JACKSON: After five weeks, who are the New Orleans Saints?

By Ross Jackson

KANSAS CITY — It feels far from a stretch to say the New Orleans Saints are undergoing a bit of an identity crisis early in the 2024 NFL season. After a red-hot start to the season, scoring 91 combined points in the first two games, New Orleans is on a tough three-game skid brought upon by a variety of concerning trends. 

Against the Philadelphia Eagles, it came down to injuries. In Atlanta, while facing the Falcons, self-inflicted wounds were too much to overcome. This week, the loss to the Kansas City Chiefs was summed up perfectly by head coach Dennis Allen. 

“In the game today, (we) got outcoached,” Allen said in his post-game media availability. “They did a good job. We really couldn’t get a whole lot (on) either side of the ball. Offensively, we really couldn’t get anything going in the run game or in the passing game. Defensively, I felt like we made too many mistakes early on in the game. I don’t think we tackled as well as we needed to. I think for the first time this year we didn’t play the way we’re capable of playing.”

Losing to the back-to-back Super Bowl champions is one thing. But to struggle to get absolutely anything going on a consistent basis is very concerning. So now that begs the question, after a fast start and a three-game nosedive, who are the Saints? 

For me, it’s simple. The Saints are a team that has not yet figured out how to win when things don’t go perfectly. Injuries, turnovers, solid run defenses, they have all been death knells for the team so far.

It’s a shame. 

For a team that will be noted for its weaknesses after its recent losses, there sure are a lot of strengths. The newly installed offensive system erupted out of the gates, featuring a talented running back in Alvin Kamara, star-caliber wide receivers in Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed and do-everything Taysom Hill.

Add into that a defense that is typically one of the most reliable across the league, and it’s a mystery how the Saints have gotten to this point. The defense was supposed to be the Saints’ strongest unit. But the way they have played late in games and struggled to stop the run have undermined the group’s potential. 

One thing the Saints had to know that they needed to do in this game was limit yards after the catch. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is averaging his lowest average depth of target of his career so far this year but is thriving on his receivers’ ability to create with the ball in their hands. The Saints needed to make stops at the catch point and instead they allowed 251 of Mahomes’ 331 passing yards to be gained by receivers after the catch. All thanks to poor tackling, space in coverage and tough angles.

News Orleans looks like a team without a rudder stranded at sea after getting into open waters in impressive fashion. Now, their best hope is to find their way back to the shore and reestablish their standards. And they’ll need to do so in a hurry. 

The Saints are 2-3 after this loss but only one game behind the Falcons and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. If they want to take advantage of the cannibalism of the NFC South, they will need to rebound quickly. If they cannot, it may answer the question of who the New Orleans Saints really are in a very disappointing way.