What Saints can learn from Monday Night Football double header

Even though the New Orleans Saints weren't playing in either of the two Monday Night Football games, that doesn't mean the Saints couldn't take anything away.

Games are won and lost in the trenches. No matter how much the passing game explodes in the NFL, that will always be hold true. So far in 2023, the New Orleans Saints have found this out in not the easiest way possible, and if they were paying attention to the Monday Night Football double header, there was a lesson to be learned for the Saints.

When it comes to the trenches, the Saints should have paid attention to the offensive lines in particular. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers line struggled with the defensive front of the Philadelphia Eagles, while it was domination when the two teams flipped possession in favor of the Eagles. This was evident by the final score and the way the game played out.

The other game featured on the Monday Night Football double header was between the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams in a rematch of Super Bowl LVI. Joe Burrow has been able to make up for his lack of protection, but it appears that the chickens have come home to roost. He looks like he struggled with every movement due to injury, and while they were able to defeat the Rams this go around, it was a hard-fought battle.

Basically, the lesson here for the Saints is that they NEED to be better on the offensive line. With Derek Carr now out, partially due to lack of protection, and Alvin Kamara coming back a presumably rusty, this lesson is now even more of the utmost importance.

While the season is still young and there's a lot of ball still to be played, the offensive line needs to rush their improvement. The division is still very much wide open, and time is now of the essence. If the team can stay afloat, or even sail, while Carr heals, then that's fantastic. We saw what offensive lines can do on Monday Night Football, so hopefully the New Orleans Saints took notes.