Javonte Williams rushed two touchdowns and the Denver Broncos triumphed in coach Sean Payton’s return to New Orleans, beating the banged-up and reeling Saints 33-10 on Thursday night.
Bo Nix passed for 164 yards and ran for 75 yards for Denver (4-3), which dominated statistically. The Broncos outgained New Orleans 389 yards to 271 while sending the Saints (2-5) to their fifth straight defeat.
With Saints quarterback Derek Carr missing his second straight game with an oblique injury, there were rookies in the centre for both teams.
Spencer Rattler made his second straight start for New Orleans and his lack of experience was exacerbated by injuries all across the the offense.
The Saints were missing top receivers Chris Olave (concussion) and Rashid Shaheed (knee), the latter going on injured reserve earlier in the day. Two starting linemen, center Erik McCoy (groin) and guard Cesar Ruiz (knee), were out. Versatile tight end Taysom Hill (ribs) missed his third straight game.
Rattler was overwhelmed by a Denver defense that came in ranked fourth in the NFL in yards allowed. He was 25 of 35 for 172 yards, rushed for 34 yards and lost two fumbles, the second of which was returned 52 yards for a touchdown by Cody Barton in the fourth quarter.
Rattler appeared shaken up on the play and was replaced by Jake Haener, who connected with Cedric Wilson for New Orleans’ lone TD.
Barton forced Rattler’s first fumble, which led to one of former Saint Wil Lutz’s four field goals. Rattler was sacked six times, once by linebacker Nik Bonitto, who had a sack for a fifth straight game.
New Orleans’ defense, meanwhile, could not come up with any momentum-turning plays.Tryann Mathieu uncharacteristically dropped an errant pass by Nix that sailed directly to the veteran defensive back late in the second quarter. That allowed the the Broncos to close out the half with a field goal and a 16-3 lead.
Payton’s New Orleans teams had just two losses at home by 20 points or more, something the Saints have done twice in the past five days.
“It’s been disappointing,” Dennis Allen said. “Injuries play a part of it but we’ve got to find a way to play better.
“We’re making mistakes we shouldn’t be making,” Allen added. “Us as coaches and players alike, we’ve got to figure it out.”
“Early on in the season, we played good football, so I know this team has it in them.
“But right now we’re not playing that way and obviously there’s a multitude of reasons why, and we’ve got to figure out how to get back to playing that type of football.”
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