On Monday night, the New Orleans Saints moved to 5-10 after falling to the Green Bay Packers 34-0. The blowout loss was pretty embarrassing, but it’s just one of many lows in a disheartening season in New Orleans. With several key players sidelined entering the game, expectations weren’t high for the Saints, but things still managed to get uglier than anyone imagined.
Things were so bad for New Orleans that the team’s ineptness helped the NFL as a whole continue a streak. By failing to score a point on Monday, the Saints became the first team shutout this season. In the history of the league, there has never been a season without a shutout. This streak came down to the final game of Week 16, but a really bad Saints team helped the streak stay alive.
The Saints became the first NFL team this season to be shutout.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 24, 2024
Saints are the first team to be shutout in the 2024 season
Being shutout is always embarrassing, but it’s especially bad when you’re the first team it happened to all year, and with two weeks left in the regular season, possibly the only team it’ll happen to this year. While there have been several moments that accurately captures how bad this year has been for the Saints, this is one of them.
This moment also speaks to how far New Orleans has fallen this season. The Saints started the year by scoring a combined 91 points in the first two weeks of the season— 47 in Week 1 and 44 in Week 2. All signs pointed to New Orleans being an explosive offense that would make the team a contender. Unfortunately, injuries and a collapse of culture led to the Saints being a 5-10 team that was just shutout on national television.
Hopefully, being on the wrong side of history will motivate the Saints to finally rebuild and get things right in the offseason.