The New Orleans Saints defense had a strong performance on Sunday, featuring two forced turnovers, two fourth-down stops, and four sacks, but it wasn’t enough to secure a win, as they lost 15-12 to Philadelphia in the Caesars Superdome.
Two key explosive plays—a 65-yard touchdown run by Eagles running back Saquon Barkley and a 61-yard catch by tight end Dallas Goedert on third-and-16—thwarted what could have been an excellent day for the Saints. These plays accounted for 27% of the Eagles’ total yardage of 460, while the remaining 65 plays only garnered 334 yards.
“Defensively, we did a lot of good things,” stated Saints Coach Dennis Allen. “We created turnovers and made several fourth-down stops. However, those explosive plays and our failure to finish the game when we had the chance were disappointing.”
The Saints effectively contained the Eagles for 45 minutes, but the Eagles struck back with touchdown drives of 82 and 69 yards in the fourth quarter, fueled by the two significant plays.
“On the Saquon run, we just didn’t execute our assignment correctly,” Allen explained. “We lost our gap responsibility. Initially, we had it figured out, but they did a good job blocking, and once he broke free, his speed made it impossible for us to catch him.
“For the other play, we need to improve our awareness and recognize their attacking strategy. In man coverage, we ran into each other on crossing routes, and we need to be more alert in those situations.”
Allen noted that the Saints were executing a stunt when the misallocation occurred on Barkley’s run.
“We had a little stunt going on, and we got slightly out of our gap,” he remarked. “The issue is that when you’re facing a player like Saquon Barkley, even a small gap can allow him to break free and score. That’s exactly what happened.”
He also pointed out some positives for the offense, which converted six out of 13 third downs and executed a 50-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter to take the lead. However, he recognized the unit’s overall struggles, as they accumulated just 219 yards and one touchdown.
“Offensively, we didn’t move the ball as effectively as we have in the past, but there were some bright spots—our third-down performance was solid, and when we needed to score to regain the lead late in the game, we were able to do so,” he said. “That was a positive.
“There were plenty of good moments on film, but there were also too many shortcomings that ultimately hindered us from winning the game.”
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