3 problems Saints must fix before Week 8 game

After five straight losses it’s an understatement to call the New Orleans Saints’ Week 8 game a must-win. New Orleans is already 2-5, and with 10 games left on its schedule, the team needs to start winning to have a chance at the playoffs. A six-game losing streak would all but end those hopes.

The opponent that will try to keep this losing streak going is the Los Angeles Chargers. L.A. is 3-3, and coming off a two-point loss. The Chargers will host the Saints and try to take advantage of the team’s struggles.

To prevent that from happening, New Orleans must fix a few major issues.

3. Saints must find their rushing attack again

New Orleans’ offense works best when the running game is productive. The team’s Week 7 box score is a bit misleading, because the 21 carries for 97 yards makes it seem like the Saints were productive on the ground. However, 34 of those yards came from Spencer Rattler scrambles, and majority of the rest came late in the game, after the action was decided.

Alvin Kamara, who got the carries when the game was competitive, only had seven rushes for 10 yards. If that’s the kind of production New Orleans is getting on the ground, the offense isn’t going to score many points.

The Saints must get the ground game moving in order for the offense to get rolling.

2. Saints must limit their turnovers

In two starts, rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler has run into the problem many young quarterbacks have when they enter the league: turnovers. In his first start in Week 6, Rattler threw two interceptions. In Week 7, he didn’t throw any interceptions, but he did lose two fumbles.

New Orleans can’t afford those costly turnovers right now— especially with how the defense is playing. Rattler, along with everyone else on the offense and return units, must protect the football.

1. Saints have to stop the run

Stopping the run in football is a nonnegotiable for being a good team. If a team can’t stop the run, they aren’t going to win a lot of games or accomplish much. New Orleans is experiencing that right now, as the defense has been horrid against the run doing this five-game losing streak.

The Saints allowed the Denver Broncos to run the ball 35 times for 225 yards, which is an embarrassing 6.4 yards per carry. Currently, New Orleans is allowing 146.7 rushing yards a game, which ranks the team 29th in the league. The 5.4 yards allowed per carry ranks the team dead last in the NFL.

There’s no excuse for being this bad against the run, especially with the talent New Orleans has defensively. The defense needs to figure it out fast, or the Saints will keep losing games.

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