Rashid Shaheed was one of the few bright spots in Saints winners and losers

The New Orleans Saints lost another football game and they're now 2-5 with their season pretty much being over with before we've even hit the halfway point of the season.

I'll be honest here -- There wasn't much good in this game.

We'll start with the few winners from the 42-31 loss on Thursday Night Football though.

Winners

Rashid Shaheed

The Saints' first offensive drive of the game ended with Rashid Shaheed getting his first NFL reception and it went 54 yards for a touchdown. Just days ago he touched the ball one time and took it 44 yards to the house. He's proving to be a massive weapon for this team and it's a shame that they go away from using him once he scores.

Taysom Hill

I'm not sure why but despite good things happening when the Saints utilize Taysom Hill, they inevitably move away from using him in the offense. Hill scored a receiving touchdown in this game and also had a big-time throw to Chris Olave in the second half.

Hill always seems to get off to hot starts and then the Saints move away from him later on and I'm not sure why they continue to do that. It's been proven that this offense is better when Hill is being utilized in all different facets so why was he barely in the game in the second half? Frustrating.

Juwan Johnson

It came in garbage time but Johnson had two touchdowns for the Saints. The former wide receiver has shown that he's the Saints' preferred option as the TE1 over Adam Trautman and with Trautman injured, Johnson showed that's a role he can fill. He had five catches for 32 yards and two scores.

Alontae Taylor

Thrust into action with the Saints having literally no other competent cornerbacks that were healthy enough to play, second-round rookie Alontae Taylor showed promise in primetime. The defense didn't have a great game but Taylor held his own despite Kyler Murray targeting him several times.

If the injuries at cornerback continue, Taylor proved that he can be a solid option moving forward.

Chris Olave

Trading up for Chris Olave looks to have been a smart move. Now if only the Saints could find a solid quarterback that could make him even better.

Losers

Justin Evans

I could put the entire team under the loser section but I'm not going to take that copout. Instead, I'll start with Justin Evans, who had a brutal night starting for the defense due to all of the injuries.

The worst moment for Evans came in the first half when this was still very much a game. The Saints sacked Kyler Murray on 3rd down but Evans was called for a holding penalty and that gave the Cardinals a fresh set of downs and the chance to tie things up not long after. Absolutely brutal.

Andy Dalton

The final stats look good for Andy Dalton but don't be fooled. He threw two really bad interceptions, one that came in the end zone when the Saints had put together a nice drive, and the other right before half time that went the other way for six points. He threw another pick-six before that pick-six I just talked about but that one wasn't his fault.

Dalton did not make a strong case for remaining the Saints quarterback with his performance on Thursday night.

Marquez Callaway

Remember that pick-six I mentioned where I said it wasn't Dalton's fault? It was squarely on Marquez Callaway, who bobbled the catch and allowed the Cardinals defender to pick it off and take it to the house.

Dennis Allen

The biggest loser of the night had to be Dennis Allen, who is showing us that he's learned nothing from his failed stint as the Raiders head coach from 2012 to 2014. This team is horribly coached and after Dalton threw three interceptions, Allen was asked what he said to his quarterback at half time.

His response?

"Nothing".

Are you KIDDING me, dude? Your quarterback just threw three picks and you told him nothing?!

I doubt the Saints fire Allen midseason and might not even fire him at the end of the season but his seat should be red hot. He's a hot mess and has the Saints looking like an absolute joke.

This was a horrible loss for the team and Allen is the reason it, and this season, went south so quickly.

Stats courtesy of ESPN