The New Orleans Saints fell to 2-2 this week after a blowout 26-9 loss against divisional opponent Tampa Bay Buccaneers. As reflected by the score, the offense led by quarterback Derek Carr was not productive and far from where they want to be.
Care suffered an AC joint injury in his throwing shoulder in Week 3, but says it should be "no excuse" for the offense's poor play.
The 32-year-old went 23 of 37 for 127 passing yards, fumbled once and got sacked twice in the loss. He did not look 100 percent, though he still believes he should have had a better showing.
"That's no excuse for us playing the way we did today," Carr said, via The Associated Press. "Whatever it is that I have to do, I'll do it. I just don't want the shoulder to be an excuse for the way that we executed."
Carr struggled with the long ball and, once again, the offense was not able to rack up touchdowns. The team has only completed four deep passes so far this season, something head coach Dennis Allen calls "a concern."
"As a staff we've got to do a better job of figuring out what we're going to be able to do, what we can do well, and we've got to be able to go out and execute those things because right now we're not scoring enough points and we know that," Allen said.
Carr has 763 yards with a 64.6 completion percentage on the season, along with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
The Saints' offensive numbers are at historic lows, with their fewest points per game in the first four weeks of the season since 2007 with 12.7. Their 6.2 passing yards per attempt and their 28.7 first down percentage are among the lowest in the league.
Running back Alvin Kamara spoke about the team's slow start, saying this is a problem the Saints have had for a while, going back to head coach Sean Payton's exit.
"It's been two years since we had that offense that was rolling," Kamara said, via the Saints Wire. "Now we're kind of in this rut of. ... It is what it is right now. What you see. Like I said, we've got to have some conversations about something. Because I don't like losing."
