The Saints are taking a tumble in the Week 5 power rankings, and Monday night’s loss to the Falcons is the reason why.
NFL.com slotted New Orleans at No. 20, down four spots, after Atlanta overwhelmed the Saints on the ground and turned the game into a runaway. Fox Sports pushed them to No. 23, a seven-place drop, while Bleacher Report knocked them all the way to No. 24, down eight.
The biggest issue was impossible to miss: Atlanta ran for 205 yards and kept hammering away until New Orleans had no answers. NFL.com described the Saints as a team that “became a sieve,” noting that Tyler Shough did what he could to keep things afloat with “a handful of excellent throws,” but it wasn’t enough against Atlanta’s pressure and offense.
Fox Sports pointed to two problems dragging the Saints down. The first was the injury to RB Travis Etienne, because “it’s pretty clear Alvin Kamara can’t lead their rushing attack anymore.”
The second was the defense, which has now allowed almost 600 rushing yards in four games after getting gashed for more than 200 by the Falcons. Fox Sports also warned that the Vikings, Giants and Steelers will likely test those weaknesses over the next three weeks before the Saints’ bye.
Bleacher Report took the same bleak view after what it called a “beatdown.” The outlet said the Saints showed “some moxie” in their first three games - including taking the Lions to overtime in Detroit, upsetting the Ravens in Baltimore and hanging with the Raiders - but Monday night was different.
New Orleans “can’t run the ball at all,” and that has left Tyler Shough trying to carry too much. Bleacher Report added that while the second-year quarterback “has exceeded expectations, he’s not that guy.
Not yet.”
The ground game wasn’t the only thing that unraveled. Bleacher Report said an injury-depleted defense was “rolled on the ground,” with Bijan Robinson and Brian Robinson Jr. combining for five rushing touchdowns and more than 240 yards.
The Saints are now 1-3 after back-to-back home losses, and the early-season momentum they built has quickly evaporated. Bleacher Report noted that the team has “managed to dismantle the goodwill built up over the first two weeks of the season,” while also saying the kind of home win Atlanta delivered could have created ripple effects for the rest of New Orleans’s season.
With the undefeated Vikings coming to town, the schedule isn’t offering much breathing room.
In Other News...
Justin Reid Just Gave Saints Fans Another Reason To Be Furious
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After the loss, though, Reids message landed very differently. Fans who questioned his play got a sharp response on social media, and the line he chose did little to calm anyone down after a game in which he had some visible struggles. For a locker room already trying to steady itself and a fan base looking for accountability, the exchange only added another layer of frustration. [Read more 🡒]
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Moore said the response has to come from everyone in the building, with players and staff pulling in the same direction after a result like this. The loss also gave Atlanta a boost to 2-2, leaving the Saints with a familiar kind of urgency in the NFC South and a growing need to show their next performance looks nothing like this one. [Read more 🡒]
Saints Fans Finally Have A Real Jordyn Tyson Return Timeline
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ESPNs Adam Schefter added another layer to the picture, reporting that Week 7 is the earliest Tyson could realistically return, with Week 9 looking like the likeliest target. The Saints trip to Paris in Week 7 and the bye that follows only complicate the path, especially since Tyson would still need at least a week of practice before he could actually suit up in a game. [Read more 🡒]