The New Orleans Saints fell to the Denver Broncos 33-10 on a special night in the Caesars Superdome. This extends their losing streak to five consecutive games following an impressive 2-0 start.
This team has hit rock bottom. The injury woes that the Saints are facing right now are unlike anything I've ever seen. Combined with poor coaching and effort, a promising season appears to have slipped away from New Orleans.
Let's take a look at an overreaction following the Saints' Week 7 loss to the Broncos:
After waiting patiently, the fanbase's wish was granted when the Saints named fifth-round NFL Draft pick Spencer Rattler as the team's starting QB. However, after some early growing pains, I'm starting to see fans turn on the talented young quarterback after Jake Haener's touchdown-leading drive in garbage time.
Haener looked good. He even changed a play before the snap, resulting in a great throw to his favorite target of the drive, veteran WR Cedrick Wilson Jr. Rattler, on the other hand, performed well given the circumstances. He completed 25 of his 35 passes for 172 yards (4.9 avg) and posted a QBR of 82.1, while also recording 34 rushing yards on five attempts, including a remarkable 28-yard run. That said, the rookie had two fumbles, one of which was snagged mid-air and taken to the house for a Broncos touchdown.
It was the right decision to see what you have in Rattler while you've got the chance, and now is not the time to give up on the former Heisman candidate. Evaluating him has been difficult due to his depleted supporting cast, but experiencing this adversity at a professional level could prove to be beneficial to the 24-year-old's career in the long run.
It doesn't help that the offensive line continues to take hits each game. Rattler has been pressured on 38 of his 92 drop backs this season (41.3%) and blitzed on 37 of them (40.2%). The Broncos were able to easily exploit the Saints' makeshift pass protection, finishing the game with six sacks. Denver generated 14 quick pressures (2.5 seconds or less) against New Orleans in Week 7, tying for the most in a single game since the start of the 2024 NFL season, per Next Gen Stats. The New York Jets are the last team to achieve this in Week 3 against the New England Patriots.
Entering Thursday's matchup, the Broncos were ranked 2nd in team sacks with 22, so it's not surprising they found success against the Saints. They now sit atop the league with 28 sacks, two ahead of the New York Giants, who play the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.
New Orleans will head to SoFi Stadium for Week 8's matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers next Sunday afternoon. Expect QB Spencer Rattler (hip pointer) to get the start again, as Saints HC Dennis Allen mentioned that Derek Carr (oblique) has a better chance of returning in Week 9 against the Carolina Panthers. He highlighted that it's more of a functionality issue than pain related. Allen anticipates Carr getting back to throwing in a scheduled session on Saturday to see how he feels. Starting RG Cesar Ruiz (knee) should be good to go next week, along with TE/FB Taysom Hill (ribs). Additionally, Erik McCoy (groin) is said to be progressing well in his rehab process and could make a return in the coming weeks.