The New Orleans Saints are heading into their Week 8 bye with a clear order of business: fix the run game.
At 2-5, they’ve shown enough on offense to suggest something workable is in there, but they haven’t come close to putting together four clean quarters. Injuries have only made that tougher, and the defense has its own mess to sort through.
Still, one problem sits at the top of the list. New Orleans simply has not been able to run the ball with any consistency, and that has to be the focus for head coach Kellen Moore during the break.
The Saints’ season has already offered a little bit of everything. They opened with a narrow loss to Detroit, then followed it up with an impressive road upset over Baltimore in Week 2.
That momentum disappeared fast. New Orleans dropped back-to-back home games to Las Vegas and Atlanta, then lost to Minnesota before briefly finding some offensive rhythm in a road win over the New York Giants.
The trip to Paris ended with another setback, a loss to Pittsburgh that left the Saints at 2-5.
That defeat to the Steelers laid the problem bare. New Orleans finished with just 18 rushing yards on 17 carries. Over seven games, the Saints are averaging only 3.5 yards per carry as a team, a number that makes it tough to stay balanced or keep defenses on their heels.
The issue goes beyond one bad afternoon. Alvin Kamara is averaging just 3.0 yards per carry, and Kendre Miller is at 2.8. The Saints have not found a dependable rushing identity, and they’re paying for it at the line of scrimmage, where they’ve struggled to create movement and leave backs fighting for every yard.
That’s especially troubling in Moore’s system, which relies on making defenses guess. When the run game threatens, linebackers have to honor play-action and the offense gets a chance to dictate tempo. Without that threat, the whole thing becomes easier to read.
The Paris game was the loudest warning yet. Kamara managed five yards on six carries, while Miller picked up six yards on eight attempts. New Orleans didn’t score a rushing touchdown and kept landing in ugly down-and-distance spots.
Moore can’t keep expecting his backs to create something out of nothing behind uneven blocking. The coaching staff needs to find better angles at the point of attack, whether that means simplifying the blocking scheme, using more motion, or leaning on more gap runs.
The run-game issues also spill directly onto Tyler Shough. Through seven games, he has completed 183 of 273 passes for 1,721 yards, 13 touchdowns, and six interceptions. Those are solid numbers for a young offense still trying to find itself, but they also show how much the Saints are asking of him because the ground game isn’t holding up its end.
When defenses don’t have to respect the run, they can devote more attention to the passing attack. That makes Shough’s job tougher and puts even more weight on Chris Olave, who leads the team with 49 catches for 636 yards.
Olave has delivered, but New Orleans can’t lean on him every week. The Saints need other options to become part of the offense, including Devaughn Vele, Juwan Johnson, and Noah Fant. A functioning rushing attack would help all of them by forcing defenders to account for the handoff before jumping routes and collapsing on the quarterback.
The bye gives the Saints a real chance to rework things before they return to action against the Cleveland Browns on November 8. Moore and his offensive staff need to take a hard look at blocking assignments and communication up front.
They also have to get more out of the backs they have. Kamara still matters as a receiver.
Miller needs more space to work with. Etienne’s role has to be considered based on his health and availability.
More carries alone won’t fix anything if the blocking stays broken.
The Browns will be a useful test for whatever changes New Orleans makes. The Saints can’t afford another game filled with predictable runs and obvious passing downs. They need to win at the line early, sustain drives, and keep their defense from being stuck on the field for too long.
New Orleans has multiple problems, but the rushing attack is the one that ties everything together. If it improves, it takes pressure off Shough and gives the defense help through better control of possession. If it doesn’t, the second half of 2026 could get ugly in a hurry for the Who Dat faithful.
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