The Saints left the Superdome with a bad loss and an even worse injury watch.
Chris Olave and Alvin Kamara both sat out Wednesday’s practice after New Orleans got rolled by the Atlanta Falcons, but only one absence appears to be a real concern. Saints insider Katherine Terrell reported that Olave was out for rest, while Kamara’s status carries more uncertainty after he came away banged up in the 45-24 defeat.
Terrell also relayed a note from coach Kellen Moore on Kamara: “Alvin Kamara had back soreness today but his knee was checked after the game and was OK, [coach] Kellen Moore said,” Terrell posted on the social media website X, formerly Twitter.
Kamara still found the end zone twice against Atlanta, including a score late in the second quarter that trimmed the margin to 14-7. But the Falcons kept him in a tight role, limiting him to seven carries for 23 yards. Both touchdowns came from inside the five-yard line, turning him into more of a short-yardage finisher than a featured runner.
Olave was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise rough night for the offense. He hauled in eight catches for 116 yards, but Atlanta kept him out of the end zone. Inside the Superdome, he averaged 14.5 yards per catch.
New Orleans is now 1-3 in Moore’s second season at the helm, and the early results have been a tough follow-up to the buzz that once surrounded his hire. Moore arrived after winning a Super Bowl as the Philadelphia Eagles’ offensive coordinator in the 2024 season, and he also spent time building productive offenses with the Dallas Cowboys before leaving in 2022. He had a one-season stop with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2023 as well.
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Kellen Moore Is Already Feeling Heat As Vikings Loom
The Saints have little time to sit with a lopsided loss that exposed familiar trouble spots, especially on the ground and in the flow of the offense. Kellen Moore said the teams execution was poor and that changes are needed, an admission that fits the frustration around a game in which the rushing attack never got going and the playcalling drew questions.
Practice has reportedly looked better in terms of effort, which at least gives New Orleans something to lean on as it resets for Minnesota. The Vikings are next on the schedule, and after a game like this one, the Saints need more than cleaner work during the week - they need it to show up before the problems start stacking again. [Read more 🡒]
Saints Suddenly Have A Superdome Problem Fans Wont Ignore
The Superdome has always been the Saints stage, the place where noise has traveled in their favor and where visiting teams were supposed to feel the pressure. Lately, though, the building has felt different. A stretch of disappointing home losses has taken some of the shine off one of the leagues most recognizable venues, and the frustration has started to show in the stands, where fans made their feelings known with boos during a recent home game.
For the Saints, the issue is bigger than one bad afternoon. Home field advantage is supposed to be a difference-maker in New Orleans, but recent results have made it harder to count on the Superdome as a weekly boost. The next few games now carry extra weight, not just for the standings but for the mood around the team, because getting back on track at home may be the clearest way to pull the fan base back in. [Read more 🡒]
Saints Are Putting Tyler Shough In A Dangerous Spot
The Saints rushing issues were impossible to ignore in their latest game, when the ground game produced just 50 yards and an average of 2.6 yards per carry. In a league where balance is supposed to keep an offense on schedule, that kind of output puts a lot of strain on everything else, especially a young quarterback trying to find a rhythm.
Tyler Shough felt that squeeze directly, facing pressure on nearly half of his dropbacks as the offense struggled to stay ahead of the chains. For New Orleans, the concern goes beyond production and into protection, because an ineffective run game leaves Shough exposed and raises the stakes on every snap until the Saints find a way to fix it. [Read more 🡒]