By Ross Jackson
Since 2017, one of the most consistent things about the New Orleans Saints has been the team’s defense.
The unit has finished as a Top 15 scoring defense each season with multiple Top 10 and Top 5 finishes. While the 2024 version has maintained the ability to limit scoring, that performance has been sometimes overshadowed by their ranking as the No. 23 team in total yardage surrendered.
Why? Because that yardage consists of some explosive plays given up in clutch moments. New Orleans has also struggled with composure in those moments as well.
The Saints have been plagued with late scoring by their opponents in each of the last three games. A late go-ahead score against the Philadelphia Eagles was erased by a short touchdown run by running back Saquon Barkley which was set up by a 61-yard catch and scamper by tight end Dallas Goedert.
Against the Atlanta Falcons, it was a defensive pass interference penalty that moved the ball 30 yards for kicker Younghoe Koo to drain a 58-yard game-winner after the Saints otherwise took a late lead.
Last week against the Kansas City Chiefs, the Saints were in the conversation late trailing with only a three-point deficit. That is until a 5-play, 64-yard touchdown drive that included a 50-yard catch and run by Chiefs wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster extended that lead and eventually put the game away.
Needless to say, the Saints defense has not yet returned to the standard they hold themselves to this season.
One of the biggest elements to the team’s defensive woes, when they have them, is all about finishing plays. That could mean finishing at the quarterback, a seasons-long concern for the team, and finishing tackles. The Saints have seen their missed tackle total tick up each game of the year so far besides one contest.
Weekly missed tackles per Pro Football Focus:
Week 1 – 5
Week 2 – 7
Week 3 – 6
Week 4 – 10
Week 5 – 13
Defensive coordinator Joe Woods highlighted why this is one of the defense’s major focuses coming into Week 6 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“It’s been an issue,” Woods said. “Something we actually addressed this morning with the whole group. But it’s really tackling the quarterback, too many missed tackles. The week we played Philly, we missed the tackle (then) we took 13 more plays. And we would have been off the field. So those plays add up. We might have took 50, 60 extra plays just because we simply missed a tackle, or we didn’t get the quarterback down when we had him in our grasp.”
Many attribute a lack of offensive production for wearing down a defense. But sometimes missing a tackle and thereby surrendering a key third down causes just as much trouble, especially in a game where momentum can be build and weaponized so quickly.
As the Saints prepared to take on the Buccaneers, this is something they’d like to get right. As Woods said, it’s been addressed with the defense and now they’ll look to bounce back. What was once the bread and butter of a successful Saints team has taken a small, but impactful step in the wrong direction. This game, against a familiar opponent and quarterback, is their chance to reestablish their standing as a top defense.
There are a lot of things the unit does well. The Saints have the best red zone defense in the league allowing touchdowns on just 25 percent of opposing red zone possessions. They have done a great job taking the ball away, with nine total takeaways. The Saints have also kept touchdown production low early in games.
While the Saints offense has scored on four of their five opening drives, the defense has allowed just one first-half touchdown all season. Three of the four second-half touchdowns they’ve surrendered have all come in the fourth quarter. The defense is providing opportunities for the offense to open up early leads, something the team struggled to do last year. However, when those leads can’t be built, it may come down to the defense to close games out. That’s where New Orleans would love to reestablish its footing and put games away, especially with a rookie quarterback starting the next couple of weeks.
New Orleans wants to win with defense and a run game. If they can get those elements back to producing and being reliable, the Saints can get back to their identity, and ideally for them, their winning ways.
