NEW ORLEANS — The high in New England didn't last long.
Sunday in Houston looked quite different and the Who Dat Nation is not happy.
I think part of it is people are remembering who the Texans have been for the last three years – the worst team in football. They are positively not that anymore.
By NFL standards, they are an average team.
And C.J. Stroud is on his way to becoming an above-average quarterback.
Sunday in Houston, the Saints made too many mistakes and missed too many opportunities to beat a team that's not bad.
Let's start our "Four Takeaways" with the defense.
#4 Defense is NOT the problem...
On the negative side., Houston rushed for 120 yards. That's more yards than the Saints have given up in any game this season. Especially in the first half, Houston moved the ball effectively.
But, while C.J. Stroud did some good things – his passer rating Sunday was his 5th best in six games – he did not have a big day by any standard.
And bottom line, the NFL average for points scored by a team this season is 21.7 points per game.
Houston scored 20 points. so the Saints held them under the league average.
They've actually held their opponents under the NFL average in five of six games, meaning if the Saints had an average offense they'd be 5-1 right now. but they don't, at least not so far.
#3 O-line is a mess...
Dennis Allen downplayed benching Trevor Penning, but it is a big deal.
They needed the first rounder to take a big step forward this season. He hasn't.
But the fact is, nobody on the offensive line is killing it.
The Saints are 23rd in the NFL in rushing and 22 teams have given up fewer sacks.
Erik McCoy, Ryan Ramczyk, Cesar Ruiz and Trevor Penning all have to play better.
#2 Missed opportunities...
Texans kicker Kai Fairbairn was 4-for-4, while Saints rookie Blake Grupe missed two kicks.
The Saints left six points on the field.
And worse than that, they were terrible in the red zone.
The Texans made four trips to the Saints' red zone and got two touchdowns and two field goals – 20 points.
The Saints made three trips and came away with a grand total of three points.
New Orleans has been bad all season in the red zone..
They've scored touchdowns on less than 37percent of their trips. That's 27th best in the NFL – and not good enough.
#1 They are what they are...
We're six games in, that's 35 percent of the season done, and that Saints look like – and are playing like – an average team. Not good. Not bad. Average.
Right now, Derek Carr is 19th in the NFL in passer rating – below average.
The Saints are below average running the ball, below average protecting the quarterback, and below average scoring points – 24th in the league.
And here's the thing, we know what a Super Bowl team looks like. The Saints have had three teams in their history good enough to win a Super Bowl (2011 and 2018 and, of course, 2009) and with all of those teams, we knew they were special by this point in the season. I'm sorry to say, but the 2023 Saints do not look like a Super Bowl team.
But this week, the NFC South went 0-4. Right now, it's the worst division in football.
Are the Saints good enough to win the South? Absolutely.
The Saints' defense is still Top 5, but the offense must do much better.
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