The Saints went from 38-3 winners over the Packers in Week One to 26-7 losers to the Panthers in Week Two and one difference between the two games was the number of assistant coaches they had available for the game.
Eight of head coach Sean Payton’s assistants were not at the game because of COVID-19 protocols and their absence was a topic of conversation at Payton’s postgame press conference. Payton said the team had to make adjustments to their operations because of the absences, but said “none of that really was a big issue” and said he wouldn’t use that situation or the Saints’ extended residency in Texas as an excuse for how poorly the Saints performed in Carolina.
“It’s a disappointing loss,” Payton said in his postgame press conference. “Give Carolina credit. We did a number of things, and things that you just can’t do to win a game. Offensively, in particular, it’s as poor as we’ve been in a long time around here, and that starts with me. We’ve got to do a better job going in. Our protection plan wasn’t very good. It had nothing to do with us being shorthanded with coaches, or us being away, or the COVID. All of those would be excuses. They played better than us today and deserved to win the football game.”
The Saints were also without five Week One starters because of injuries, which would be another excuse but all of the excuses in the world won’t change the fact that they’re 1-1 heading into next Sunday’s trip to New England.