NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The future is now for the Las Vegas Raiders and New Orleans Saints.
Both enter Sunday’s meeting in the Superdome trying to make the best of a lost season by figuring out who they might like to keep -- and who needs to go.
The Raiders (3-12) were knocked out of playoff contention weeks ago while in the midst of a 10-game skid that finally ended last weekend. The Saints (5-10), however, remained alive — if only mathematically — until last Sunday, the day before their 34-0 loss at Green Bay.
“Naturally, it’s disappointing,” Saints interim coach Darren Rizzi said. “When the guys walk through the door here every day, you still expect them to be professional, accountable, come in with a great attitude, work hard and give back to the fans.”
The struggling Raiders and quarterback Aiden O'Connell approach this otherwise anticlimactic stretch similarly.
“You’re trying your best each week to put your best foot forward,” O'Connell said. "I definitely don’t take it for granted because I know how easily it can be taken away. And so, just being grateful to be able to play in the NFL, get to live out a dream, is just me, personally, kind of how I view it.”
Both teams went 2-2 in September — then their seasons unraveled precipitously.
The Raiders went nearly three months without winning before last Sunday's victory against Jacksonville.
The Saints lost seven straight after starting 2-0, and their Week 9 loss at Carolina was followed by the firing of third-year coach Dennis Allen.
New Orleans has gone 3-3 under Rizzi, who says that if NFL players care about their careers, they can't afford a letdown — whether their teams are contending or not.
“When someone puts the film on and watches this week’s game against the Raiders, there’s not a footnote at the bottom that says: ‘These are the circumstances,’” Rizzi said. “That’s their body of work. That’s their professional resume.”
Athletic O'Connell
The Saints defense can't afford to sleep on O'Connell's ability to escape the pocket, improvise or execute an off-balance throw.
He did all three in perhaps his best play of last week's 19-14 victory over Jacksonville last week.
With the pocket collapsing, he was able to backpedal out of trouble and make a throw off his back foot to Ameer Abdullah, who hauled in the pass for a 12-yard gain to the Jaguars 35. The pivotal third-down conversion helped set up Abdullah’s 7-yard TD run.
“I’ve seen awareness from him to work on it,” Pierce said of O'Connell's mobility. “You see that throughout the drills they do in individual (work). And even just with our play call and our scheme, there’s a lot of things that we do with him — boots and keepers and naked (bootlegs) — that he has to move.”
Ownership support
Raiders owner Mark Davis' appearance in the locker room after last week's win has been a popular talking point among players and the staff.
Pierce said he realized while waiting to have his usual postgame talk with Davis that the owner was instead celebrating with the players.
“I was wondering and waiting for him, and didn’t know where he was at. But it was kind of really cool to hear about,” Pierce said. "It’s always great when the owner has his presence and shows his presence to his team, to his organization, to his staff, his players. ... That always goes a long way.”
Take it away
While the Raiders have the second-worst turnover differential in the NFL at minnus-17, they have taken the ball away six times in their past three games after having just five over the first 12 contests.
That included two takeaways without turning the ball over against the Jaguars.
“You don’t have to be a genius,” Pierce said. “Take care of the football and take it away. The odds are in your favor.”
The Saints had spent nearly the entire season above water in terms of turnover differential, but fell to minus-1 after rookie QB Spencer Rattler — who is preparing to start again this week — was intercepted and lost a fumble in Green Bay last Monday night.
The Saints have just three takeaways — all on interceptions — in their past eight games, during which they've turned the ball over six times.
Candidate Rizzi
Rizzi said the day he was promoted that he views his eight games in charge as a chance to prove he deserves a longer-term head coaching opportunity.
Monday night's blowout loss didn't help his prospects. Yet, the injury-ravaged roster he inherited wasn't exactly conducive to winning, either.
The Saints have been without starting QB Derek Carr (left hand) for each of their past two losses. Top running back Alvin Kamara (groin) could not play in Green Bay. The Saints' top two receivers — Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed — have not played in any game Rizzi has coached and the offensive line has been in constant flux.
Rizzi figures his win-loss record matters, but that more will go into how he's evaluated.
“You want to be evaluated on the complete body of work,” Rizzi said. “I think there’s a lot of things we’re doing really, really well and there’s certainly things we've got to improve on.”
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Brett Martel, The Associated Press
