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What Adjustments Can New Orleans Make to Turn the 2026 Season Around?
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- What Adjustments Can New Orleans Make to Turn the 2026 Season Around?
The New Orleans Saints have reached their Week 8 bye sitting at 2-5, and the biggest question surrounding this team is pretty simple: What adjustments can Kellen Moore and the Saints make to turn this season around?
After losing 16-10 to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Paris, New Orleans doesn't need to spend the bye week simply resting. The Saints need to use this time to figure out exactly what kind of football team they want to be during the second half of the season.
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The frustrating part is that this team hasn't been getting blown off the field every week. Three of New Orleans' five losses have been one-score games. There have been stretches where the Saints look competitive enough to make you believe something is there.
Then there are stretches where the offense completely disappears. That's why this bye week should be about adjustments rather than excuses.
Establish Some Kind of Running Game
Let's start with the biggest problem coming out of Paris, which was eighteen rushing yards.
New Orleans ran the football 17 times for 18 yards against Pittsburgh. That's an average of just 1.1 yards per carry. Compare that with the 175 rushing yards the Saints produced against the Giants, and you get a perfect picture of this offense's biggest problem: inconsistency.
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Moore needs to use the bye to seriously examine the offensive line, blocking schemes and play-calling tendencies. This offense cannot put everything on Tyler Shough.
Shough completed 30 of 38 passes for 278 yards, one touchdown and one interception against Pittsburgh. Those numbers weren't terrible, but asking your quarterback to throw 38 times while the running game produces practically nothing makes the offense too predictable.
The Saints need balance.
They don't necessarily need Alvin Kamara or Kendre Miller rushing for 150 yards every Sunday. They simply need enough production to make defenses respect the possibility of a run.
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Give the Young Playmakers More Opportunities
The bye week is also the perfect time to reevaluate the rotation. One player I'd like to see become more involved is Barion Brown. I spoke about Brown having a bigger role and he could definitely add to the arsenal.
Brown caught all three of his targets against Pittsburgh for 57 yards, including a 49-yard reception. That's the type of explosive ability this offense desperately needs.
Chris Olave and Kamara will naturally remain major parts of the offense, but New Orleans needs players who can flip field position with one play.
The second half of the season should be about finding out which younger players deserve bigger roles. At 2-5, maintaining the status quo doesn't accomplish much.
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Get Off the Field on Third Down
The defense deserves credit for holding Pittsburgh to 16 points.
New Orleans repeatedly put itself in position to get off the field and couldn't finish the job. Pittsburgh eventually controlled the final 5:52 of the game without giving the Saints another possession.
The Saints need to improve their situational defense, especially on third-and-manageable situations. Whether that requires different personnel packages, more aggressive pressure or simply better tackling, those extra possessions could determine close games during the second half.
My Two Pennies
The Saints aren't going to fix everything during one week off, but they can establish an identity.
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Run the football better. Start games faster. Give explosive young players opportunities. Clean up third-down defense. And most importantly, stop waiting until the second half to start playing Saints football.
Kellen Moore has already said the Saints will evaluate everything during the bye. That's exactly what should happen.
New Orleans returns Nov. 8 against Cleveland at the Caesars Superdome. That game needs to feel like the beginning of a different chapter.
At 2-5, the Saints haven't earned the luxury of patience anymore. The season isn't dead, but the margin for error is getting pretty close to it.
