Saints’ Loss to Vikings Exposes a Bigger Problem: The Offense Has Lost Its Rhythm And Identity

For nearly three quarters Sunday, the New Orleans Saints had every opportunity to hand the undefeated Minnesota Vikings their first loss.

The defense forced turnovers. Rookie safety Jonas Sanker electrified the Superdome with an 87-yard fumble return for a touchdown. New Orleans entered the fourth quarter tied 13-13 and then reality showed up.

Minnesota scored the final 10 points and walked out of the Caesars Superdome with a victory, improving to 5-0 while dropping New Orleans to 1-4. For the Saints, it was their third consecutive home loss. 

The defense gave New Orleans chances. The offense simply couldn't take advantage, and that's becoming the bigger concern.

The Saints finished with only 142 total yards, their lowest offensive output since Week 2 of the 2021 season. Minnesota controlled the football for majority of the minutes compared to New Orleans. 

That's not simply a bad afternoon, but rather  an offense getting completely controlled.

Tyler Shough completed 16 of 25 passes for only 96 yards, and averaged just 3.8 yards per attempt against Minnesota.  The Vikings locked up Shough and deserve plenty of credit for it.

Defensive coordinator Brian Flores blitzed on 61.5% of passing snaps and generated pressure on half of Shough's dropbacks. Minnesota recorded only one sack, but the pressure constantly affected the timing and rhythm of the Saints offense. 

That's exactly what aggressive defenses want. You don't always need sacks if the quarterback never gets comfortable.

This is where some responsibility has to land on Kellen Moore and his offensive staff.

Everybody knew Minnesota was bringing pressure. The Vikings weren't hiding their personality. Yet New Orleans never consistently found the counterpunch.

Where were the quick screens? Where were the easy completions designed to punish linebackers for attacking? Where were the explosive plays created through play-action?

Instead, Minnesota dictated the terms all game.

The Saints managed just 55 rushing yards on 17 carries, including 30 yards from Kendre Miller. Alvin Kamara received only three carries for 12 yards and caught two passes for minus-6 yards. 

That's seven total touches for one of the most accomplished offensive players in franchise history. Some of that undoubtedly comes from circumstances, health and Minnesota's defense.

But seven touches? That's difficult to understand in a game that remained close until the fourth quarter.

Shough deserves criticism for the two interceptions, but I'm not ready to turn this into a quarterback problem. He's still developing for sure, but now it's time to look at turning this offense around.

What concerns me more is putting a young quarterback into an offense without enough balance or easy answers.

Against Atlanta, Shough threw 48 passes for 286 yards because New Orleans spent much of the game chasing points. Against Minnesota, he attempted only 25 passes but rarely had opportunities to attack downfield. 

Those are two completely different games producing the same result. That tells me the issue runs deeper than the quarterback. It says, we that "We are not managing our offensive strategy."

New Orleans needs to establish what its offense actually wants to be.

At 1-4, we're past the point of talking about encouraging stretches. Quite honestly, the Saints need wins., and quick before this season slips away.

Sunday was especially frustrating because the defense created exactly the kind of opportunities needed to upset a 4-0 team. New Orleans was tied entering the fourth quarter despite producing almost nothing offensively.

That's a game you have to steal and be headline talk on Monday morning on ESPN, with a "David Beating Goliath" rolling title.

Instead, Minnesota showed why it's undefeated and unfortunately New Orleans showed why it's 1-4.

The Saints travel to face the New York Giants on Sunday, Oct. 18, before heading to Paris to play Pittsburgh. New Orleans has won its past three meetings with New York, but history won't matter much if this offense continues struggling to move the football. 

The biggest question this week isn't whether Shough can bounce back, but more-so, it's whether Moore can give him an offense capable of doing it.