Week 10 of the 2026 NFL season brings a fascinating challenge to the table for the New Orleans Saints, as they take on their division rival, the Carolina Panthers, for the first of two matchups in a five-week span. The back half of the Saints' schedule brings five divisional matchups, which could be a good or bad thing depending on how things pan out.
There are certainly some things to be optimistic about for the Saints following a close win over the Cleveland Browns, but there are still some major concerns to factor in when it comes to their next game. Here are three of the most notable issues for the team prior to their Week 10 bout.
The offensive line is shuffling... again
It feels like every season, things feel like they are on the up-and-up for the New Orleans offensive line, and then
halfway through the year 2 or more of the starters are either injured or massively underperforming expectations. 2026 is no exception, with Kelvin Banks Jr. going down early this season and undergoing tightrope surgery, only just expecting to return in the next week or two.
Now, center Erik McCoy is likely to miss time due to a bicep injury, moving Cesar Ruiz to center and rookie Jeremiah Wright back into the starting lineup. Granted, many have been waiting for an extended sample size for Wright following a standout draft process, and who knows, maybe Ruiz looks better at his old college position, and this works out. But any change on the OL for a team that has been enormously streaky in the run game, and is in desperate need of a confidence boost for Tyler Shough, this is a tough time for change. We also don't know if right tackle Taliese Fuaga will be able to play after suffering a knee sprain at practice, which would bring Asim Richards back into the game.
Special teams are inconsistent at best
All credit to Charlie Smyth in his first game back in the starting lineup; he looked solid for sure, in a game where he received a pretty substantial workload. That said, he has been inconsistent from distance in the past, and this team is certainly not an active red zone threat, typically electing to turn to Ryan Wright instead.
Speaking of Wright, he is bottom six in the NFL in both net yards per punt and total yards per punt, while being roughly in the middle of the pack for punts landing inside the 20-yard line. At some point, this is certainly going to be discussed as a special teams coaching issue, as Wright is no doubt a quality punter, which we have seen in previous seasons, but this year has stunted his growth.
Then, with returns, Barion Brown has had a relatively productive year in terms of efficiency, but there needs to be an emphasis on holding onto the ball following a crucial fumble last week against the Cleveland Browns. Credit to the Saints defense for getting a stop. That was nearly very costly.
The Panthers' pass defense has been stingy in 2026 so far
In regard to finding momentum for Shough this week, it is going to be a tough opponent to find that against. Carolina has put together a pretty productive pass defense so far this season, tied for the third-lowest yards per attempt allowed in the passing game this year, the lowest number of 20+ yard passes completed, and is primarily in the top half of every metric in pass defense if not better otherwise.
While it is not a perfect secondary, it will certainly be a tough test for a passing attack that has been very streaky throughout their 2026 campaign.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: 3 causes for concern as the Saints face the Panthers in Week 10
