The New Orleans Saints entered the month of November with a 4-5 record, the NFC South lead and four of their next five games at the Superdome — a place where Sean Payton and Drew Brees have been spectacular since forming their bromance back in 2006.
Just over a month later, the Saints have accumulated just one win — and it came on the road.
The Saints’ Superdome Woes
So what’s going on with the Saints?
First of all, a defence that ranked fourth in the NFL last season has plummeted to 31st, with the crucial drop-off coming along the front seven. The Saints have generated barely any pass rush, recording just 24 sacks this season compared 49 in 2013. As a result the secondary has struggled mightily, falling from second place last season to 29th in 2014.
Offensively, Drew Brees and friends are turning the ball over more – they already have three more turnovers than all of last season, including 11 at home – and the offence’s best playmaker, Jimmy Graham, is clearly not himself: Graham has three catches for 25 yards in his last two games.
Luckily, at 5-8, the Saints are still alive in their abysmal division heading into Week 15, but should New Orleans miss the playoffs (or even if they don’t), we could see some major changes in the Big Easy this off-season.
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We know Aaron Rodgers and the Packers’ offence is unstoppable, but Monday night Green Bay’s defence was unable to make a stop. Is this still the team to beat? For now… |
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The Patriots clinched their 12th straight 10-win season with another great Tom Brady performance and a stifling defensive effort, shutting down a Chargers offence that had been rolling until Sunday. |
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Don’t say I didn’t warn you; but to declare the Seahawks are back would infer they were at some point gone. Seattle held the Eagles to 17 points less than and 277 yards under Philly’s season average. |
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C.J. Anderson and the Broncos’ running game were the focal point again in another grind-it-out win, but should Denver’s fans be worried about the passing game? Not just yet. |
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Drew Stanton has received the bulk of the criticism for the Cardinals’ recent struggles, but he stepped up with a huge third-quarter touchdown pass Sunday. It helps when your defence allows no points in the second half as well. |
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Lost in Andrew Luck leading the Colts to yet another game-winning drive (the 12th of his career) was the fact the third-year QB had his worst game of the season – by far. |
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It’s like Richard Sherman said post-game: “You can hurry up all you want, but if you can’t get yards and you can’t complete passes then it’s just quick three-and-outs.” The Eagles’ time of possession was just 18:04 in Sunday’s loss. |
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The Cowboys took full advantage of an uninspired Bears team – a game in which DeMarco Murray was spectacular. Now Dallas is staring down the biggest game of the year: a Sunday night clash in Philadelphia for the NFC East title. |
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For the second-straight week, the Lions offence was a force behind Calvin Johnson and Joique Bell, whose emergence has revitalized an offence that had struggled before Thanksgiving. |
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Is there a better running back right now than Le’Veon Bell? Short answer: NO. On Sunday, Bell joined Walter Payton as the only players with 200 yards from scrimmage in three straight games. |
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Now just a half-game ahead in the AFC North after a fourth-quarter collapse of epic proportions, the Bengals can’t afford another loss with Pittsburgh and Baltimore lurking. |
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Things were looking good for the Chargers heading into the second half, but the Patriots’ aggressive defence was too much for Philip Rivers and Co., who punted the ball five times in the final two quarters. |
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The Ravens showed a lot of grit in Sunday’s crucial win over the Dolphins, not only rallying from 10-down early, but with too long TD drives in the fourth quarter to seal the victory. |
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I know that, when it comes to K.C., I sound like a broken record, but where would this team be without Jamaal Charles? He had just 12 touches and missed time with injury but was still the only Chief that produced points. |
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Behind Arian Foster and another dominant J.J. Watt performance, the Texans are still in playoff contention. Watt’s showing has resurrected talks of MVP, but the NFL’s best defensive player couldn’t care less. |
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There’s something about must-win games that just doesn’t sit well with Joe Philbin and Ryan Tannehill. Much like the end of last season, the Dolphins offence has floundered over the last two weeks. |
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The Bills outplayed Denver in a lot of ways – heck, they snapped Peyton’s TD streak – but the same old mistakes (penalties, turnovers, bad field position) ended Buffalo’s stark playoff hopes. |
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Sure, the rumours surrounding Jim Harbaugh have to be a distraction for the 49ers, but Colin Kaepernick’s struggles can’t be ignored, especially when it matters most: Kaepernick has ZERO fourth-quarter touchdowns this season and San Fran is dead-last in fourth-quarter points. |
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The Rams are the first team to post back-to-back shutouts since the 2009 Dallas Cowboys, and they did it in impressive fashion: just 450 yards allowed, seven turnovers created and 13 total sacks. |
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I understand going with Brian Hoyer to start the game, but how did the Browns not turn to Johnny Manziel in the second half? Well, Mike Pettine has finally come to his senses, but it may be too late to save the season. |
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A tale of two halves for the Falcons on Monday, but if the team that showed up in the third quarter comes to play down the home stretch, Atlanta will win the NFC South. |
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The Vikings’ winning play was the second-longest overtime TD in NFL history, and it came on an audible from Teddy Bridgewater, who continues to make big strides. |
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Although they won on opening weekend with Derek Anderson under centre, the loss of Cam Newton will devastate the Panthers. Newton accounted for four TDs and 62 percent of Carolina’s total offence last week in New Orleans. |
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The slumping Saints are frustrated, and that was painfully clear with the fight that broke out over Cam Newton’s celebration. Sunday’s 41-10 thumping was the worst loss of the Sean Payton era. |
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With Brandon Marshall lost for the season, Marc Trestman’s pink slip all but delivered and rumours swirling around the regret the franchise feels towards Jay Cutler, I’m sure the Bears just want 2014 to end. |
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Odell Beckham Jr. has made some history over the last six games: ODB is the first rookie in NFL history to record at least 90 receiving yards in six consecutive contests and the second with at least 700 receiving yards in a six-game span. |
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The Buccaneers accomplished something on Sunday that should have happened weeks ago: they were eliminated from playoff contention. |
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From being trolled at the coin toss by Jeff Fisher to being shut out at home, Week 14 was just another in the dysfunctional world of the Redskins. Expect an equally entertaining off-season. |
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After putting in a much-improved effort against the Giants last week, the Jaguars didn’t even show up in the second half in Week 14: they had just 78 yards after halftime. |
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After all of the Derek Carr versus Colin Kaepernick noise leading up to Sunday, one QB was the clear winner. With three TDs, no INTs and a 140.2 QB rating to Kaepernick’s 54.4, Carr shone in the Battle of the Bay. |
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In his return to Minnesota, Percy Harvin had his best game as a Jet while Geno Smith bounced back from his eighth-career pick-six to lead New York into OT, where they lost. It’s been that kind of season in the Big Apple. |
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Now owners of the NFL’s longest losing streak at seven games, the Titans have been absolutely atrocious on defence over the last three weeks: Tennessee has given up 1,321 yards and 124 points since Week 12. |
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