The New Orleans Saints have given up over 1,000 yards over the course of the past two games, and now there’s no team in the NFL who gives up more yards per game. The Kansas City Chiefs game was bad, but the way the Tampa Bay Buccaneers dismantled Dennis Allen’s unit was a special type of beating.
Yardage has been an issue for the Saints’ defense. It was masked by the fact New Orleans played “bend but don’t break” defense. The lack of points scored against the team has held off some criticism. That can no longer be done after seeing 50 points on the scoreboard.
The Philadelphia Eagles game is a perfect example of this. The Eagles regularly drove down the field against the Saints. Nick Sirianni went for it on multiple fourth downs and failed.
New Orleans forced two turnovers, and both were in Saints territory. When you end the game only giving up 15 points and forcing two turnovers, it’s easy to not pay attention to the 460 yards.
The defense hasn’t been stonewalling teams, and now they’re allowing points on top of that. Turnovers couldn’t save them this week. They forced multiple interceptions, but still gave up over 500 yards and 50 points.
Defense used to be the backbone of this team. Now, it’s a hindrance.
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