It is difficult to see the hope with the New Orleans Saints current schedule. This is the toughest part of the Saints schedule to date. They have an eight-week stretch where the matchups are against five playoff teams from last year. The other games are against rising teams and division rivals. If the Saints can remain afloat during this tough stretch, a shot at the playoffs is a real possibility. With how the Saints 2021 season has gone on and off the field so far, that is more than some might be hoping for. After such a tumultuous season so far, the Saints have hope for the rest of the year.
New Orleans Saints Rollercoaster 2021 Season Still Has Hope
Unfortunate Circumstances
It is no secret that this has been a tumultuous season for the New Orleans Saints. The year started off wrong with the Saints having to endure another Gulf Coast hurricane. This caused the cancellation of the Saints last pre-season game. Hurricane Ida also moved the Saints first game of the year which was supposed to be a home game. This left the Saints practicing from Dallas for the first month of the season. There have also been Covid-19 issues around the coaching staff. During one game this year, rookie quarterback Ian Book was having to help call in and arrange player personnel instead of coaches. As if these issues were not enough, the Saints have also had to deal with unwelcome and surprising injuries so far this season.
Injuries have also been a huge factor this year. Again, the year started off wrong with the news of Michael Thomas not being ready to start the season due to an injury that occurred last year. It was not until weeks later where Thomas was declared out for the season. Losing a top wide receiver is rough enough, but also losing a starting quarterback just puts teams in an almost no-win situation. Jameis Winston won the starting quarterback job but then was lost for the season to an ACL tear. Those two huge holes for any team to fill. Along with these injuries, the Saints have had many other injuries to key contributors. The Saints top cornerback, Marshon Lattimore, has missed time with a broken hand. All-Pro left tackle Terron Armstead has missed several games so far this year. Other key contributors who have missed time this year include Wil Lutz, Andrus Peat, Payton Turner, Taysom Hill, and C.J. Gardner-Johnson. It is really surprising that this Saints team has won five games so far this year with all this turmoil.
[pickup_prop id=”7183″]
The Last Five Games Present Hope
This current stretch of Saints games is the most difficult on the 2021 schedule. In this stretch, the Saints will have play the Seattle Seahawks, Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills, and divisional opponents. If the Saints can win a game or two in this difficult stretch, then the last five games present an opportunity to recover the season. At 5-4 going into Week 11, the Saints record after these next three games could at worst be 5-7. New Orleans really needs to win on the road this week against the Philadelphia Eagles to help, but it is not completely necessary.
In the last five games, the Saints will face the New York Jets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Miami Dolphins, Carolina Panthers, and Atlanta Falcons. At worst, four of these games are winnable. With the way the NFC is shaping up, finishing with nine or 10 wins should secure a wild card birth. After the way this year has gone so far, this should be welcome to those around the Saints. The Saints can make it through this tumultuous period with hope and finish the year strong which could turn into a playoff birth.
Main photo:
Embed from Getty Images
