3 reasons for Saints fans to be optimistic for Week 11 vs Eagles

The New Orleans Saints may have lost 21-23 this past Sunday to the Titans, but there is plenty of reason to believe they are trending in the right direction. Coming off of two disheartening losses in the past two weeks by a combined four points, they have been in each game until the very end.

While things didn’t go according to plan last year when the Saints played in Philadelphia, there’s reason to believe they are more poised to leave with a win this time.

New Orleans Saints run defense is top-notch

Going into Philly last year, the Saints had gone a record-breaking 55 games including the playoffs not allowing a 100-yard rusher. That streak came to an end when they then allowed Miles Sanders and Jalen Hurts to both rush for 100+ yards each.

The Saints go into this Sunday’s game allowing a league-best 73.8 rushing yards per game. With more film on Hurts this time around (the last game against the Eagles was his first NFL start), NOLA should be primed to limit his rushing ability.

The Marcus Davenport fans have been waiting for

Marcus Davenport is finally turning into the player the Saints had hoped for when they drafted him in the first round in 2018. Coming off of a two-sack, two tackles for loss game, Davenport seems to finally be healthy and is making his presence known each game.

With David Onyemata getting back into the flow of things, expect the Saints pass rush to take a step up in the second half of the season.

Emergence of T-Dot?

While the Saints’ offense hasn’t been as effective as it was with Jameis Winston, Trevor Siemian has definitely held his own and earned the respect of many. Sean Payton has done a great job putting Siemian in good and manageable situations, and Siemian has gotten progressively better with each start as a result.

New Orleans comes into Week 11 leading the league in fourth-quarter points scored. If they can find a way to get the offense going a little earlier in the game, they may be able to stop ending up on the losing side of these close games.

Looking forward

While questions still loom over the Saints receiving core, Sean Payton is definitely making the most with what he has and continues to put players in a position to succeed. Alvin Kamara is dealing with a minor knee issue and hopefully, he won’t have to miss too much time before getting back on the field.

With a tough set of games approaching over the next three weeks, New Orleans could definitely use their best player back on offense, as these games could have significant playoff-seeding implications.