The New Orleans Saints – and in particular their offense – has been one of the surprise stories in the early portion of the 2024 NFL season. New offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak had quarterback Derek Carr and the rest of the Saints offense playing at levels rarely seen in league history through the first two games. Few expected an offensive output like that from the Saints this season, making it a true Cinderella story to start the season.
Unfortunately for the Saints, that offense turned back into a pumpkin on Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles. It’s unrealistic to expect the Saints to have been able to maintain that offensive output that saw them put up 40+ points in back-to-back games to start the season. However, the fall back to Earth was a rough one for the Saints offense on Sunday.
After two weeks of lighting up the box score, Carr threw for less than 200 yards against a tough Eagles defense, throwing just one touchdown and averaging just under 6 yards per completion, a stark contrast to the previous week where Carr averaged over 15 yards per completion against the Dallas Cowboys, and to Week 1 where Carr threw for three scores against the Carolina Panthers.
For his part, running back Alvin Kamara continued his hot season, accounting for 127 total yards on 29 touches. Kamara carried the ball 26 times on the day, rushing for 87 yards and adding 40 yards on three receptions. The 26 carries was the most Kamara has had in a single game since the final game of the 2021 season, as the Saints struggled to get much going in the passing game against a tough Eagles defense.
The Saints offense was bound to cool off a bit from the hot start they got off to in the first two weeks, and the sky isn’t falling by any means. They’ll have a chance to get back on track next week in a tough divisional matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It will be a good chance to see how the new-look Saints offense responds to adversity after their first big struggle of the season.
