This is a results driven business, but what should be the overall sentiment following a Week 1 loss?
The New Orleans Saints fought back in Detroit, but ultimately fell to the Lions amidst some controversy surrounding a missed call on Jared Goff, which turned into an incomplete pass rather than a defensive touchdown by Jonas Sanker. Ultimately, the Saints are 0-1 and Sunday's loss was frustrating.
Still, Saints fans should be encouraged, but concerned that the team doesn't start fast. Despite the slow start, once the offense gets rolling, the Saints looked like a formidable offense.
Losing by a point in overtime is nothing to be overly worried about. The Saints fought back and worked out the kinks. Now, the Saints offense will not be as dominant against better defenses. Yes, I'm calling the Lions defense bad, but Tyler Shough sits atop the league for passing yards and the Saints receivers feasted on the Lions secondary.
The 55.6% late success rate is in line with what we saw to close out 2025 for the Saints on offense. The biggest concern on offense has to be the Saints running game. You can make the case that the running game couldn't get on track with the Saints chasing points, but the team absolutely has to get the rushing attack going.
It's funny to see the Saints offense finish a game with a 0.00 EPA all together. The same with EPA/rush. Shough's ability to create on scrambles is still there. On a 3.3% scrambling rate, the Saints finished with a 0.01 EPA/scramble. A win is a win.
Unfortunately, the Saints offensive line needs to play better. Allowing a 31.7% quick pressure rate, which was good for the third-worst mark allowed isn't ideal. The Saints offensive line is better than that and the hope is the Week 1 result is due to lack of preseason action and the line will be better moving forward.
Allowing 11.1% of explosive plays also can't continue. It's hard to decipher what's real and what's not, but you don't have to be the brightest football mind to know the Saints have to become more disciplined on defense.
So, what should a Saints fan feel after a Week 1 loss? Encouragement. The Saints can come back and run the score up if need be, but that needs to not relied on. If New Orleans starts games quicker, the offense will be incredibly tough to stop. All indications point to the Saints offense being fun and taking a step forward.
Now, we need both the offense and defense need to work together in tandem.
