The New Orleans Saints lost once again this season, this time to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 16-10. It's a game that almost seemed done and over with at the start for the Saints, as opposing running back Jaylen Warren was running all over them in Paris.
With 101 yards on 18 carries, Warren was averging 5.6 yards per rush attempt on Sunday morning. Also averaging 12 yards per reception against the New Orleans defense, he was nearly unstoppable as the game progressed. It's honestly a miracle he never crossed into the end zone, because he was knocking on the door on what felt like every time he had the ball in his hands.
To make it worse for the Brandon Staley run unit, Warren wasn't the only halfback picking the defense apart. Running back Rico Dowdle had 86 rushing and receiving yards on the day, and 10 of the Steelers' 20 first downs came on the ground. Any time they decided to pass the ball, aside from a huge 51-yard bomb from Aaron Rodgers to DK Metcalf, it seemed like a head scratcher from the other side due to how much they were trampling over the Saints.
The Saints' pass defense managed to make the loss somewhat resepctable
However, even with Jaylen Warren and the Pittsburgh run game providing a heap of problems for the New Orleans defense, the unit never truly broke. They were bent to the point of nearly breaking, but on the day, they allowed only 343 total yards and just one touchdown on the international stage. If it wasn't for Steeler's kicker Chris Boswell making all of his three field goal attempts, then this game might've had a different ending.
At least the Saints' pass defense showed up, with three sacks for 17 yards, 69 tackles, and only 212 passing yards from A-Rod; it's arguably the only unit that showed up to play for the team today. It's also the only part of the game where New Orleans actually won some snaps, and the numbers get even better if you take out the 51-yard pass play.
But still, when the final whistle blew, the Saints' defense had a goose egg in the turnover department, no fourth-down stops, and only one three-and-out. That's truly what cost New Orleans in the long run, as it caused them to lose the time-of-possession battle by about 3 minutes and 42 seconds. The only way they could get the ball back was by stopping either Warren or Dowdle, but they could only do that on a couple of short runs.
It's a frustrating loss mainly because of the fact that the Saints' defense has had the recurring issue of opposing running backs running all over them. Now 2-5 on the season and heading into the bye week, they need to figure out what's causing the leak in their run defense. If not, the rest of the season after the bye will be a tough pill to swallow.
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