The New Orleans Saints officially have two losses in the bank through the first two weeks of the 2025 season in the National Football League. One thing that has been plaguing them has been their slow starts.
The Kellen Moore-led team has been struggling to hit the ground running this year, coming up scoreless on the two opening drives. Whether it's them getting in their own way or the opponents' defense being lock down, the Saints haven't even been able to score a point in the first quarter
However, the first-year head coach still believes that his team is competing. "It hurts when you lose games like this, but that's how it's supposed to feel. There's no feel-good moments out of this," Moore said to the media postgame. "There were plenty of positives, but you gotta focus on winning. There were so many opportunities in the first three and a half quarters that had a huge impact on this game. We had plenty of opportunities to take advantage of, and we didn't."
The New Orleans Saints need to stop getting in their own way
One of the Saints' biggest opponents this year has turned out to be themselves. Through the first two weeks of the 2025 NFL season, the black and gold have managed to slip, fumble, miss multiple field goals, and commit an egregious amount of penalties.
The penalties are one of the few things that showed some improvement, with the amount committed being cut in half from week one to two (13 to seven), however, the Saints are tied with the New York Giants and the Chicago Bears for the third most penalized team.
Kicker Blake Grupe's struggles, though, have so far shown no sign of going away. Following a stellar training camp that saw him rarely miss a kick, he has now missed two, one from 37 yards out and another from 40 yards out. It's a surprise, to say the least, to see the first-year team captain struggling, but he luckily still has his head coach's confidence, with Kellen Moore saying that he believes that Grupe will get back and be fine.
The footing has also become an issue early in the season. Pregame, the maintenance crew was spotted adjusting something on the field, though it was a bit unclear as to what. Then, on what was the last offensive play for the Saints, quarterback Spencer Rattler slipped as he was about to run out of the pocket, leading to a game-ending sack.
Next week against when they visit the Seahawks, the Saints will still have to battle on a turf field, but the one in Seattle has thankfully performed better so far this season. If they can once again cut their committed penalties in half, and if Grupe finds his game again, there's no reason the Saints shouldn't come out of week three with a W.