The New Orleans Saints fell to 1-2 after a fourth-quarter meltdown to the Las Vegas Raiders, allowing 19 unanswered points.
While the Saints looked to have finally fixed their slow starts, other problems arose, and there are more questions than answers.
Up: RB Travis Etienne Jr.
Through the first two weeks of the regular season, the Saints haven’t seen the production match the large contract they gave running back Travis Etienne Jr. The fifth-year running back signed a $48 million deal in the offseason and headlined the New
Orleans’ expensive running game rebuild.
Fortunately for the Saints, Etienne finally started to find consistency as a runner during their home opener against the Raiders. Unfortunately for New Orleans, Etienne would leave the game in the third quarter and not return.
Etienne ended the day with 13 carries for 57 yards, averaging 4.4 yards per carry. The Saints entered the day with a clear game plan: get Etienne involved. He was a valuable part of the team’s first-half scoring drives and was on his way to having his best day as a Saint. But after Etienne left, the wind was taken out of the Saints’ sails, and it was clear he was pivotal to their game plan.
Up: DE Chase Young
Defensive end Chase Young continues his strong season, following his 1.5-sack game with 2 sacks on Sunday. Young ended the day with 2 tackles, 2 sacks, and 2 tackles for loss.
Young is a game wrecker. Opposing offenses are accounting for him on every down, and he creates chaos when rushing the passer. The eighth-year pass rusher is finally blossoming into the star he was projected to be when he was drafted second overall, and you can look for him to make a play when the Saints need him the most.
While the rest of the Saints’ defense struggled during Sunday’s loss, Young came out with a strong showing.
Down: Magical Fourth Quarter
We’ve spent all week analyzing the Saints’ slow starts and monster fourth quarters, exclaiming, “If only they could play in the first half how they play in the fourth quarter.” Well, we finally saw the Saints’ start significantly quicker, finding the end zone twice and scoring 13 points in the first half, compared to just 6 over their first two games.
While the Saints finally found the answers to scoring in the first half, they suffered a complete meltdown in the fourth quarter, turning the ball over four times and allowing 13 points.
The Saints’ monster fourth quarters weren’t going to last forever, but the meltdown was a complete counter to the strong showings we’ve seen in the past weeks. Simply put, if New Orleans was even 20% as good as they’ve been in the fourth quarter this season on Sunday, they would’ve come out with the win. The loss falls mainly on the offenses’ inability to protect the ball and run the clock.
Down: Defense
By far the biggest standout from Sunday’s loss was the defense’s inability to stop the Raiders from scoring. Las Vegas started the game scoring on each of their first four drives, and scored on 7 of their 11 offensive drives.
The Raiders established early on that they wanted to get superstar tight end Brock Bowers the ball, and the Saints failed to successfully counter it. New Orleans even assigned their best cornerback, Kool-Aid McKinstry, to mirror Bowers, but he still came away with 10 receptions for 116 yards and a touchdown.
It also appeared the Saints defense was too content after going up 27-16, with the following drive being too easy and efficient for the Raiders offense. After New Orleans scored a touchdown to go up 11, the defense allowed a five-play, 71-yard drive.
The Saints defense was the backbone of the team during their rebuilding season last year, with defensive coordinator Brandon Staley’s name lingering around a possible head coaching return. But over the first three weeks of the season, New Orleans is allowing 27 points per game.
