The New Orleans Saints offense wasn’t the only problem on Sunday. In fact, it was far from it.
While that side of the ball put up 27 points, the most the Saints have seen since Sept. 15, the defense allowed some 51 points to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, allowing the visitors to go on an absolute tear after New Orleans held the lead at halftime.
The Saints have allowed more than 1,000 yards to opposing offenses this week, between the 460 yards allowed to the Kansas City Chiefs on Mondaay night and the 594 yards surrendered to the Bucs.
The time of possession battle is one thing this type of misfortune boils down to. The Bucs possessed the ball for 34 minutes and two seconds on Sunday — and last week, the Chiefs had it for even longer.
Patrick Mahomes and company held onto the ball for nearly 40 minutes. Looking at that from the perspective that quarters in NFL football last for 15 minutes each, we’re looking at nearly three quarters of possession for both of these teams.
That also means New Orleans has had possession of the bank for just over 48 minutes of the last 120 minutes of football the team has played. Dennis Allen’s defense is exhausted, and they look like it.
Despite the promising start to the season, it’s clear the Saints have a lot of fixing to do — and fast — as they now ride a four-game losing streak.
New Orleans will desperately seek to get back on the right track as it faces the Denver Broncos just four days from now in Thursday night action at the Caesars Superdome at 7:15 p.m. CT.
