Injuries continue to plague NOLA Saints as they prepare to face NY Jets

The NOLA Saints are now losers of five straight games. It’s the first time such a losing streak has happened in Sean Payton’s 16 years of coaching in New Orleans.

Injuries all over the offensive side of the ball have decimated this team, which at one point was 5-2 with wins over Super Bowl contenders like the Packers, Patriots, and Buccaneers. Now, at 5-7, the Saints are struggling to figure out how to end this brutal skid and keep their slim playoff hopes alive.

They’ll have a good shot to do just that this Sunday against the New York Jets. The Jets, who are 3-9 on the season, have had a rough start to the Zach Wilson and Robert Saleh era. Wilson, the second overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, has had a disappointing first season so far, missing multiple games due to injury and throwing only six touchdowns to go along with 11 interceptions.

However, the first-year quarterback out of BYU is coming off one of his best games as a pro. Wilson completed 23-of-38 passes for 226 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception in a loss against the Philadelphia Eagles. He also went on to win the Rookie of the Week award for Week 13.

The Saints are coming off a 27-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, where the offense once again looked unwatchable aside from a few Taysom Hill scrambles. Hill didn’t play very well in his first start of the season, completing 19-of-41 passes for 264 yards, two touchdowns, and four interceptions. He also added 11 rushes for 101 yards on the ground.

While New Orleans still struggled to score points, Hill did add a spark to the offense. Say what you will about the versatile quarterback, but he deserves a lot of credit for playing with plantar fasciitis in his foot and mallet finger on his throwing hand. He may be a lot better off after a few extra off days to rest this week and with the team getting a few of its starters back from injury in the coming weeks.

Speaking of returning players, Alvin Kamara, Terron Armstead, Marcus Davenport, and Kaden Elliss all appear to be on track to play this upcoming Sunday. C.J. Gardner-Johnson has also been designated to return off IR, although it’s still unclear if he’ll be back this week.

Kamara and Armstead especially have been sorely missed on the offensive side of the ball and will be welcomed back with open arms.

While the Saints finally look to be getting healthy, Cam Jordan, Mark Ingram, and Ty Montgomery have all tested positive for COVID-19 this week, putting their statuses for Sunday’s game in doubt. If Jordan especially is unable to clear protocol, New Orleans will be in desperation mode at defensive end and will badly need Davenport to suit up.

The team is already without rookie first-round pick Payton Turner and Tanoh Kpassagnon who are both on IR and would be left with only Carl Granderson and Jalyn Holmes.

Deonte Harris officially lost his appeal and is now suspended for the next three games, leaving a big hole at the receiver position that much bigger. Losing Harris is huge since he’s been the only consistent player at the position this season and his explosiveness will not be replaced by any of the current players on the roster right now.

NOLA Saints are shorthanded, but this is a must-win game

The Jets are dealing with a ton of injuries of their own and have the worst-ranked defense in the league, giving up on average almost 400 yards per game. While getting back a healthy Kamara will definitely help the offense get going again, I fully expect the Saints to get back on track and end their current losing streak.

While many fans may have already lost hope and are ready to start tanking the season for a better draft pick, I really think the Saints have a decent shot at getting back into the playoffs. The NFC Wildcard picture is an absolute mess right now, which definitely plays to the team’s advantage, on top of New Orleans having one of the easier schedules in the league remaining with the Jets, Buccaneers, Dolphins, Panthers, and Falcons left to play.

The Saints are on this losing streak because of awful injury luck, not because they’re a bad football team.

How do you expect a team to win games with almost every starter on offense out?

At some point, it just becomes too much for any team to handle, even a team like the Saints who have dealt with an extreme amount of adversity this year. Now there is no more room for error, and no more room for excuses.

New Orleans will need to at least get to eight wins on the season in order to have any chance at hoping for a playoff spot, which is very possible given how favorable the schedule lines up. If they come out flat once again against the Jets and drop another game to an opponent they should beat, then we can certainly start looking toward the 2022 season.