Staggering Saints Need Klint Kubiak to Turn Water Into Wine | Saints

The honeymoon is over for Klint Kubiak.

He's about to earn his paycheck.

After the New Orleans Saints' bitter 13:26 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night, the team's first-year offensive coordinator is facing the biggest challenge of his young coaching career.

Not only will he have to restore confidence to a faltering offense that has looked utterly mediocre during a three-game losing streak, but he may also have to do so without the services of his starting quarterback.

Derek Carr's health and playing status are uncertain after he suffered an oblique muscle injury during a pass late in the game. Asked how he felt after leaving the game with medical trainers late in the fourth quarter, Carr told reporters: “Not good.”

Carr hasn't missed a start since arriving in New Orleans in 2023 and has little time to recover. A showdown with the NFC South Division champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers looms in the Superdome in five days.

It remains to be seen how effective Carr can be with such a delicate injury. Drew Brees missed several weeks of the 2014 preseason with a similar setback. While he didn't miss any time during the regular season, Brees later admitted that he “developed bad habits” and changed his mechanics due to the oblique injury.

If Carr can't go, backups Jake Haener and Spencer Rattler are next in line. Haener has thrown eight passes in his two-year career. Rattler has yet to play in an official NFL game.

If Carr were the only injury the Saints had to worry about, the situation might be manageable. But they also have to contend with an injury-plagued offensive line that has lost four players in the last three weeks, and the continued absence of star Taysom Hill, who has suffered broken ribs.

The crisis along the line reached DEFCON 1 levels Monday night when backup center Lucas Patrick was temporarily sidelined and veteran Connor McGovern was placed on emergency duty. McGovern had joined the team just days earlier and is still living in temporary accommodation.

If you were to design a worst-case scenario for this Saints team, losing Hill, Carr and three-fifths of the offensive line to injury during this early game plan would be at the top.

When Kubiak took the job eight months ago, he probably did not expect to face such a crisis so early in his term. But here we are.

His offensive attack, which was booming at the start of the season with brilliant ball losses by the Panthers and Cowboys, is suddenly losing oil. The unit has been held to 13 and 14 points in two of the last three games and ranks just 17th in the NFL in total offense (323.2 yards per game) and 20th in rushing yards per game ( 4.16) and 21st in passing offense (196.0).

The rushing attack that dominated against the Panthers and Cowboys has ground to a halt. The Saints had a season-low 46 rushing yards on 15 carries against the Chiefs. Her longest run was 9 yards.

The offensive struggles would be less taxing if the Saints defense played its best, but even this normally reliable group has suddenly lost its bearings. Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs harassed the Saints for 460 yards and 28 first downs, consistently converting first downs on the ground and through the air from awkward down-and-distance situations.

After holding their first two opponents to 63 rushing yards per game, the Saints held their last three opponents to an average of 133 yards per game and 5 yards per carry.

The pass rush has been subdued, producing just three sacks in the last two weeks, and cornerback Paulson Adebo has missed big plays and committed costly penalties while being targeted in coverage.

It's a recipe for disaster. The defeat in three games is definitely qualified.

Honestly, this was the biggest concern when the Saints opened the season. The roster was precarious, a house of cards with little to no room for error.

The rebuilt offensive line had serious depth issues after Ryan Ramczyk was sidelined with a knee injury and James Hurst retired in the offseason. The Saints did little to improve the situation other than selecting Taliese Fuaga in the first round of the NFL Draft.

Now every week they try to patch together a front five with wire and tape, and the results have been predictably unsatisfactory.

The responsibility now clearly lies with Kubiak and the Saints offensive staff. They will have to do their creative best to overcome the turnover and come up with an effective game plan against the Bucs and Broncos over the next nine days.

Kubiak didn't sign up for this. He didn't come here to be a savior. He was tasked with improving and coordinating a crime. Now he is asked to turn water into wine. That is the challenge of his coaching career. And the Saints' season could depend on how he handles it.