The New Orleans Saints starting offense has struggled this preseason to get any rhythm. Over the course of two games and four drives, they were unable to generate more than one first down on any drive and totaled 29 yards over 15 plays.
Then the Saints responded with a 95-yard drive, capped by a Taysom Hill touchdown run. Derek Carr described this moment as a “monkey off the back.” After getting pretty much no movement versus the Cardinals or 49ers, Carr described the drive as “kind of like a relief. Like, alright we can score. It definitely felt nice to do that.”
Klint Kubiak comes to the team with a new scheme that wants to lean into running the football, and that’s exactly what they did. More than half of the plays on that drive were rushes. Jamaal Williams had a couple of big runs on the drive and the offensive line was getting better push up front.
The first play of the drive, however, was a pass play. That’s not abnormal, but the decision to pass from your own 5-yard line was more aggressive than the Saints have been recently. It was just a seven yard completion to Foster Moreau, but it gave the Saints breathing room and started momentum.
The Saints followed that play with three plays of more than 10 yards. It’s just one possession. It doesn’t mean they’ve figured it out, so we won’t overreact. It did feel good to see them drive down the field, opposed to another three and out.
