Saints power rankings: Week 10

The New Orleans Saints lost yet again in primetime, this time falling to the Baltimore Ravens after failing to contain Lamar Jackson. After pitching a shutout against the Raiders the Saints defense gave up 27 to Baltimore in what was a return to the norm for that unit. The Saints now move on to face the Steelers, going into their Week 10 matchup with multiple injuries on both sides of the ball, while looking to keep pace in the NFC South.

ESPN - #21 (From #21)

Non-QB MVP: RB Alvin Kamara

There are strong cases to be made for tight end Taysom Hill or the Saints linebacker duo of Pete Werner and Demario Davis, but Kamara showed why he is so important with a three-touchdown performance against the Raiders. Kamara missed two games early in the season with an injury, but he has had 581 all-purpose yards since his return in Week 5. Kamara has played a key role in the offense, especially with so many receivers hurt, and seems to be getting better by the week. — Katherine Terrell

USA Today - #21 (From #20)

If you’re unwilling to go back to Jameis Winston as the starting quarterback, is it time to put Taysom Hill (7-2 record as starter) back under center?

CBS - #20 (From #20)

So much for the idea that the defense could carry this team for a bit. They were pushed around by the Ravens.

NFL - #20 (From #17)

You may now safely add the team from New Orleans to the list of expected NFC powerhouses who have badly disappointed in 2022. The Saints welcomed the Ravens into their building on Monday night and were thoroughly outplayed in a 27-13 loss that wiped away any goodwill gained from the previous week’s win over the Raiders. Andy Dalton’s hold on the starting job could be loosening after his latest island-game flop: The veteran QB has lost 20 of 26 starts in prime time dating back to his years with the Bengals. Dalton didn’t get much help from an offensive line that crumbled after center Erik McCoy exited with a calf injury. Bad night all around.

Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images

Bleacher Report - #20 (From #19)

Per ESPN’s Katherine Terrell, before Monday’s matchup with the Baltimore Ravens, Saints head coach Dennis Allen made it clear that Andy Dalton was the team’s quarterback.

“Andy’s starting, and if we continue to play like we have on offense—which is what our expectation is—like I said last week, Andy will be the starter moving forward, and I don’t think we should get into any hypotheticals or things like that,” Allen said. “It’s his show to run right now, and we’ll see how that goes.”

We’ll see how steadfast that confidence is after the Saints were rolled at home.

To be fair, it’s not Dalton’s fault the Saints gained just 48 yards on 15 carries. Or that New Orleans allowed 188 yards on the ground. But it was partly his fault that the Saints just couldn’t get going offensively, converting three of 11 third downs and logging just 13 first downs.

The reality is that while these Saints aren’t particularly bad, they also aren’t particularly good. The offense was stagnant against the Ravens. The defense is inconsistent and suffered another potentially major injury when leading tackler Pete Werner was carted to the locker room with an ankle injury.

The Saints aren’t out of the NFC South race. But that says a lot more about how awful that division is than anything good about this team.

PFT - #24 (From #25)

Alvin Kamara may be wishing he’d been traded.

Sporting News - #20 (From #23)

The Saints got a much-needed stellar defensive performance under Dennis Allen in Week 8 but now get the Jackson challenge at home in Week 9. Andy Dalton is also getting the ball to their best remaining playmakers offensively.

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