Saints Week 13 Power Rankings roundup: New Orleans slips after back-to-back losses

Many observers around the league were already down on the New Orleans Saints after going into the bye week with a loss to the Minnesota Vikings — so coming out of the bye looking poorly-prepared and vulnerable in an ugly loss to the Atlanta Falcons didn’t do them any favors.

Here’s where the Saints clocked in on our roundup of Week 13 NFL power rankings:

NFL.com

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

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Current Ranking: 17th

Last Week’s Ranking: 15th

Author: Eric Edholm

Author’s Take:

After a midseason flurry of productivity, the offense is back in slump mode. Derek Carr racked up 305 passing yards against the Falcons, but he can’t seem to get this team into the end zone. His pick and Taysom Hill’s fumble in the red zone basically decided the game. New Orleans lost by two scores, but just as easily could have won by two. That speaks to the mediocrity of this team and the NFC South, which keeps things open for now. Carr just hasn’t brought this offense together the way I imagined. The early-season OL issues can’t be ignored, and it’s hard to know who is to blame when Carr and his receivers aren’t on the same page. The Saints need to fix the communication errors and red-zone woes fast, because this defense can’t stop a good run game.

USA Today

Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

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Current Ranking: 24th

Last Week’s Ranking: 22nd

Author: Nate Davis

Author’s Take:

Just about time to ride or die, especially with their next three in the Superdome – though, oddly, New Orleans hasn’t finished with a winning record at home since 2020.

CBS Sports

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

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Current Ranking: 20th

Last Week’s Ranking: 17th

Author: Pete Prisco

Author’s Take:

They just don’t look like a playoff team, but they have a shot still to get there. Derek Carr can’t throw that pick-six to Jessie Bates III against the Saints.

ESPN

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

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Current Ranking: 21st

Last Week’s Ranking: 16th

Author: Katherine Terrell

Author’s Take:

Much like last year, the Saints are struggling to stop the run, particularly against mobile quarterbacks, and have not progressed as an offense. The Saints came out of the bye looking the same as before, with an offense that cannot consistently score touchdowns in the red zone, scoring a TD on 42.5% of red zone trips (ranks 29th). On special teams, a lot has been asked of rookie kicker Blake Grupe, who is 24-of-30 this year but has often been the only source of offense. As Saints running back Alvin Kamara said: The team is “consistently inconsistent.”

Bleacher Report

 

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Current Ranking: 20th

Last Week’s Ranking: 16th

Author: B/R NFL Staff

Author’s Take:

Blake Grupe may be the most valuable player for the New Orleans Saints. Blake Grupe is a kicker.

That’s not good.

All season, the New Orleans Saints have struggled to score touchdowns. The problem reared its head again Sunday in Atlanta—while Derek Carr topped 300 passing yards and the Saints racked up 444 yards of offense, they scored exactly zero touchdowns in a disappointing loss to the Falcons.

Speaking of disappointing, the Saints spent a lot of money to make Carr the team’s quarterback, and while the veteran isn’t the team’s only issue (or even the biggest one), as Moton pointed out, the team’s return on investment hasn’t been great.

“Back in the offseason, the Saints thought the addition of Carr would solve their offensive inefficiencies, but the team’s point totals have trended in the wrong direction since Week 8,” he said. “Now, the Saints offense may have to find its rhythm with a short-handed group. Right tackle Ryan Ramczyk, center Erik McCoy, wideout Chris Olave, wide receiver Rashid Shaheed and tight end Juwan Johnson left the previous game with injuries. Keep in mind that the team placed wideout Michael Thomas (knee) on injured reserve last week. Carr struggled with a healthy supporting cast. Now, he may have to stabilize the group. Perhaps the Saints rely heavily on running back Alvin Kamara and versatile playmaker Taysom Hill in the coming weeks.

“The Saints have lost back-to-back games, and in Week 13, they’ll face an angry Detroit Lions team that lost to the Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving. Carr should start showing why New Orleans paid him the big bucks this past offseason…if he can.”