Saints Stock Report: Who’s Trending Down After Week 1 Loss?

New Orleans nearly completed a stunning comeback in Detroit, but problems in the running game and along the offensive line emerged as major concerns entering Week 2.

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The New Orleans Saints showed plenty of fight in their season opener, but their 31-30 overtime loss to the Detroit Lions also exposed several areas that remain a concern.

New Orleans erased a 21-point deficit and received an encouraging performance from quarterback Tyler Shough, but the comeback could not completely overshadow the problems that contributed to the Saints falling behind in the first place. The offense struggled to establish the run, the offensive line consistently lost battles at the line of scrimmage and several players entered Week 2 with more questions than answers.

With the Saints now turning their attention toward a Week 2 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens, here are some of the biggest stock-down performances from their season-opening loss.

Ground Game Gets Stuck in Neutral

Sep 13, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; New Orleans Saints running back Travis Etienne Jr. (3) carries the ball against the Detroit Lions during the fourth quarter at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In Week 1, the Saints' backfield struggled, managing just 76 rushing yards and one touchdown on 18 carries (4.2 yards per carry). Despite signing Travis Etienne to a four-year, $52 million contract this offseason, the Saints split workload with Kendre Miller, but neither back found consistent success against a tough defense.

The first-half ground game stalled completely, as Etienne and Miller managed just 24 yards on eight carries (3.0 yards per attempt). This lack of push created frequent long-yardage situations and limited offensive play-calling.

The rushing attack improved slightly after halftime. Etienne ran for 40 yards on five carries — highlighted by an 18-yard run — while Miller added 12 yards on five carries, including an 8-yard touchdown run.

This 76-yard performance underscores ongoing offensive concerns. While Alvin Kamara's return will help, it won't fully fix a ground game compromised by frequent interior line penetration.

Saints Lose the Battle Up Front

Sep 14, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints offensive tackle Taliese Fuaga (75) blocks against the San Francisco 49ers during the second half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

A large part of why the Saints could not run the ball was because of the offensive line. Many of the Saints' problems were due to this unit.

The Saints' offensive line allowed seven tackles for loss and five sacks against the Lions in Week 1. That is not great, even if they are going up against one of the top pass-rushing units in the league.

The concern, however, is that none of the five starters produced a positively graded play rate of 10% or better as a run blocker, while both players on the right side of the line had negatively graded play rates above 20%.

Cesar Ruiz and Taliese Fuaga had negatively graded play rates above 20% and both had the lowest Pro Football Focus (PFF) grades among the offensive starters, with Fuaga grading out at 41.2 and Ruiz at 52.5.

Left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. had a solid performance with a 78.7 pass-block grade after allowing a pressure rate of just 3% and producing a 93.7% PFF pass-block win rate.

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