How Dennis Allen tackled the seven-game losing streak

Dennis Allen discussed the challenges the New Orleans Saints faced in their recent 23-22 loss to the Carolina Panthers. The loss snapped a seven-game skid for the Saints, their first since the 1999 season.

“It's pretty challenging to be negative,” Allen said in his opening postgame interview. “I thought we had a few guys who were progressing, especially in the secondary, doing some good things. I thought overall I played a solid game. There were some good things we did. We ran the ball exceptionally well. We.” I had two opportunities to score touchdowns there in the red zone at the start of the game, but we didn't manage to do that. And I think that made the difference in the game.”

Allen called Derek Carr's return to action “a little rusty.” He completed 18 of 31 passes for 236 yards and a touchdown.

Carr had a six-yard sack on New Orleans' final drive. On 2nd-and-16, Alvin Kamara caught a pass for 12 yards, leading to a 4th-and-4. OC Klint Kubiak called a fade pass to wide receiver Cedrick Wilson on the left sideline, which Panthers defensive back Jackson defended well.

Alvin Kamara wasted a tremendous effort as he rushed 29 times for 155 yards and caught six balls for 60 yards.

Substitution errors, poor tackling and execution problems highlighted missed opportunities in the red zone. Carolina was more efficient, shooting 100% on two trips inside the red zone, compared to New Orleans' 50% on four visits.

The Saints struggled with efficiency in the third period, converting 5 of 15 attempts for 33%. They also completed two of three attempts in the fourth attempt with a hit rate of 66.7%.

The Panthers' nine-play, 86-yard drive and a game-winning, four-play, 64-yard drive in the second half hurt New Orleans' quest for a win after six losses.

Chris Olave's injury in the first quarter may have affected the team's performance psychologically. “Losing Chris early in the game I think was tough for us. But I think sometimes I'm trying to recover emotionally from things like that, when you see a guy you know go down for the second time in the season, I think it's kind of hard to come back from that . But we had our chances.”

When it comes to his job, Allen isn't focused on a potential coaching change. “Well, I just have to do better… So we're going to evaluate where we are and we're going to make changes based on what we think.”

The New Orleans Saints (2-7) host the red-hot Atlanta Falcons (6-3) in an NFC South showdown at Caesars Superdome on Sunday, November 10th. The rivalry game is scheduled to kick off at noon.