The Saints didn’t have much going on Sunday, but their defense at least gave them a pair of life-saving swings with the ball. Those turnovers were the only sparks in an otherwise rough loss to the Vikings, and both of them came at the goal line.
The first came when Khristian Boyd punched the ball out of Aaron Jones’s hands. Chase Young came up with it and brought it back 27 yards, setting up an eventual touchdown drive.
Later, in the third quarter, Pete Werner and Martin Emerson Jr. forced Myles Price to cough it up, and Jonas Sanker turned that mistake into an 87-yard return for a game-tying touchdown. The Saints missed the extra point and stayed even there, but those two forced fumbles and returns were the reason the Saints scored at all.
Everything else was a slog, starting with the way the Saints handled Kyler Murray. He spent the day escaping the pocket and making it count.
Murray ran 10 times for 51 yards, and even though the yardage total doesn’t jump off the page, the runs kept showing up at the worst times for New Orleans: first downs, third-down conversions and broken plays that turned into completions. The Saints have had trouble containing mobile quarterbacks for a while, and this game didn’t show any real adjustment from them.
Then there was the offense, which was hard to watch from start to finish. New Orleans managed just 142 total yards against Minnesota’s top-ranked defense, but that still feels too thin for a unit that needed a little more from somewhere.
Tyler Shough had his toughest outing of the season, finishing with 96 passing yards and two interceptions. The run game offered only a few bright moments from Kendre Miller in the first quarter, and Chris Olave never got loose, finishing under 50 yards.
Big plays were basically nonexistent. The Saints didn’t have a single gain longer than 20 yards, and outside of one scoring drive, every possession ended the same way: punt, turnover or turnover on downs.
With just a couple more scoring drives, this was a game New Orleans could have stolen. Instead, the offense vanished, and the defense’s two takeaways were left carrying almost the entire day.
In Other News...
Tyler Shoughs Hand Issue Just Became A Real Saints Concern
Tyler Shoughs left hand has quietly become one of the more notable issues hanging over the Saints, and it has shown up in ways that are hard to ignore. He has been seen gripping the hand during games and practices, and the added glove on that side has only sharpened the sense that something is limiting him as he tries to settle into the job. Shough has acknowledged the injury, but he has stopped short of spelling out exactly how serious it is.
For New Orleans, the concern is less about the pain itself than the ripple effect it can have on the offense. The hand issue has affected how Shough handles exchanges and handoffs, which adds another layer of uncertainty for a team already trying to get a clean read on its quarterback situation. Until there is more clarity on the extent of the injury, the Saints are left watching each snap for signs of whether this is a brief inconvenience or something with a much bigger reach. [Read more 🡒]
Saints Had Only A Few Reasons For Hope In That Loss
The Saints spent most of their loss to the Vikings searching for anything to latch onto on a day when the offense never really found a rhythm. Even so, there were a few bright spots worth noting, starting with Jonas Sanker, who delivered the kind of defensive spark this team badly needed, while Carl Granderson kept affecting the pocket and punter Ryan Wright did his part by helping New Orleans manage field position.
Sankers impact stood out because the Saints did not have many ways to flip the game in their favor, and the defense was left carrying much of the load. Granderson also gave New Orleans a steady edge up front, and Wrights strong work gave the Saints a chance to stay within reach longer than the offense probably deserved, leaving the bigger question still hanging over a frustrating afternoon. [Read more 🡒]
Erik McCoy Just Put Saints Leadership On Blast
After the loss to the Minnesota Vikings, center and team captain Erik McCoy did not sound interested in soft-pedaling what has gone wrong for the Saints. He pointed to the same issues that have kept showing up in recent weeks: flat play, turnovers and penalties, with the latest home defeat only adding to the frustration around an offense that has too often dug itself into a hole.
McCoys comments also put a spotlight on the leadership question facing the building, especially with the offense sputtering and the team needing more edge after a string of disappointing results. When a captain starts calling out the overall energy and accountability level, it usually signals the problem is bigger than one bad afternoon, and the Saints now have to answer whether the response comes from the locker room, the sideline or both. [Read more 🡒]