Teams that hit the Saints’ benchmarks vs. Panthers are now 275-1

The Saints’ 23-22 loss to the Panthers was historically bad in many ways, especially in this one stat. Teams that hit their benchmarks are now 275-1:

The New Orleans Saints losing to the previously 1-7 Carolina Panthers was brutal in its own right, but when looking at the statistics that led to that point, it’s even worse. According to ESPN’s Bill Barnwell, the Saints were the first team in the last 20 years to lose a game in which they:

  • Outgained the opponent by 150-plus yards
  • Ran for 150-plus yards
  • And won the turnover battle

On top of that, these three qualifiers have occurred in 275 prior games during that 20 year span, and the Saints are the only team to have lost in a matchup containing all three. So teams that dominate that well are now 275-1, with New Orleans as an outlier. That’s embarrassing.

This loss primarily resides on coaching, as they knew what was working in the run game and yet managed to still lose the game due to poor play-calling and decision-making when it came to timeout utilization. An ugly loss all around for New Orleans as they move to 2-7.

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