The New Orleans Saints will find themselves matching up against one of the best teams in the NFL and an actual Super Bowl contender in the Baltimore Ravens. The Saints are coming off a tough road loss to the Detroit Lions last week. That game saw everything you did not want to see and everything you did want to see. The Saints started off slow, could not find an offensive rhythm, and struggled to run the ball early. Because of that, they found themselves down 21-0. But they fought, rallied back, forced overtime, and had a shot to win the game with a two-point conversion that was well played by the Detroit defense. In order for the Saints to pull off an upset as an 8.5-point road underdog, they cannot repeat those same mistakes. Under head coach Kellen Moore, slow starts have been normal for the team in black and gold, and the defense they are matching up against will absolutely be looking to continue that trend for the Saints. The good news for New Orleans is that they will be getting some reinforcements for this game, as Alvin Kamara will be making his season debut this Sunday in Baltimore. Kendre Miller was able to find success in the second half of the game last week, but adding Kamara brings back the dynamic running back that this team was building the running game around this offseason. Olave will also be looking to build on his dominant season-opening debut. The number one receiving target for QB Tyler Shough had nearly 200 yards receiving but will find himself matched up with Marlon Humphrey, one of the premier cornerbacks in the NFL. As for Tyler Shough, after such a dominant second half and overtime against the Lions, the question for him becomes: Can he carry that momentum into this game? That will determine a lot, but the competition is taking a major step up this week. This Ravens defense has elite talent at every single level. Trey Hendrickson at edge will definitely cause issues as a pass rusher. Roquan Smith is the leader of the defense in the middle, and Kyle Hamilton is a versatile safety who can line up anywhere. The offense will have to stay patient, stay on schedule, and ensure that it can limit third-and-long situations. The defense, however, will have its own set of issues—primarily two of the biggest problems the league has to offer on a single offensive unit: two-time MVP Lamar Jackson and one of the greatest running backs to ever play, Derrick Henry. The combination of Jackson and Henry is a running duo that causes defensive coordinators to lose sleep. Henry is coming off a game in which he rushed for 144 yards and three touchdowns, and after seeing what the Saints defense allowed from Jahmyr Gibbs, it would be understandable to have concerns about this matchup for the rushing defense. Add to that the fact that Jackson is the most explosive running threat at the quarterback position ever, and you have yourself a very stressful situation. The issue with Jackson, though, is that in Week 1 he was also very polished throwing the football. Jackson finished with a 68% completion percentage, 324 passing yards, and one passing touchdown, while also adding 40 yards on the ground and another rushing touchdown. The Saints will have to get pressure on Jackson and cause issues in the backfield, even in the running game, but they have to do so with precision and rush-lane integrity. If they don't, Jackson will have the freedom to open the offense up to its full potential. In order for the Saints to pull off the upset, they have to control the clock by establishing the run and getting Shough into rhythm early. They will have to keep the Ravens offense off the field, and when they are on defense, they will have to win first down and force Baltimore into long third-down situations. By the end of the game, everyone will know whether the Saints are on the right track for this season or if they are still a few pieces away from challenging for the division and making a run in the playoffs.

