How would you say the the New Orleans Saints stack up among their peers? They looked like one of the league’s best teams after a 2-0 start, but a couple of injuries to Taysom Hill defanged their offense, which put more pressure on their defense, and now they’re 2-2. And that fall has been reflected in the latest round of NFL power rankings from outlets across the league media landscape.
According to USA Today’s Nate Davis, this two-game slump warrants a drop from No. 9 to No. 16, even if Alvin Kamara is turning in an MVP-quality performance:
RB Alvin Kamara leads the league with 97 touches, 536 yards from scrimmage and six TDs – quite the workhorse production from a guy who spent most of his career in a backfield timeshare. He should be in the thick of the MVP debate.
Davis has two different NFC South teams ranked ahead of New Orleans, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at No. 6 and the Atlanta Falcons rounding out the top-10. The Carolina Panthers are stuck in a very distant fourth place.
Power rankings aside, the Saints are very much still in this. The Bucs have a 3-1 record. The Falcons own a tiebreaker but they’re also 2-2. Things could tilt back in New Orleans’ favor in a hurry. But that won’t happen if they keep playing sloppy football and this losing streak continues. Kamara needs more help offensively and Dennis Allen’s defense must show it can sack the quarterback and stop the run. Until those things happen the Saints will keep looking up at their competition.
