INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — With receiver Chris Olave, right guard Cesar Ruiz and do-everything playmaker Taysom Hill all returning from injury absences Sunday, the New Orleans Saints thought they might have enough offensive talent to avoid this team's longest losing streak in 19 years.
But Derek Carr is still injured, and his two young replacements at quarterback couldn't do nearly enough to keep the Saints competitive in their 26-8 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
In fact, it's unclear whether even Carr's possible return next week could possibly fix enough of everything that ails the Saints (2-6) during a skid that has reached six games.
“The message is it’s the people in the room in there that are going to have to change it,” embattled coach Dennis Allen said. “Nobody is coming from outside the building. It’s going to have to be the guys that are in that locker room, the coaches, to fix it. That’s what it is, and we have to pay better attention to all the details, and we have to do a better job coaching all the details, because details matter in our league, and we don’t get to pick and choose which ones do and which ones don’t.”
Allen changed quarterbacks during the game for the second straight week, but it had minimal impact.
Rookie Spencer Rattler went 12 of 24 for 156 yards in his third consecutive start for the Saints before Jake Haener replaced him with 4:50 left in the third quarter. The Saints trailed 16-5 when they went to Haener, who went 9 of 17 for 122 while playing from behind.
Neither quarterback could get New Orleans into the end zone at SoFi Stadium. Eight of the Saints' nine drives under Rattler ended in punts — and while the offense moved under Haener, getting deep into Chargers territory three times, New Orleans scored only three points.
Rattler was pragmatic after his third straight losing start.
“Obviously, we didn’t get any wins, so that’s very unfortunate,” Rattler said about his three-game stint in Carr's job. “We want to win. Our goal is to come in here and win, get some momentum going (before) going to another divisional game next week. Got to get back to work and figure it out.”
Haener also replaced Rattler last week in the fourth quarter of the Saints’ 33-10 home loss to Denver.
“I felt like I was very composed,” Haener said. “I felt like I went in there and controlled the game. I felt like in those situations, you can’t just be a manager. You’ve got to go try and make some throws to create a spark, some energy.”
When asked whether Carr could return from his oblique injury next Sunday against woeful Carolina (1-7), which has lost five straight, Allen sounded hopeful: “I think there’s a possibility, yeah.”
New Orleans began the season 2-0, scoring 91 points in those two victories amid widespread praise for offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. That good feeling has evaporated without Carr behind the controls.
The Saints didn't commit a turnover against Los Angeles, but their offensive failures were still multifold.
They went 2 for 16 on third downs against the Chargers. Six of the Saints' seven penalties were called on the offense, including five on offensive linemen. Olave and Alvin Kamara both topped 100 yards of offense, but the playmakers couldn't get the ball into the end zone.
The last time the Saints lost six straight games, that 3-13 season in 2005 was the first step toward the greatest years in franchise history. New Orleans fired coach Jim Haslett and hired Sean Payton, who immediately turned the Saints into a 10-6 playoff team to begin their 16-year run as a regular playoff team and a Super Bowl champion.
Allen, 18-24 in his third season, realizes his job could be in jeopardy. He believes he's on the same page with general manager Mickey Loomis.
“We have conversations every day, and so I don’t feel any more sense of having to have these conversations,” Allen said. “Look, I think we all understand that it’s a results-oriented business, and we need to play better football. I think we all understand that.”
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL
Greg Beacham, The Associated Press
