On a night where nothing went in the Saints direction, they fall to 3-6 on the season after losing to the Baltimore Ravens, 27-13. New Orleans did not have any answers against the Ravens rushing attack as Baltimore was able to dominate the game from start to finish. Here are three takeaways from the Saints loss on Monday Night against the Ravens:
Saints Offense Unable to Find Any Rhythm:
The Saints were unable to find any rhythm tonight against a veteran Baltimore defense that is improving as the weeks go by. The Ravens defensive line was able to bring pressure to Andy Dalton as the Saints offensive line allowed four sacks on the night.
Baltimore elected to defer to the second half and the Saints were the first to step on the field. New Orleans wasn’t able to establish their running game from the start as they were held in check by the Ravens defense. New Orleans was able to move the ball at times into Baltimore’s territory, but they weren’t able to cash in until the fourth quarter.
The running game was ineffective for the Saints as the Baltimore defense was able to limit New Orleans the big plays through the ground. With the absence of Mark Ingram, the bulk of the workload would fall on Alvin Kamara. Coming off a three-touchdown performance, Kamara would be looking to build off of that showing against Las Vegas. Instead, Kamara was halted to only 30 yards on the ground.
There was a bright spot that continued for the Saints offense as Chris Olave continued to have a breakout rookie season. Olave produced once again in the absence of Jarvis Landry. The rookie wide receiver led the Saints in receiving with six receptions for 71 yards.
Saints Defense Struggles to Defend the Run:
In week eight, the Saints defense was able to limit Josh Jacobs on the ground as they were able to shut out the Las Vegas Raiders. New Orleans was unable to continue that momentum as Baltimore had their way on the ground against the Saints defense.
It was a two-headed monster that New Orleans was dealing with on Monday Night as Lamar Jackson and Kenyan Drake had success on the ground. Drake was able to find the endzone twice throughout the game as he scored on a one-yard and a three-yard rush.
Jackson was able to create plays with his legs throughout the night as he racked up 11 carries for 82 yards. The Saints defense was able to limit the big plays through the air, but the Ravens offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage. Baltimore was able to pile on 175 rushing yards on the night against a physical defensive front for New Orleans.
Baltimore Dominates the Time of Possession:
Baltimore’s offense was able to control the time of possession in route to their sixth win on the season as they sit on top of the AFC North heading into week ten. The Ravens beat out the Saints in time of possession by 34:51 to 21:50.
The Ravens was able to effectively move the ball against the Saints defense as they piled up 317 total yards on offense. On the other side, Baltimore’s defense was able to force New Orleans to three-and-outs that kept the Saints offense from finding any sort of identity.
The Ravens were also able to control the clock on the offensive side of the ball with long drive that would limit the Saints an opportunity to strike back. New Orleans will look get back on track next week as they will head east to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers, who sit at 2-6 on the year.
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