It’s easy to lose faith in the New Orleans Saints these days. Fans have seen their team collapse under adversity far too often in recent years — and Sunday’s game with the Indianapolis Colts was primed for another letdown.
Since Dennis Allen was named head coach, the Saints have fallen behind by 10 or more points in the second quarter in 10 of his 25 games, dating back to the start of the 2022 season. And they’ve lost 8 of those matchups. Sunday’s comeback win over the Colts was just the second time the Saints have rallied in these circumstances under Allen’s management of the team.
They finally showed some backbone. Look at the sequence in the second quarter after the Colts went up 17-7. The offense drove downfield on a long scoring drive capped by an electrifying Taysom Hill touchdown run (from 20 yards out!) and the defense responded by forcing a quick three-and-out. Rashid Shaheed put the offense in favorable position with a 14-yard punt return, and then he caught the long ball on a 58-yard touchdown pass to retake the lead. How’s that for some moxie?
It’s exactly what we haven’t seen enough of out of the Saints since Allen took over from Sean Payton. When going down by multiple scores like this, too often they’ve folded. But on Sunday the offense finally took what help the defense and special teams units was giving them to control the game. After taking that lead, they never gave it back.
This was arguably the best win of Allen’s tenure. Sure, he’s won blowouts over the miserable Las Vegas Raiders last year and New England Patriots earlier this season, but neither of those squads were competitive. This was a game against an opponent with a talented roster and competent coaching staff who were throwing everything they had at New Orleans.
And the Saints were finally able to weather that storm and leave the field without any doubts. Let’s hope it’s the start of a new trend for them.
