Los Angeles Rams running back Kyren Williams (23) is tackled by New Orleans Saints safety Ugo Amadi (0) Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

Saints Latest Loss Again Exposes Team's Biggest Flaw

Originally posted on New Orleans Saints on SI
By Bob Rose | Last updated Dec 4, 2024 8:50 AM ET

The New Orleans Saints dropped to 4-8 with Sunday's 21-14 home loss to the Los Angeles Rams. While not yet mathematically eliminated, it is all but a formality that the Saints will miss the postseason for a fourth year in a row.

There's a long list of reasons why New Orleans has sunken to the lower depths of the league. An unending string of injuries stripped the offense and exposed their lack of depth, especially at receiver. The defense aged quickly. Poor execution on both sides of the ball, bad coaching, crippling mistakes, and inability to finish drives and plays have doomed the team all season.

All this leads to a daunting list of offseason needs for New Orleans. Many fans want a new quarterback. Pass rusher, safety, wide receiver and running back depth, a playmaking tight end, along with youth and athleticism at linebacker have all been major deficiencies this year.

All those issues were exposed in Sunday's loss to the Rams. There was another glaring problem that caused the defeat. It's an area that's been a liability all year, and one that should be close to the top of the Saints needs this offseason.

Defensive Tackle

The Saints rank 26th against the run, allowing and average of 136 yards per game on the ground and a league-worst 5.1 per carry. Since Week 3, New Orleans has surrendered 150.6 rushing yards and 5.5 per run.

Over their last 10 games, the Saints have faced seven teams that rank in the bottom of the league for rushing production. In almost all of those contests, the opposition had their best rushing output of the year or close to it. New Orleans was absolutely helpless against the ground attacks of the Eagles (172 yards), Chiefs (139), Buccaneers (277), Broncos (225), Falcons (181), and Rams (156).

Probably most embarrassing and also a microcosm of the Saints' performance against the run was when they faced Sean Tucker of the Buccaneers. In 16 career games before facing New Orleans, Tucker had a total of 53 yards. In six games since playing the Saints, Tucker has a total of 80 yards. Tucker had a mind-boggling 192 total yards against the Saints in Week 6, including 136 on the ground with just 14 carries.

Tucker is the most egregious example. It hasn't mattered whether the Saints have faced a bench warmer, average, good, or great back--they've often looked like a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

This article first appeared on New Orleans Saints on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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