NEW ORLEANS (AP) – While the Saints are guaranteed a second losing record in three years, interim coach Darren Rizzi has the opportunity to win up to six of the eight games he will have coached by the end of the regular season.
The way New Orleans fought in a last-minute, 20-19 loss to playoff-contending Washington on Sunday shows that Saints players are still interested in Rizzi’s tryout for a future coaching position.
Rizzi, who took over as NFL head coach after Dennis Allen’s dismissal on November 4, promised his team would be passionate, fight hard, and entertaining to watch.
The Saints (5-9) are 3-2 since Rizzi took control. The first of their two losses in that run came in Week 13 against the freshly resurgent Los Angeles Rams, by one touchdown. The second came down to New Orleans’ missed 2-point conversion attempt for the win on the final play.
“I was as proud as I’ve ever been walking off the field,” Rizzi told the crowd. “That was just an unbelievable fight to the finish and we were just one play short.”
Never mind that New Orleans’ starting quarterback, Derek Carr, was still recovering from a concussion and an injured left, non-throwing hand sustained a week prior. In the second half, rookie Spencer Rattler controlled the offence, and New Orleans scored on all four of its possessions.
While the Saints’ postseason hopes are no longer feasible (but still theoretically possible) this season, the franchise’s future may depend on how competitive they are in their final three games against Green Bay, Las Vegas, and Tampa Bay.
The Saints’ eight sacks of Commanders QB and Rookie of the Year candidate Jayden Daniels not only set a season high, but also surpassed their previous high of four sacks in a game.
“These last four weeks, I feel like we’ve just been rushing better together, being in tune, and it’s showing,” said Saints defensive end Chase Young, who recorded two sacks on Sunday.
In the last two games, the Saints have failed to rush for more than 92 yards. That’s a step back for a squad whose new offence, led by Klint Kubiak, is based on outside zone runs.
This season, the Saints have run for 180 or more yards in four games and 200 yards once.
The recent decline in the ground game is “typically not how we want to play,” Rizzi explained. “We haven’t run the ball very well these last two games overall.”
Rattler was 0-3 as a replacement starter for Carr earlier this season, and his difficulties in the final two of those games appeared to push him behind Jake Haener on the depth chart.
However, when he was given the opportunity to replace Haener in the second half on Sunday, he appeared much more prepared – and delivered in crunch time.
“Moxie is a term that everyone uses these days. “He definitely has that,” Rizzi stated. “Really, really impressed with what he did.”
Haener’s first NFL start lasted one half, in which he was intercepted and the Saints failed to score. According to Rizzi, Haener was hampered by the offense’s poor performance in the first half, which included broken blocking assignments, penalties, and a handful of dropped passes.
“He surely wasn’t pleased. “None of us would be,” Rizzi said of Haener’s response to being pulled during halftime. “He handled it very professionally.”
Alvin Kamara, a top running back with 1,493 yards and eight touchdowns from scrimmage this season, left Sunday’s game with a groin injury. Rizzi said Monday that Kamara felt soreness in his groin and adductor area after lunging to catch a touchdown throw from Cerdick Wilson. On Monday, Rizzi declined to reveal the seriousness of Kamara’s injury, stating that the running back would seek different medical evaluations this week.
Meanwhile, Rizzi refused to rule out Carr’s comeback.
“We’ll wait to see what’s going on with Derek’s situation first and then kind of go from there,” Rizzi told the crowd. “So, there’s no reason to declare anybody a starter at the moment.”
Meanwhile, Rizzi believes defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon, who tore his Achilles tendon in April, could be ready to return this week.
26 – The number of years since a quarterback selected by the Saints won a game in New Orleans. Danny Weurffel led the Saints to a 19-13 overtime victory over Peyton Manning’s Indianapolis Colts on September 27, 1998.
The Saints will face the rising Packers at Lambeau Field on the Monday before Christmas.
“To have the opportunity to play on national TV at this time of the year up in Lambeau is an unbelievable opportunity,” according to Rizzi. “This is going to be a tremendous challenge for us – only playing a quality opponent, but playing on the road, playing outdoors, playing at night, playing in the elements.”
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