What happened to the New Orleans Saints offense?
Week 1 saw Jameis Winston and the Saints absolutely destroy the Green Bay Packers by a final score of 38-3.
It was a shocking result and easily the biggest surprise in Week 1.
Well, the team provided another huge surprise in Week 2 for opposite reasons.
The Saints were blown out by the Carolina Panthers and it was never even close in the 26-7 beatdown.
Let’s dive into all the ugly stats from the loss.
Saints in Saints in
Week 1: Week 2: pic.twitter.com/q5wYN9jYM9— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) September 19, 2021
Nothing From Winston
Remember last week when Winston had five touchdown passes, but only threw for 148 yards?
He had another low yardage total against the Panthers as the Saints continue to struggle with big plays in the passing game.
Winston finished the day going a hideous 11/22 for 111 yards.
He did not throw a touchdown, but did toss two interceptions.
The only Saints touchdown on the day was one on the ground by Winston, so he did still find his way into the end zone.
The running game was yet another disastrous part of this loss for New Orleans.
Nothing On The Ground
Winston was actually the team’s leading rusher with 19 yards.
Taysom Hill was next with 16 yards and Alvin Kamara finished with five yards on eight carries.
Speaking of Kamara, his four receptions for 25 yards led the way for New Orleans.
Anyone with Saints players in fantasy football this week may be better off not even checking their score.
Kamara had 83 yards on the ground in Week 1 and Tony Jones Jr. added 50.
The latter only had seven yards against Carolina.
It was a total mess all around as the Saints had six first downs the entire game.
The Saints totaled 6 first downs today. That’s their fewest since 10/26/97.
— Bill Voth (@PanthersBill) September 19, 2021
One of those even came via a penalty.
Two Vastly Different Games
It is impossible to tell what type of team the Saints are right now.
The defense made Aaron Rodgers look amateur in Week 1, but could not stop Sam Darnold in Week 2.
The offense has not been dominating either, even if the scoring was efficient in Week 1.
Next up is a road matchup against the New England Patriots.
That team improved to 1-1 with a win over the New York Jets in a game that saw Zach Wilson toss four interceptions.
So it is tough to gauge just how good the Patriots are either.
That Week 3 matchup should be revealing for both teams as they are both 1-1 and trying to establish identities with new quarterbacks under center in 2021.
However, Mac Jones is not facing the same expectations as Winston.
The veteran cannot have another terrible performance because Hill could easily start getting more work if that does happen.
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