Saints Bullied Around in Pittsburgh

New Orleans was pushed around and again had no answers in an ugly week 10 loss at Pittsburgh.

Bob Rose | Nov 14, 2022

Pittsburgh Steelers Najee Harris (22) finds a hole in the New Orleans Saints defensive line. © Michael Longo/For USA Today Network / USA TODAY NETWORK

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New Orleans Saints

A dismal 2022 for the New Orleans Saints hit another new low with a 20-10 loss at the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.

New Orleans came into the game without C Erik McCoy and LG Andrus Peat on the offensive line, then lost LT James Hurst early in the third quarter to a concussion. The depleted unit was helpless against a Steelers defense that was returning perennial All-Pro T.J. Watt.

The Saints had a meager 186 total yards, with 71 of those coming on their only touchdown drive at the end of the first half. They had only 29 yards rushing and averaged a paltry 1.9 per attempt.

With a punchless offense, it felt like an insurmountable deficit once Pittsburgh went up 20-10 with almost nine minutes still to play. The Steelers also did their part, picking up 217 yards on the ground against a weary and thin New Orleans defense, including 147 in the second half.

There weren't many bright spots in what has been a miserable New Orleans season. Here were the few decent moments, along with some of the lowest points.

Thumbs Up

Cam Jordan - Defensive Ends

Jordan and his edge rushers got early penetration on Steelers rookie QB Kenny Pickett, forcing a few scrambles and throwaways. The Saints sacked Pickett six times, but could have had at least double that.

Aside from some missed tackles and chances for a turnover, New Orleans played fairly well through the first two quarters. However, they faded badly again in the second half and failed to get off the field.

Carl Granderson, Tanoh Kpassagnon, and Jordan combined for 14 tackles and 3 sacks, but the entire team continues to have issues with mobile quarterbacks.

As Jordan himself said after the game in the locker room, he feels like he and his teammates are getting there, but coming up painfully short of making big plays.

THUMBS DOWN

(Nearly Everything Else)

Run Defense/Tackling

Onyemata — Pittsburgh Steelers Najee Harris (22) finds a hole in the New Orleans Saints defensive line. © Michael Longo/For USA Today Network / USA TODAY NETWORK

Pittsburgh came into this game ranked 27th in rushing production. Top RB Najee Harris previously had a season-high of 74 rushing yards and had been held to less than 60 in six of eight contests.

In what should have been a ''get well'' game against a porous Steelers offensive line, a once-vaunted Saints run defense was flattened again. New Orleans gave up a season-high 217 yards on the ground. It was the second time an opponent gained over 200 yards rushing against them and sixth game of at least 135 on the ground.

Najee looked like another Pittsburgh Harris, Hall of Fame RB Franco Harris, in rushing for 99 yards on 20 carries. Pickett scrambled away from pressure and picked up a career-high 51 yards rushing.

Pittsburgh's passing attack did nothing special. However, unlike New Orleans, they also didn't do anything to put their defense in a bad position and made some plays to keep drives alive. As it's been nearly every week, tackling was again an issue for the Saints.

Harris bounced through or outran feeble attempts by New Orleans tacklers to extend several plays. Steelers pass catchers were rarely brought down on first hits and were able to stretch stops into a handful of first downs.

Even without CB Marshon Lattimore, DE Marcus Davenport, LB Pete Werner, and S Marcus Maye in the lineup, New Orleans had plenty of talent on paper to stifle a Steelers offense ranked at the bottom of the league in every category.

Or do they?

The New Orleans Saints have become the ''get well'' defense for NFL offenses, after entering the 2022 season with lofty defensive expectations.

Thumbs Down

Offense/QB/Coaching

New Orleans Saints quarterback Andy Dalton (14) recovers a bobbled snap against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Mandatory Credit: Philip G. Pavely-USA TODAY Sports

Dennis Allen has taken plenty of deserved criticism for the Saints failures. And rightfully so. However, offensive expectations for this game should have been tempered with a front line that was without three starters.

Still, this unit has done absolutely nothing in recent weeks to help their beleaguered defense. The team’s most explosive player, Alvin Kamara, saw just 11 total touches. This comes a week after he saw 12 touches in a loss to Baltimore.

New Orleans has also gone stagnant, or worse, at the game's most important position. Andy Dalton was 17 of 27, but threw for just 174 yards and tossed two bad interceptions. Five of those completions for 64 yards and a touchdown came on a 2-minute drive at the end of the first half. It was the only sign of life that the Saints offense would show all afternoon.

Watch Live: Saints Postgame Show#NOvsPIT | @Verizon https://t.co/tTPkqnBsah
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) November 13, 2022

It's time for a change at quarterback. Andy Dalton isn't responsible for the team’s many, many woes, but he's far from the answer either. Dalton's limitations further handcuff an offense that already kills themselves with self-inflicted mistakes.

Dennis Allen was non-committal when asked about a quarterback change after the loss to Pittsburgh. A switch back to Jameis Winston, or even Taysom Hill, will likely not save a spiraling season. But Allen needs to do something --anything-- to show that he has some sort of grasp on this franchise. Otherwise it may not just be a new quarterback that the Saints replace for 2023.