Another disastrous outing was turned in by the New Orleans Saints during their 23-13 loss to the Minnesota Vikings at home on Sunday. This loss was the third straight for the Saints, all at home, causing them to tumble to a 1-4 record. It was the worst overall performance yet for this Saints squad.
New Orleans had just 142 yards of total offense, their lowest output since Week 2 of the 2021 season, and did not reach the end zone offensively. A bad Minnesota offense gained 364 yards, by far their most of the 2026 campaign. Here is our good, bad, and ugly analysis from the latest New Orleans abomination.
The Good: Carl Granderson and Chase Young
Not much for this defense to hold their heads up over, but Granderson and Young got some nice pressure on Vikings quarterback Kyler Murray. Young was
in on a half sack (with Granderson), had a couple hurries, and recovered a fumble. Granderson was the closest thing the Saints had to a standout on the day. He had 1.5 sacks with a handful of pressures in his first meaningful impact of the year. Young has put forth consistent effort and production in 2026 but with little help. If Granderson can provide some pressure on the other side, then perhaps this defense could turn some things around.
The Bad: Offense, defense, special teams
New Orleans was equally atrocious in every phase. Daniel Carlson missed an extra point and squandered an opportunity to take a lead late in the third quarter. Kick coverage surrendered a 28-yard average on kickoffs and nearly 30 on punts, including a 43-yard return. Jayden Price fumbled the opening kickoff of the second half, setting up an easy Minnesota touchdown and all but ending the competitive aspect of this game. Only punter Ryan Wright, with a 57.3 average on four punts, had an above average day here.
New Orleans could at least count on Tyler Shough and the passing game to keep them in their first four games. Not on Sunday. Shough had a lowly 96 passing yards on 16 completions in 25 attempts, throwing 2 interceptions. He was sacked only once, but under constant pressure from a blitz-heavy Minnesota defense. The Saints ran the ball 17 times, averaging a putrid 3.2 per carry for 55 yards. New Orleans was 2 for 10 on third downs, all but dooming a defense that broke easily.
Against a bad Vikings offense, the Saints allowed nearly 5 yards per carry and 164 rushing yards to Aaron Jones and Kyler Murray. Minnesota converted 50% of their third downs (9 of 18) while putting up their best yardage output of the season. Jonas Sanker had a nice fumble return that kept New Orleans in the game with Chase Young and Carl Granderson providing some pass rush disruptive. Otherwise, the defense did little. Granted, being without starters Kaden Elliss, Nathan Shepherd, and Vernon Broughton hurt. That only exposed a crippling lack of depth, with the entire unit failing to stop anyone even at full health.
The Ugly: Kellen Moore and Brandon Staley
According to Pro Football Focus charting, the Vikings blitzed on 23 plays against the Saints. Despite this, New Orleans did not run a single screen pass. With Shough under extreme duress, the Saints did not appear to alter their route calls to aid their besieged quarterback. Blocking schemes and execution were a disaster, as they've been all season. Kyler Murray completed his first 11 passes and was 24 of 30 on the day. It's inexcusable that the Saints continues to allow an easy pitch and catch to opponents. All this and so much more are inexcusable for both players and coaching staff.
New Orleans has been outscored 34-6 in the first quarter this season. In 22 games under Kellen Moore, the Saints are 3-8 at home and have the fewest first quarter points (1.6) of any NFL team. Sunday's loss was the first time the Saints had fewer than 150 yards and 3 turnovers since a 38-0 loss to the 49ers in 2002. This less than a week after their most lopsided loss to hated rival Atlanta since 1999. Brandon Staley's defense continues to be nonexistent against the run and helpless against opposing tight ends, with a designed ludicrous cushion given to wide receivers.
Players need to execute better, for sure. But those numbers above, and so much more, are a direct reflection on poor coaching. The Saints continue to look woefully unprepared, fail to make any significant in-game adjustments, and laughably out-coached on a weekly basis.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Good, bad, and ugly from Saints' Week 5 abomination versus Vikings
