By Ross Jackson
Yes, the New Orleans Saints are managing injuries all over the field.
But for the most part, that isn’t going to get better any time soon. Starting center Erik McCoy is out for what is likely to be at least a few more weeks, wide receiver Rashid Shaheed’s season is over after meniscus surgery and safety Will Harris Jr. is out for at least a few more weeks after being placed on Injured Reserve ahead of the team’s Week 6 game.
Another unfortunate injury just amplified the health concerns for New Orleans as well. Starting cornerback Paulson Adebo was carted off with a right knee injury in the second quarter. The Saints are having to rely on a ton of young players to get them through this one and their youth and inexperience showed early.
New Orleans has opened by chasing a double-digit deficit for a third week in a row after going down 13-0 early due to issues containing the run and Denver mobile quarterback Bo Nix. As the two-minute warning was called, the Broncos had already compiled 102 rushing yards. Several players in the passing game were also left open, but some rookie miscues by Nix kept the scoring to a minimum.
As for the offense, a set of miscues have defined their night as well. The Saints offensive line is struggling to hold off the Broncos pass rush which had generated the NFL’s second-highest pressure percentage coming into this game. A free rusher off of rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler’s blindside forced a big fumble and turnover.
New Orleans, when not pestered by the pass rush, has had some things break their way. A big 32-yard completion to tight end Foster Moreau and a 28-yard scramble by Rattler have contributed 46.2 percent of the Saints’ total offensive net yards (130). Everything in between has not been successful for the team’s offense which is without two starting wide receivers, three starting offensive linemen and their do-it-all threat in Taysom Hill. All while a rookie quarterback is playing through his second career start.
In short, it’s been a snoozefest littered with errors, poor execution and major concerns in the trenches for the Saints. All the way down to calling a timeout just to take a knee at the end of the half, settling for their 16-3 deficit to go into halftime.
The Saints will get the ball back after the half and will hope to string something together then. But after a less than impressive first half, the halftime fanfare of inducting former quarterback Drew Brees may be the best thing fans in attendance have to cheer over.
