Derek Carr’s return as the starting quarterback for the New Orleans Saints went poorly as he faced several challenges. He saw his primary target sidelined due to a concussion after an errant pass. Compounding his troubles, the Saints were defeated by the league’s lowest-ranked team, marking Carr as the first quarterback in NFL history to lose to all 31 teams.
Just a day after this defeat, the Saints parted ways with their head coach. This marks a period in the franchise that is starkly different from the era of Sean Payton and Drew Brees. Initially, there was optimism as Carr and head coach Dennis Allen ignited excitement about a possible championship run when the Saints delivered a combined 91 points in decisive victories over Carolina and Dallas to kick off their season.
In their opening game, New Orleans scored on all nine of their possessions, crushing the Panthers 47-10. The following week, they set another impressive pace at Jerry World, scoring touchdowns on their first six drives in a commanding 44-19 victory. However, those high points were short-lived.
Since that triumphant start, the Saints have endured a significant losing streak spanning seven consecutive games. This run includes a series of injuries, notably Carr’s own oblique injury which sidelined him for three weeks. Among those defeats were four losses by ten points or more, including a harsh 33-10 loss to former coach Payton and the revitalized Denver Broncos.
The most painful blow came with a narrow 23-22 loss in Charlotte, where Carr was unable to guide the team into a field-goal position in the waning moments of the game. Consequently, the Saints now share a dismal 2-7 record with the Panthers, a team that is statistically and historically disappointing.
With that backdrop, Dennis Allen, who was previously dismissed by the Oakland Raiders in 2014, became the first coach in NFL history to be fired twice while coaching the same quarterback. In a statement released by the team, Allen expressed gratitude to the team’s owner and general manager, while also lamenting the unsatisfactory results that led to his departure.
His firing makes him the second head coach to lose his job midseason in 2024, following Jeff Ulbrich, who took over for Robert Saleh after a challenging start for the Jets. Moving forward, Darren Rizzi will assume the role of interim head coach. He will face the Cleveland Browns at home in two weeks and travel to meet the New York Giants in four weeks, but he takes over a team riddled with injuries and a quarterback feeling the weight of criticism.
After the game, Carr found himself under fire from former teammate Michael Thomas, who criticized him on social media following a concerning hit on receiver Chris Olave during the game. Olave sustained a concussion after attempting to catch a pass from Carr while being sandwiched between two defenders. The hit drew a penalty for unnecessary roughness, but it left Olave immobile on the field for several minutes before being transported to the hospital.
Thomas took to social media to express his frustrations, suggesting Carr’s panicky tendencies led to an unnecessary risk for Olave. In response, Carr shared his concern for Olave’s well-being and expressed confusion about Thomas’s ongoing issues with him. He stated he had made attempts to reach out to Thomas without any response, indicating a breakdown in communication and camaraderie within the team.
Linebacker Xavier Woods, involved in the hit on Olave, defended himself, maintaining that the collision was not intentional and that he was simply playing the game.
As for Carr, prior to this unexpected turn of events, he had entered the weekend as one of the ten quarterbacks to have lost to 30 different teams. Following the game, he now stands alone among the ranks as the first and only quarterback to have lost to all 31 teams in the league, with the Raiders being the lone team he has yet to fall to.
Adding to the day’s events, Jason Kelce, former center for the Eagles, publicly apologized during the ESPN broadcast of “Monday Night Countdown” for his inappropriate response to a heckler who criticized his brother Travis, demonstrating a renewed focus on addressing and regretting unproductive reactions in the sport.
In an unexpected twist of strategy, the Buccaneers faced a similar fate when they lost 30-24 to Kansas City in overtime. Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles opted to kick for a tie rather than go for a win after a last-minute touchdown by Baker Mayfield. Their decision marked a trend in Week 9, where three teams opted to pursue tying points in the game’s closing moments, only to end up on the losing side.
The season has proven tumultuous for several teams, leading fans and players alike to wonder about the paths forward as the midseason shakeup affects game dynamics and potential playoff hopes.