The New Orleans Saints lost in a brutal blowout to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a final score of 51-27. In a game where the Saints relied heavily on rookies and depth pieces, many players were given the chance to step up. New Orleans saw lots of promise from their young guys, but lingering issues kept the team from being competitive in the loss.
Up: Bub Means
Wide receiver Chris Olave went down with a concussion during the offense’s opening drive and never returned. In the star receiver’s absence, the team needed a player to step up and fill his role. While it was expected to be Olave’s counterpart in Rashid Shaheed, who did have an impact in his own way, the receiver that stepped up was rookie Bub Means. The rookie ended the day with five receptions for 45 yards and a touchdown. While it’s not anything that explodes off the stat sheet, New Orleans has needed a pass catcher of Means type that can catch passes over the middle and gain yards after the catch. The Saints’ wide receiver room is thin, and a potential absence of their best player calls for Means to step up.
Up: Matthew Hayball
The Saints have struggled with punter problems over the last two seasons causing the team to roll with rookie punter Matthew Hayball for the 2024 season. Hayball didn’t see much action to begin the year, but with a heavier workload over the last few games the rookie has been solid. Hayball had his busiest game as a Saint against the Buccaneers where he punted 6 times, averaging 44.3 yards a punt. Hayball also landed half of his punts inside the 20. With the offense struggling and a rookie quarterback taking snaps for the team, Hayball’s role will become more relevant.
A ridiculous punt by Matthew Hayball pins Tampa Bay at the eight. That’s a 48 yard bomb
— River Wells (@riverhwells) October 13, 2024
Down: Injuries
The Saints entered the week with one of the longest injury reports in the league and the team’s report just got longer after their tough loss against the Buccaneers. New Orleans lost impact players Chris Olave and Tyrann Mathieu to injury and both players didn’t return. Now as the team prepares for a short week to take on the Denver Broncos for Thursday Night Football, they could be without plenty of starters as they recover from injury.
Down: Dennis Allen
Dennis Allen’s seat is only getting hotter as he drops to 2-4 and has lost four straight. The Saints have failed to reach the playoffs in the last two seasons since Allen has taken over and is on the verge of another playoffs-less season. Dennis Allen is respected around the league as one of the elite defensive minds, and as good as Allen’s defenses have been in recent years, the whole unit is struggling. New Orleans isn’t winning games, the defense has been poor, and the whole team looks undisciplined. The Saints matchup with the Broncos on Thursday Night feels important for Allen as a 2-5 record may be the final straw.
Dennis Allen is now 26-50 as a head coach.
— Chris Rosvoglou (@RosvoglouReport) October 13, 2024
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