Saints football is officially back. The Saints locked up with the Jaguars in the Caesars Superdome this afternoon and opened the game with a bang. Ty Chandler took the opening kick back 86 yards to the 9-yard line, setting up an Audric Estime 9-yard touchdown run. Estime looked really good. He shared time with Ty Chandler as the primary backs in the game. The two combined for 11 carries for 52 yards, averaging 4.72 yards per carry. In the opening half of the game, the Saints played very well. The defense was really strong, forcing turnovers, generating pressures and sacks, and keeping the running game under control. The offense and special teams, however, were very up and down. Spencer Rattler got the start for this game, and coming into the matchup, Rattler had been having a great training camp. He was displaying the ability to stretch the field, get rid of the ball quickly, and avoid bad turnovers in critical moments. Unfortunately, today, all of those issues came back. Rattler finished the day 8-of-11 for 42 yards. He was sacked twice for a loss of 16 yards and had a fumble that led to a field goal for the Jaguars. Rattler looked like the Spencer Rattler that we have seen throughout his time with the Saints. The offense could not get into a rhythm until Zach Wilson entered the game midway through the second quarter. Coming out of this game, Wilson was able to make a case that he should be the backup going into the season. Wilson finished 11-of-16 for 145 yards with one touchdown and no turnovers. He was also sacked only once, and that was a byproduct of poor blocking. The offensive line did not have a single starter play in this game, and the pass blocking reflected that. The Saints allowed four total sacks spread across the three quarterbacks who played in the game. Wilson finished with the best quarterback rating of all the Saints quarterbacks at 118.0. He was able to find Bub Means, and that connection has been there throughout camp. Means finished the day with four receptions for 77 yards and was one big toe away from having a touchdown. The defense was led by Jalyan Ford, who finished the game with eight total tackles, a quarterback hit, and an interception on Jacksonville's opening drive that prevented the Jaguars from attempting a field goal. Jaydan Price was another standout in the first half, finishing with two PBUs and an interception. Brandon Staley is a fantastic defensive coordinator. Considering the Saints were playing with so many reserves, they were still able to consistently pressure the Jaguars and confuse their quarterbacks with post-snap coverage rotations. As mentioned earlier, special teams were also inconsistent. Ryan Wright made his debut and blasted his first punt more than 50 yards, but his very next punt was shanked out of bounds for only 15 yards. Wright did not allow that mistake to become a recurring issue, but it is still something you never want to see. The kickers had their moments as well. Tanner Brown was solid, going 2-for-2 with a long of 49 yards, while Charlie Smyth had one attempt in the second half and missed from 52 yards. The half ended with the Saints leading 20-6, but the game finished with the Jaguars winning 24-20. In the second half, more reserves entered the game for the Saints, while the Jaguars took a more physical approach offensively and focused more heavily on running the football. That adjustment worked well. The Saints played third-string quarterback Hunter Dekkers for the majority of the second half. Dekkers finished 8-of-15 for 69 yards with no touchdowns and no turnovers. He also had a fourth-down opportunity to win the game from inside the 5-yard line, but his fade-route attempt to Moreno-Cropper was very well defended by the Jaguars cornerback. The Saints had their moments early, but the obvious struggles late ultimately became the difference between building a 14-point halftime lead and being shut out for the entire second half despite not turning the ball over. The Saints will be back in action next Saturday at 3 p.m. against the Rams in Los Angeles. It will be interesting to see what changes are made within the roster, especially considering the battle for the backup quarterback job has just turned up another level. Also, fourth-round draft selection Bryce Lance was held out due to some minor injury concerns but is expected to be back at practice on Monday. Several other players also came away from the game with injuries that will need updates later in the week. 

The Saints went through the offseason making major investments around rising starting quarterback Tyler Shough, but one of their biggest investments came along the offensive line. If the Saints want to have more success and improve upon the way they closed out the 2025 season, it has to start with the group controlling the line of scrimmage. The Saints have invested a great deal of high-end draft capital into the offensive line over the past several seasons. They have finally answered the questions at both tackle spots and have solidified the center position with Erik McCoy. Now, however, McCoy enters his eighth season with questions of his own. Can the veteran center make it through an entire season healthy? Alongside McCoy, the Saints had questions at both guard positions, but the free-agent acquisition of David Edwards answers one of those concerns. Edwards was the top available offensive lineman in free agency this year and immediately solidifies the left guard spot. That leaves right guard as the final position up for grabs, currently occupied by veteran Cesar Ruiz. Ruiz is entering the seventh year of his career after being selected in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft out of Michigan as a center. It was a questionable selection at the time, considering the Saints had drafted McCoy in the second round just one year earlier. Despite not having a first-round pick in 2019, McCoy stepped in as a rookie and played exceptionally well. This is a contract year for Ruiz, so he must prove that he is a dependable guard capable of holding onto his starting job. However, the leash on that position may have gotten much shorter. The Saints used a fourth-round pick in this year's draft on Jeremiah Wright, a road-grading offensive guard with outstanding size, athleticism, and strength. Wright still has areas of his game that need refinement, but through training camp and the preseason, he could push Ruiz to either elevate his play or lose the starting job altogether. If either of those scenarios plays out, the Saints will have a significantly improved offensive line, and that should translate into a much better offense overall. Follow AP on X , as well as his podcast Timeouts & Tangents

The Saints' RB room shines with Travis Etienne Jr. & Alvin Kamara. Learn how this boosts their offense. Stay tuned for updates!

Saints QB Room will be one of the better position groups on the team.