New Orleans Saints: Improving defense now bailing out offense

Despite some recent issues when it comes to reaching the end zone, the New Orleans Saints still own the NFL’s best win-loss record. Here’s a big reason why.

There has been a change as of late when it comes in a New Orleans Saints. A team that was putting up prolific numbers on the offensive side of the football has cooled off considerably. There was a five-game midseason stretch that started with a 30-20 Sunday night victory at Minnesota in Week 8 in which the club totaled at least 30 points in five consecutive games.

Since then, Sean Payton‘s club has scored a grand total of 50 points. The talk of quarterback Drew Brees being one of the front runners for league MVP honors in 2018 has cooled off a bit — but not entirely.

However, guess which team owns the best record in the NFL these days? That would be the Saints, who did stumble at Dallas back in Week 13 on a Thursday night, 13-10. And the club looked shaky in the first half in their following game which wound up being a 28-14 victory at Tampa Bay. On Monday night, the Saints survived a defensive struggle with the Carolina Panthers, 12-9, at Charlotte.

Go back to the club’s 45 -35 home win over the previously-undefeated Los Angeles Rams. The club owned a big lead in that game and still managed to hang on for a 10-point victory. But defensive coordinator Dennis Allen’s unit 483 total yards in the win, the fourth time in eight games an opponent had gained at least 400 total yards against the Saints.

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During the team’s 7-1 start, New Orleans gave up a whopping 387.8 yards per contest, 218 points (27.3 average) and 26 offensive touchdowns. The club totaled on 17 sacks and forced just eight turnovers.

Since then, Allen’s defense has certainly raised its game a notch. In their last six outings, the NFC South champions have allowed a total of 74 points and limited each of their opponents to 17 points or less. Opponents have gained only 280 yards per contest while their six foes’ offensive units have combined for nine touchdowns. The Saints have managed 14 takeaways and a revitalized pass rush has racked up 28 sacks.

It’s a group that has plenty of talent. Veteran linebacker Demario Davis leads the team with 103 tackles while Cameron Jordan (12) and Sheldon Rankins (8) have combined for nearly half of the Saints’ 45 sacks. And it’s a unit that is coming together at the right time.

The New Orleans Saints close the season with home games vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers and Carolina Panthers. The former could present a huge challenge to Allen’s defense this Sunday. In any case, Payton’s team is getting it done on the defensive side of the football these days. And that’s a scary thought for a club that figures to eventually end its offensive slump of recent weeks.