3 problems Saints must fix before Week 14 game against Giants

Over the last month, the New Orleans Saints had built some nice momentum and were close to turning their season around. They had won two straight games under interim head coach Darren Rizzi, and had a bye week to get healthy. After the bye week, New Orleans had the perfect opportunity to climb back into the mix. The Atlanta Falcons dropped a game, and the Saints had a winnable matchup against the Los Angeles Rams.

Unfortunately, New Orleans couldn’t capitalize, losing 21-14. Now, the team is 4-8 with five games remaining in the season. The Saints should be able to bounce back in Week 14 against the New York Giants, but they’ll need to fix a few problems first.

3. Saints must commit to the run game

One thing that cost New Orleans the game against the Rams was not sticking to the run. Alvin Kamara finished the game with 23 carries for 112 yards. With him averaging five yards per carry, he should’ve ran the ball much more. For some reason, the offense decided to go away from the run at times and it cost them points, and ultimately the game.

Klint Kubiak and the offense can’t make that mistake again on Sunday. If the rushing attack is working, lean on it and allow Kamara to carry the team to victory.

2. Saints defense must stop the run

The run game is usually the key to winning, so just as the New Orleans offense needs to get it going, the defense needs to stop it. In Week 13, the Saints didn’t do a good job of stopping the run. The Rams ran the ball 29 times for 156 yards and a touchdown.

It was the rushing attack that opened up Los Angeles’ offense and led them to 21 second-half points. If the Saints could stop the run, they’d be 5-7 right now. They can’t go back, though, so the defense just has to be better moving forward.

1. Saints need to be successful in the red zone

Against the Rams, New Orleans left too many points on the board. The offense has two separate 14-play, clock-draining drives that got them down into the red zone, and neither resulted in points. The Saints were 0-2 in the red zone, and that’s not a recipe for success.

Some of the blame is New Orleans going away from the run, but it’s also about execution. The Saints can’t afford to make the same costly mistakes moving forward; when the team is in the red zone, they need to score.

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