Saints throw another game away with questionable play calling from Klint Kubiak

On Sunday, the New Orleans Saints fell to 4-8 after losing to the Los Angeles Rams 21-14. Falling in one-score games is nothing new for the Saints— in the last two seasons, New Orleans is 4-9 in one-score games. If you can’t win close games in the NFL, you aren’t going to have much success.

When playing close games, there is a slim margin for error. Unfortunately, New Orleans had a lot of errors on Sunday, especially in the offensive play calling. While quite a few things went wrong for the Saints on Sunday, offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak made things much harder for New Orleans with some head-scratching play calling at points in the game.

The Rams entered the game as one of the worst teams in the league against the run, and that was evident early in the game. Alvin Kamara had 80 yards on 12 carries at half time. For some reason, the Saints went away from the run at times, and it ultimately cost them the game.

Saints refusal to lean on the run game contributed to loss against Rams

On the first drive of the game, New Orleans put together a 12-play, 34-yard drive that took up six minutes, but only got three points. Kamara had four carries for 23 yards in the first six plays of that drive. However, with the team facing a first and 10 from the Rams’ 34-yard line, the Saints threw three straight passes and had to settle for a field goal.

This theme continued on the second drive, when New Orleans got down to L.A.’s 12-yard line. Facing a first and 10 in the red zone with a dominant run game, the Saints dropped back to pass. Derek Carr threw a touchdown to Alvin Kamara but it was nullified by an illegal man downfield penalty. Of course, the penalty is problematic, but deciding to pass in that situation is also an issue. New Orleans again had to settle for a field goal, but Blake Grupe missed this time.

This pattern was essentially on repeat all game; Kamara would have success on the ground, then the offense would turn to consecutive passing plays and stall out. That decision cost New Orleans points at multiple times throughout the game, and since the team only lost by seven points, you have to think about the points that were taken off the board by poor play calling.

Simply put, you can’t get bored with success. Alvin Kamara finished the game with 23 carries for 112 yards (4.9 per carry), and that wasn’t nearly enough touches. Just last week, the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Rams 37-20 because they committed to the run, rushing the ball 43 times for 316 yards (not including kneels). Jalen Hurts only threw 22 passes in that game; Derek Carr threw 37 on Sunday.

When something is working, you shouldn’t go away from it. A strength doesn’t have to be used as a decoy, it can simply just be used for the strength it is. The Saints didn’t do that on Sunday and it costs them the game.

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