The New Orleans Saints lost their first game of the season as they drop Week 3 to the Green Bay Packers by just one point after a late game surge from Jordan Love and the Packers offense.
So we’ve got some important questions to answer while analyzing the 18-17 loss: What went right? What went wrong? And what’s the bottom line?
What went right?
Alontae Taylor had his best game as a member of the New Orleans Saints. He had five passes defended to go along with five tackles including two tackles for a loss and a sack. He almost had another sack early in the game as well. A lot of people questioned Taylor’s ability in the slot going into the season, but he looks to be more than okay at that spot.
Chris Olave is a bona fide star, no longer in the making. The sophomore receiver had 8 catches for 104 yards in this one including another highlight reel one-handed grab. He’s a consistent target and the team’s top option at receiver. He’s finished with at least six catches in each of the first three games of the season, including eclipsing 100 yards twice. The team has to do a better job of getting him scoring opportunities, as he still has yet to find the end zone this season.
Rashid Shaheed has been a good return man for the Saints so far in his career, but no impact was greater than today as he had a 76-yard punt return touchdown in the second quarter.
The defense had put together another more than solid performance in the first three quarters, holding the Packers scoreless until the fourth. Lonnie Johnson Jr. came down with an interception and Pete Werner racked up 11 tackles.
What went wrong?
While the defense did well to start the game, the Packers outscored the Saints 18-0 in the last frame. Their first touchdown drive saw defenders get flagged 67 yards for pass interference on the first two plays of the drive which was capped with a two-point conversion which allowed the Packers to go ahead after their next score with just a point-after attempt.
It’s not all on the defense, however, as they likely got tired out after the offense’s inability to get anything going in the second half. The Saints started out the half with five straight punts before the missed field goal in their last drive of the game.
Part of that is due to the fact that Derek Carr left the game early with a shoulder injury which forced Jameis Winston to come in off the bench. Winston ended the game with good numbers thanks to the last drive of the game, but the offense just completely stalled.
One of the biggest factors for that was the inability to sustain the run. The Saints ended the day with 77 yards on 22 rushes, with most of the yards coming on some bigger runs. There was no wearing the offense down. The Saints offense only scored 10 points today which brings the total to just 46 on offense and 53 total thanks to the punt return touchdown.
You also obviously wish that your kicker makes the 46-yard field goal to take the lead with a minute left, but Blake Grupe is unable to come through with his biggest test of the season after the Saints moved on from Wil Lutz in the offseason.
And what's the bottom line?
The Saints move to 2-1 while they await further news on how serious Derek Carr’s shoulder injury is.
The defense is in a good place, they’ll be even better when they get Paulson Adebo and eventually Marcus Maye back. The offense must be better, though.
“Defense wins championships” is a common phrase that holds some truth to it, but not without at least a little bit of offensive health. Alvin Kamara returns from his suspension tomorrow which will hopefully breathe new life into both the running and passing games as he has been missed dearly.
If Carr is gone for a chunk of time, the team will revert back and rely on Jameis Winston to get the job done. He’s considered one of the best backups in the league and this might be his chance to prove it. He started out the 2022 season with four touchdowns and five interceptions before getting injured and not coming back.
The Saints head back home next week to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before heading on the road again for two straight away games against the New England Patriots and Houston Texans.
