There’s a narrative surrounding the New Orleans Saints that they can’t beat good teams, and Monday night’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs only seems to support it. Head coach Dennis Allen said himself that the Chiefs outplayed and outcoached his squad. It’s tough to argue with that.
But it’s just the latest loss in what’s a become a pattern for Allen. Since he was hired as head coach in 2022, the Saints have fallen into a 2-8 record against opponents with winning records. Their wins came against the Dallas Cowboys earlier this season and the Gardner Minshew-led Philadelphia Eagles two years ago.
It’s a concerning trend. Allen and his staff are routinely getting outfoxed by playoff teams and opponents who have seen a thing or two. Just like last season’s demoralizing loss to Sean McVay’s Los Angeles Rams, the Andy Reid-led Chiefs picked up on their tendencies and picked them apart.
If you’re curious, since 2022 the Saints are 12-10 against opponents who had losing records, and 4-3 versus those who took the field at .500. If you want to be charitable and write off 2022 since Allen didn’t have Derek Carr yet, the Saints are 8-4 against teams with losing records, 2-3 against those at .500, and 1-4 against those with winning records. But that split is gnarly, meaning they’re 8-4 against losing teams and 3-7 against those who were at or above .500.
And clearly that isn’t good enough. There’s no reason to think Allen is going to figure out how to beat better opponents after losing 49 of his first 75 games. He and his staff have real limitations in terms of their vision for the team and how they can win and coach their players, and it’s directly reflected in his record. He is what it says he is. The sooner general manager Mickey Loomis comes to grips with that fact, the better off they’ll be.
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