Through the first three weeks of the NFL season, the New Orleans Saints have struggled with consistency and discipline. Against the Green Bay Packers this past weekend, there was minor improvement but not enough to capture a victory on Sunday Night Football and they lost 37-30. Despite scoring 30 points for the second time in three weeks, the Black and Gold continue to miss the mark on the details.
“We’re not doing enough of the little things well enough to win on a consistent basis,” Head Coach Sean Payton said. “We are going to watch the tape. There are some encouraging things; and, yet, as a team, there are too many details that we have to improve on. That starts with us as coaches, myself, starting with me. The turnover battle we thought would be important. It ended up just being one versus zero, and, yet, that is pretty significant. There were parts of the way that the game was unfolding that was encouraging early on. And, I thought that, as it went on, we didn’t play as well in the second half.”
Payton & Co. want to contend for a Super Bowl in a year that could be quarterback and future Hall of Famer, Drew Brees’, last. But turnovers and untimely penalties continue to stifle any progress they make week-to-week. That said; to follow are three takeaways from Sunday Night loss in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome:
1) WR Emmanuel Sanders Sighting
Through the first two games, Sanders struggled to be a factor in the Saints offense. It has been clear that he has been looking to find his niche. It’s imperative that his understanding of where and what he needs to do within the offense’s confines elevates each week. On Sunday night, the 10-year veteran found his groove, catching four of five targets for 56 yards and a touchdown.
“I think this game I settled in, I learned my splits I kinda grew in the offense,” Sanders said. “I figured out what I was studying wrong and what I was studying right and what Sean Payton wants and doesn’t want and I feel like I found my groove this game.”
His continued growth will be a significant factor in the Saint’s success late in the 2020 season.
2) Miscues Are Leading to Points for the Opponent
Penalties and turnovers have been a glaring problem through three games. These fouls put the Saints’ offense in long down-and-distance situations that can kill a drive before it gets started. As well, the infractions defensively have been gift baskets to the opponent as it often places the challenger’s offense in favorable positions to score.
Sunday, the Saints had eight penalties for 83 yards, bringing their season total through three weeks to 27 for 315 yards. New Orleans has also had two turnovers over their last two prime-time games and both played a significant role in the ball club’s demise. If New Orleans wants any chance of making the playoffs, the lack of discipline and attention to detail must improve.
#Saints tonight had 8 penalties for 83 yards. Through three games New Orleans has 27 penalties for 315 yards. #GBvsNO
— Dujunnea Bland (@NotBland21) September 28, 2020
3) Saints Improve Third-down Efficiency
In 2019, the Saints finished the year ranked 11th offensively in third-down conversions percentage (41.87%). However, in their last three games of that season, they fell off considerably, ranking 25th with an awful 35.29% conversion rate. The trend seemingly continued because, in Week 1 of this season, the Saints converted just five of 15 third downs for a meager 33.33%.
New Orleans has continued to improve in this department though through the next two weeks of football, ranking 10th in third-down conversion percentage (45.95%). On Sunday at home, the Saints were five of 11 for a respectable 45.45%. If the team wants to win its division and have a Super Bowl shot, it will need to continue to trend upward. Failure to do so could leave its defense hung out to dry, which often results in losses.