NEW ORLEANS — It is ok to admit when the New Orleans Saints fell behind to the Indianapolis Colts 17-7 Sunday, we all went to the darkest of Saints fan places. I admit I said some mean and inappropriate things about Dennis Allen and Derek Carr to my TV and I might have even considered canceling my trip to New Orleans to watch the Saints play the Chicago Bears.
Bad times all around.
The 2023 Saints season was circling the drain before Halloween even arrived and then the Saints suddenly and without warning became the offense we’d been promised all offseason.
The Saints offense drove 75 yards in 8 plays, capped off by a 20-yard Taysom Hill touchdown run, the defense forced a punt, and 2 plays later Rashid Shaheed grabbed a 58-yard touchdown pass from Derek Carr and suddenly everything was back on track. The Saints wouldn’t trail again and would allow the Colts to score just 10 points the rest of the afternoon.
Hello 4-4. Hello first-place tie in the NFC South. Hello 2023 season pulled back from the abyss.
The Saints had 400-plus yards of offense for the third straight week, scored three touchdowns in four red zone trips, and even ran the ball effectively (161 yards on 36 carries). It was as complete and thorough an offensive performance as you could hope for. It is neither our problem nor our concern the Colts were playing with a cardboard box at one corner and a linebacker with one healthy leg.
The Saints located the mismatches and worked them all day.
The Saints offensive line, a mess all year, was superb. Can they maintain this level? No idea but the thing that has been baffling about this offensive line is the thing that gives us hope -- the Saints have good players they’ve drafted high and given lots of money to along the offensive line because they’ve shown they are capable of being very good.
Are the Saints just going to be the Taysom Hill show when they get inside the opponent's 20-yard line?
Good.
Alvin Kamara said it best after the game, “Taysom is like the equivalent to the tush push, you know what’s coming and you can’t stop it.”
Taysom Hill touchdowns are as inevitable at the goal line as tourists making bad decisions on Bourbon St.
The offense did everything well Sunday. Derek Carr threw for 310 yards and 2 scores, and if not for a Chris Olave drop, he’d have had 350 yards and 3 scores. That is the Carr the Saints paid $100 million for. Steady, not spectacular, but he will make the throws that are there to be made.
The Saints' defense, for the third straight week, followed up a terrible first half with an excellent second half. The Saints' defense is good, with exceptional depth at corner, and besides a couple of long runs was again solid against the run game. But I worry that remaining a top 10 unit is going to be extremely difficult, maybe impossible without an improved pass rush.
The Saints did manage to sack Colts quarterback Gardner Minshew twice but for long stretches, he was completely unbothered by the Saints pass rush.
The NFL trade deadline is Tuesday, I’d expect Saints GM Mickey Loomis to attempt some Halloween shopping for a pass rusher. There’s a division title begging to be won and Loomis isn’t the kind to let that go by without being aggressive.
So eight weeks in what are we to make of the Saints? They aren’t what I’d call a good team. Too many penalties, stepping on rakes, and weak offensive and defensive lines for them to be a Super Bowl contender.
The thing is, have you seen the NFC South? The Atlanta Falcons just got beat by a rookie quarterback making his first start, are about to change quarterbacks, and lost their best defensive player for the season to injury.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have lost three in a row and look exactly like you’d expect a Baker Mayfield quarterbacked team to look.
The Carolina Panthers finally won a football game. Good for them I guess.
The NFC South is worse than we thought it would be and the Saints are about to face the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings’ backup quarterbacks. If I didn’t know any better, I’d believe there is some sort of higher power pulling out all the stops to make sure Dennis Allen wins a division title as Saints coach.
The Saints have been given every break, from an easy schedule to injury luck and three terrible teams stuffed into their division. There will be no excuses accepted if I can’t purchase a Saints 2023 NFC South Champions t-shirt.
Ralph Malbrough is a contributing writer and Saints fan living in Houston. Email him at saintshappyhour@gmail.com, find him on Facebook, or follow him on Twitter at @SaintsForecast or download the Saints Happy Hour Podcast.