback
When Allen made the announcement that he was choosing Dalton to lead the way “moving forward”, he left the door open for a Jameis Winston return at quarterback. The basic sentiment was that as long as the offensive continues to produce, then Dalton would be the guy. The offense on Monday did not produce. They struggled on third down, came up empty in the red zone and lacked the juice seen from the team in last week’s win vs. the Las Vegas Raiders. Was this display enough to pull the trigger on going back to Winston? Or maybe even changing gears to versatile playmaker Taysom Hill? Or will Dalton get another shot in Pittsburgh next week?
3
It's hard to win games when there's a sizable time of possession gap
Baltimore out-possessed the Saints by more than fifteen minutes Monday night. If the strategy for New Orleans was to keep the ball out of quarterback Lamar Jackson’s hands: it didn’t work. The Saints were unquestionable outclassed on third down, giving up pressure on just about each passing attempt in those situations. New Orleans was also outplayed in the run game, totaling less than 4 yards per carry. Simply nothing went the Saints way in this loss, including not being able to do much to help themselves.
4
The win vs. the Raiders may have been nothing more than a mirage
It was a near perfect game just over a week ago against Las Vegas. The Saints shut out their Week 8 opponents in impressive fashion. But perhaps that game was really more about the Raiders struggling than the Saints dominating. There are certainly elements that can’t be discredited from that win, running back Alvin Kamara’s insane ability on choice routes, cornerback Alontae Taylor’s ascension and the value of linebacker Pete Werner all examples. But the Raiders may have done a better job making the Saints look better than they are, than the Saints did making long-term improvements.
5
New Orleans got a glimpse at what could have been with Lamar Jackson
Remember the 2018 draft when New Orleans traded two first-round selections to draft defensive end Marcus Davenport? It was widely believed the Saints were making that move for quarterback Lamar Jackson. Until… well, the didn’t. Monday night, they saw up close and personal what they could have had. Sure, future Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees was still in the building, but it’s hard to ignore what could have been for New Orleans.
6
The impact of this loss will be felt beyond the 24-hour rule
Teams like to say they have a 24-hour rule after a game. That day-long period is usually spent feeling the highs or lows of the win or loss before turning all focus to the next matchup. Unfortunately for New Orleans, the injuries suffered in this game could continue to effect the team for weeks to come. Werner, the Saints’ star linebacker who has ascended so quickly in just two seasons, Davenport and center Erik McCoy all left the game with injury. At different points Taylor and Kamara also briefly left but did return. Depending on the severity of the injuries sustained in this loss, the Saints may feel some massive ripple effects for weeks to come.
7
The Saints are still only one game out of the division. But...
It is going to be hard for fans to find a silver lining in this loss. But it is true and must be stated that the Saints are, somehow at 3-6, still only one game out of the division. The non-conference loss will sting because of the nature of how the game unfolded, but it will still take more to completely end the New Orleans’ season thanks to the poor play across the division. Every NFC South team lost in Week 9 except for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who were driven down the field by quarterback Tom Brady on a game-winning drive. The Saints are still in position to capitalize, but with injuries piling up and inconsistent performance, it’s understandably hard to hand over a vote of confidence.
