4 Saints who need to thrive in Week 8 vs. Chargers

No one anticipated the New Orleans Saints would have a five-game losing streak after their hot start to the season. Of course, the Saints weren’t going to score 40 points every game, but no one saw things falling apart as quickly and dramatically as they did in New Orleans.

Now, the Saints will travel to the west coast for a game against the Los Angeles Chargers, desperate to get a win. L.A. is 3-3 on the season, and is a competitive team that makes opponents earn their wins. If New Orleans is going to go on the road and finally get a win, the team will need some big performances from a few key players.

Kool-Aid McKinstry needs to thrive against the Chargers in his new role

Rookie corner Kool-Aid McKinstry will be thrusted into a bigger role now that Paulson Adebo is sidelined for the remainder of the season. However, the talented second-round pick has already proved he’s ready for the moment, having an impressive performance in Week 2 against the Dallas Cowboys.

He’ll need a similar outing Sunday against the Chargers. Los Angeles quarterback Justin Herbert likes to throw the ball all over the field, but quarterbacks these days rarely even try Marshon Lattimore. That means McKinstry could be targeted a lot just like Adebo often was. He’ll have to make some big plays to let quarterbacks know they shouldn’t come his way either.

Alvin Kamara needs to dominate the Chargers in Week 8

The Saints are their best when Alvin Kamara and the run game are rolling. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case during this five-game losing streak, with the rushing attack and the offense struggling to consistently move the ball.

In Week 8, that has to change, and New Orleans is facing the perfect opponent. The Chargers are allowing 4.6 yards per carry, which is 22nd in the NFL. The Saints need to take advantage of that on Sunday and establish the run game. Once that happens, the entire offense will open up.

Taliese Fuaga and Trevor Penning need to thrive against the Chargers

This doesn’t need much explaining. The Chargers have Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa as their two edge defenders. Each one of them can absolutely take over a game; if they both get going it’ll be a nightmare for opposing teams.

The Saints don’t want that to happen on Sunday, and Taliese Fuaga and Trevor Penning will be in charge of preventing it. Both young tackles have been solid this season, but they’ll need to be really good against the Chargers to keep Spencer Rattler clean.

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