The New Orleans Saints, who were once doing well, are now struggling and uncertain about when quarterback Derek Carr will return after he hurt his oblique during the team’s third consecutive loss.
Carr left Monday night’s game against Kansas City due to his injury, and coach Dennis Allen did not give any updates on his health when he spoke with reporters on Tuesday after reviewing the game footage.
Carr promised to do everything he could to be ready for this Sunday, but the NFL Network has reported that he is likely to miss several games.
Without Carr, the Saints might start either Jake Haener, a fourth-round draft pick from Fresno State, or rookie Spencer Rattler, a fifth-round pick from South Carolina. Rattler has not yet played in a regular-season game.
Haener has seen some playing time in previous games and came in for Carr late in the fourth quarter against Kansas City, completing 2 of 7 passes for 17 yards. Allen mentioned that Haener “did fine” under the circumstances.
“He was under duress a lot,” Allen said. “It got to that point in the game where they were really going after the pass rush. I don’t think there were a lot of opportunities for him.”
Although the 26-13 score in Kansas City was New Orleans’ first loss by more than three points this season, it highlighted how dominant the defending champion Chiefs were, despite some key injuries on their side.
The Saints only had the ball for about one-third of the game (20:04), gained less than half the total yards (460 to 220), and had only half as many first downs (14) compared to the Chiefs (28).
“Obviously we played a good football team in a tough environment and we didn’t do well,” Allen said. “That just tells us we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
While Allen noted that everyone on the team was frustrated by their “lack of ability to really get anything going offensively,” he did not hint at any major changes in personnel for Week 6.
The coaching staff needs to think about: “What’s our part in that?” Allen said. “How can we put our guys in better positions to succeed?”
One thing Allen wants to prevent is a locker room filled with unhappy players who start blaming each other.
“We’ve just got to stick together as a group,” Allen said. “The only way you can turn things around is to be united.”
