The New Orleans Saints ended a losing streak against a lowly Carolina Panthers team in Week 14. That's the good part.
That being said, it was not pretty. New Orleans had less than 100 passing yards entering the fourth quarter. Blake Grupe missed another short field goal attempt. Overall, they weren't crisp against the worst team in the NFC.
After the win, Saints head coach Dennis Allen made some strong comments. He was clearly happy to get back on the winning side of the slate. Although, he seems to be a bit blind to the clear pressure that's on him and his fellow coaches right now.
“I think everyone in that locker room and everyone in the city of New Orleans needed us to win this game.” -- Allen
There's a strong contingent of Saints fans that want New Orleans to move on from Allen. As a matter of fact, they want offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael Jr. to be fired and front office moves to be made.
By the way, Allen is now 21-45 as a head coach. He's far from being comfortable as the head an for the Saints.
This season was projected to be one where they are a contender in their conference. Now, they are wading at water level and trying to keep pace at the top of the worst division in football.
The Saints, at 6-7, are now tied for the top spot of the NFC South with the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The other two teams hold the tiebreaker with the Saints as they have beat New Orleans in the divisional matchups so far this season.
Allen and co. have meetings with Atlanta and Tampa Bay left on the schedule in the final month of the season. Those may decide the NFC South winner.
Regardless, Allen needs to be aware of the heat that's under his chair. This season has been a massive disappointment for the Saints.
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