Saints Continue Slide with Crushing Loss to Chargers

Inglewood, Calif. – There were no earthquake aftershocks or threat of once-in-a-lifetime hurricanes rocking SoFi Stadium on Sunday, as was the case the last time the New Orleans Saints played in the stadium.

But make no mistake: The Saints’ storm did not end against the Chargers.

Their 26-8 loss was their sixth straight after opening the season with two wins, as the gap widened between New Orleans and NFC South Division leader Atlanta.

The Saints’ inability to score continued, as did the defensive propensity to surrender spirit-sapping big plays at inopportune times. The result is the Saints being in their worst spiral since losing six straight during the 2005 season.

Offensive Struggles

The return of starting receiver Chris Olave, right guard Cesar Ruiz, tight end Taysom Hill, and left guard Lucas Patrick wasn’t the elixir that it was hoped it would be. New Orleans failed to reach the end zone and went to a quarterback change in the second half, from Spencer Rattler to Jake Haener, in hopes of providing a spark. The offense couldn’t stay on the field (2 for 16 on third down) and, conjunctively, couldn’t find a sustainable rhythm. Mix in a few debilitating penalties and it was the recipe for a team that was averaging 14.3 points in its five losses to scrape its way to eight points Sunday.

Defensive Issues

Having no help from the offense probably has laid an unfair load on the defense. And yet, that’s what the unit has asked for and it hasn’t sufficiently responded. When allowing 122 rushing yards on 29 attempts is a significant improvement – after surrendering 502 rushing yards on 70 carries the previous two games – that speaks volumes to how much the group has slipped during the slide. After forcing punts and the Chargers’ first three possessions and helping create a safety along the way, New Orleans gave up a handful of chunk plays.

Special Teams Performance

Blake Grupe missed a 43-yard field-goal attempt, rookie receiver Jermaine Jackson fair caught a couple of punts inside the 10-yard line and on a day like Sunday, those were bad but not so glaringly noticeable as to have been able to affect the outcome. Punter Matthew Hayball had a great showing (five of nine punts inside the 20) and Kendre Miller had a 41-yard kickoff return to provide the highs.