Saints: Was it an "Off Day" or Were They Exposed in Losing to the Eagles?

It was just one bad outing from a road weary New Orleans that has been dominant most of the season. But was it merely a bad day at the office, or were the flaws on this team exposed?

The New Orleans Saints had a golden opportunity to clinch their fourth consecutive NFC South championship and hold on to the NFC's crucial top seed. They were playing a 3-8-1 Philadelphia Eagles squad that was reeling. The Eagles were giving a rookie quarterback his first career start against a New Orleans defense ranked 1st in the league and had beaten more talented opponents to a pulp over the last five weeks. 

Philadelphia had allowed the most sacks in the league, started its 11th different offensive line combination, and turned the ball over more than anyone but three teams this season.

Defensively, the Eagles have been gashed in the running game and had forced fewer turnovers than all but three teams. They had tackling issues in the open field all year and had only held one opponent under 20 points.

Philadelphia came into the game with one of the league's most disruptive defensive fronts but faced a New Orleans offensive line regarded as one of the NFL's best. The lack of attendance largely negated Philadelphia's home-field advantage because of COVID-19 restrictions. Everything was set in place for a superior New Orleans team to rattle off their tenth straight win and further solidify its postseason positioning.

Wrong.

Dec 13, 2020; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Miles Sanders (26) carries the ball en route to scoring a touchdown in the second quarter against the New Orleans Saints at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-USA TODAY 

The Saints were outplayed, out-coached, outsmarted, and outfought in all three phases in a listless 24-21 loss to the Eagles on Sunday in what was by far their worst performance of the year. Philadelphia took it to New Orleans from the start, forcing a three-and-out on the opening possession, then took the ball 50 yards on their first drive. The Saints stopped the Eagles on 4th down to regain possession, but Wil Lutz missed an easy field goal to remain scoreless. After that, New Orleans would play catch up the rest of the afternoon.

The Eagles hammered the Saints for 246 rushing yards, the first 200-yard rushing performance given up by New Orleans since Week Three of the 2016 season. Tackling was poor, leading to several 1st down runs after second or third contact. Gap containment was often worse, evidenced by the 82-Yd touchdown sprint by Philly RB Miles Sanders that helped the Eagles to an unthinkable 17-0 halftime lead.

Their rush defense was putrid, but the Saints' pass defense also left a lot to be desired. The secondary didn't challenge Eagle receivers, leading to several easy reads for rookie QB Jalen Hurts. Most baffling was the lack of pressure that the vaunted New Orleans pass rush generated against a bad Eagles offensive line. The Saints didn't get a sack for the first time this season and could not make Hurts uncomfortable on several of his throws.

Dec 13, 2020; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Taysom Hill (7) runs out of the pocket against the Philadelphia Eagles during the third quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY 

Offensively, the Saints woke up in the second half and put together a few scoring drives to tighten the game late. Taysom Hill, despite a decent statistical outing, continues to hold on to the ball way too long and miss open receivers in crucial moments. Hill was sacked five times and turned the ball over twice. 

Part of that was his inability to make decisive reads and get rid of the ball on time. He also didn't get any help from his offensive line, who were bullied around by the Eagles front four all evening. Left tackle Terron Armstead and guard Andrus Peat were particularly awful, and each whiffed on numerous blocks during the game.

Dec 13, 2020; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (2) receives a snap from center Jason Kelce (62) during the fourth quarter against the New Orleans Saints at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY 

Philadelphia pushed around the Saints at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.  Defensively, they had poor gap containment. Offensively, poor execution led to an early deficit they could not overcome.  

Was this just an ‘‘off'' day from a team that had been so balanced and dominant over their previous nine contests, but was playing in its third straight road game?  

Or were the Saints exposed as a team too flawed to win a championship?

Dec 13, 2020; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Taysom Hill (7) is pressured by Philadelphia Eagles nose tackle Javon Hargrave (93) as center Erik McCoy (78) looks on in the fourth quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-USA TODAY 

We won't have to wait long to find out. New Orleans returns home this Sunday, but they host the 12-1 defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. The Saints have clinched their spot in the postseason, but are still one game away from the division title and now face an uphill climb for the Number One seed and home field advantage. They may again be without quarterback Drew Brees, still recovering from a rib injury, but Sunday's game will be a litmus test to see where this squad truly is in the title chase.