The New Orleans Saints currently give up the fourth most rush yards per game in the National Football League. The only three teams that trail them are the Carolina Panthers, Indianapolis Colts, and the Los Angeles Rams. Besides them, there is nobody worse than the Saints at limiting what the opposing teams want to do in the run game. That has been a problem all season, and in past losing seasons as well.
Run Defense Has Gotten Worse
In the season opener against the Panthers, the Saints limited them to 20 rushes for 58 yards and a touchdown from Bryce Young. This was a solid performance from the defensive line, and it helped them cruise to a blowout victory. The following week against the Dallas Cowboys, the Saints held them to 21 rushes for 68 scoreless yards. Unsurprisingly, that was another blowout victory. Then, it shifted. Against the Philadelphia Eagles, they took 25 carries and turned them into 172 yards and two touchdowns. That wound up being a narrow loss. The Atlanta Falcons took 15 carries and turned them into 88 yards, which was another narrow loss. Since then, the doors have come clean off. The Kansas City Chiefs took 39 rushes and turned them into 139 yards and two touchdowns, dominating the play clock the whole night. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers took 35 rushes and turned them into 277 yards and two touchdowns, once again dominating the game. And most recently, the Denver Broncos rushed 35 times for 225 yards and two touchdowns. Something has to change here.
It’s A Troubling Trend
In each of the past two games, the Saints have given up 200 plus rushing yards and four touchdowns. Both of those games were blowout losses. The loss to the Chiefs should have been much worse also, and the Saints allowed them to run the ball nearly 40 times. There is just no way around it, New Orleans does not have a good defensive line right now. Carl Granderson has played one terrific season up to this point, but that has really been it. Chase Young feels nonexistent at times, Bryan Bresee has shown flashes as a pass rusher but nothing more, and Cameron Jordan has been outworked on the outside, though he has gotten up there with age. Regardless, when you allow the opposition to run over 35 times a game on you, there is a strong chance that you aren’t going to win.
Saints Can’t Run The Ball Themselves Lately
All of this is especially true when the Saints themselves just can’t run the ball. New Orleans is in the bottom half of the league in terms of rushing yards per game this season, and that’s a number that’s likely heavily weighted thanks to their first two games against the Panthers and Cowboys. Since those matchups, this has been a team that’s gotten outworked on the offensive and defensive line when rushing the football. From a fan perspective, something has to change, possibly even a switch on the defensive line, because run-heavy teams will walk into this matchup and run the Saints out of the building by forcing them to tackle.