The Saints catch major shade from former HC Dennis Allen after Kellen Moore's offense struggles versus Chicago Bears
The victory for the Chicago Bears in Week 7 was clearly an emotional one. Even though it came against a then 1-5 New Orleans Saints squad, Dennis Allen was taking on his former team. The new defensive coordinator for the Bears was formerly the DC and head coach for the Saints.
Dennis Allen's postgame celebration centers around fresh start after getting fired by Saints
Allen didn't hold back on his excitement or appreciativeness of his new chance to coach with Chicago. After receiving a game ball for his unit's performance, Allen made a strong statement that seemed to knock the Saints for firing him just a hair.
"Sometimes the good lord just has a frickin' plan for you that you don't know about. Sometimes you ain't good enough for somewhere else. That's perfectly fine. I love being here." -- Dennis Allen after Bears beat Saints
This reaction makes plenty of sense. Allen's team won, heavily due to his defense's success. They were ballhawks and often confused the pass protection for New Orleans. The Saints struggled to run the ball against the front seven of the Bears as well.
"Week 7 was another strong outing for Allen’s unit, outside of two drives, against the Saints’ offense. Chicago forced four turnovers on Sunday with another turn over on downs. Improved health for the defense is a major reason why Allen’s unit is starting to finally click." -- Kole Noble, A to z Sports Chicago
This performance is one where confidence jumps for Chicago. Allen has clearly had a positive impact on the locker room and earned their trust. Now, they'll look to build on this victory over New Orleans and prove that this winning streak is no fluke entering the latter half of the regular season.
Meanwhile for the Saints, it is a tough pill to swallow. Fans wanted Allen out badly and hoped this would be an opportunity for their offense to make him look silly. Instead, Allen got the last laugh and indirectly threw some shade at his former organization at the same time.
Potential concern for Kendre Miller and Erik McCoy
The injuries to Miller and McCoy may not bear a ton of good news for the Saints. Rather, Nick Underhill noted that there is "concern" for both of their injury situations as of now. Both players left the game against Chicago and did not return.
"Saints C Erik McCoy had his elbow in a sling wrapped in ice postgame. RB Kendre Miller sounded hopeful about his knee issue but didn’t want to get into any specific injury talk." --
This is an issue for multiple reasons. If Miller misses time, it increases the workload for Alvin Kamara, who had to shoulder a massive workload a season ago. As a veteran player, it would be great to keep giving him some breaks with Miller mixed in as often as he has been early on this season.
The loss of McCoy would be an even bigger loss, though. The interior offensive line has been the weakest part of the Saints offense as a whole throughout Kellen Moore's first campaign, but McCoy has been the best player there. Trevor Penning has shown improvement, but he missed the start of the year due to injury.
Spencer Rattler plays much better when he is on time and able to trust that he will get said time to maneuver his reads and throw without pressure in his face. As of now, the Saints have no proven backup center on the roster who would be able to step in for McCoy, even if he did miss a short span. With a potential long-term injury looming, that situation seems like a possible back-breaker for the passing offense in New Orleans.
'We Shouldn’t Be Afraid to Talk About it': Sean Payton Weighs in on Broncos’ Super Bowl Chances
The Denver Broncos were expected to handle the New York Giants with relative ease in Week 7. They were listed as -7.5 point favorites, figured to have the roster advantage, and the game even took place at Mile High.
Nevertheless, they barely escaped with a 33-32 victory to move to 5-2 on the season. Now, the Broncos find themselves at a crossroads. They have aspirations, but championship football clubs tend to not struggle against teams like the Giants, so the question becomes, are they allowed to talk about the Super Bowl ahead of Week 8?
“We shouldn’t be afraid to talk about it. No one has used that word in ages,” Payton noted when asked about the most coveted phrase in football, that being “
For Payton, it’s just about ensuring that the team continues to its upward trajectory. Their last-second victory over the New York Giants may not have been as clean as anyone had hoped for, but they still managed to button things up and execute when it mattered most, and that’ll do for now.
“I was proud that we fought to get back in it, we had to find a way to clean up our mess. So, I told them, ‘Enjoy this.’ There’s some grit there, they didn’t quit, but it’s important that we don’t let the euphoria of a win like that cloud the things that need to get cleaned up tomorrow
.”
Throughout the first two months of the season, that appears to be the main take away for the Broncos in 2025. Not too bad, not too great, but still full of potential.
They’ve managed to beat the teams that they have been expected to beat so far, but losses to the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Chargers raise concerns when discussing the who’s who of the AFC title picture. At the same time, however, they are still 5-2 despite ranking 20th overall in points scored.
Up next is a volatile Dallas Cowboys team that currently boasts one of the most potent offenses in all of football. Seeing as their defense just gave up 32 points to a Giants team that doesn’t have Malik Nabers and is currently being led by a rookie quarterback, it seems safe to say that Denver will be in for yet another stiff test in Week 8.
Bo Nix and Courtland Sutton have finally started to add some consistency to their production, but that’s been better for fantasy points than actual points so far. In short, the Broncos still control their own destiny, but they’ll have to tighten up if they want to make the most of the potential that they claim to have.
