The New Orleans Saints had every reason to stay away from the facility Tuesday. Less than 24 hours after an embarrassing 45-24 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night Football, players were given a scheduled day off following the late-night game. Several of them apparently had other plans.
Saints head coach Kellen Moore revealed Tuesday that plenty of players still showed up at the team’s facility. Some needed treatment or rehabilitation, while others were working in the weight room or studying film. After watching his team fall to 1-3 in disappointing fashion, Moore appeared encouraged by how many familiar faces he saw.
“Yeah, it’s a late-night game and you saw a lot of guys in our building trying to get better today,” Moore said. “So whether that be rehab, treatment, or in the weight room and film room, certainly, I have seen a lot of faces.”
It’s a small development, but potentially a meaningful one for a team facing its first major test of adversity this season. Nobody forced those players to spend their off day searching for answers after Atlanta controlled Monday night’s game. The Saints were beaten badly enough that simply moving on without examining what happened would have been concerning.
Saints Need Day-Off Response to Carry Into Sunday
Moore has been open about New Orleans’ problems since the final whistle. He called the loss disappointing and acknowledged that Atlanta simply played better, while quarterback Tyler Shough described the performance as embarrassing. The Saints allowed 45 points, surrendered 205 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns and managed only 50 yards on the ground themselves.
Showing up Tuesday doesn’t erase any of that. New Orleans still has to prove its response matters when the scoreboard turns back on. But for Moore, seeing players voluntarily return to work offered at least one encouraging sign about how his locker room is handling a brutal loss.
That matters because the schedule isn’t providing much time for the Saints to figure things out. The undefeated Minnesota Vikings visit New Orleans on Sunday, giving Moore’s team another significant challenge immediately after its worst performance of the young season. Falling to 1-4 would make an already difficult start considerably harder to overcome.
The Saints need better execution, faster starts and major improvement defensively. None of those problems can be solved simply by showing up on an off day.
Still, Tuesday’s turnout says something about the response inside the building. After getting embarrassed by a division rival on national television, several Saints players apparently weren’t interested in taking the day off. Now they have to make that extra work matter Sunday.
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