Saints interim coach Darren Rizzi's future is in the balance as New Orleans' tough season winds down

NEW ORLEANS — While the Saints are guaranteed a second losing record in three years, interim coach Darren Rizzi has a chance to win as many as six of the eight games he'll have coached when the regular season concludes.

The way New Orleans rallied in a down-to-the-wire, 20-19 loss to playoff-contending Washington on Sunday offers evidence that Saints players remain invested in Rizzi's audition for a future coaching job.

''When I took this job on my first day, I told you guys and I told everybody that we weren't going to lack passion and we were not going to lack fight and we were not going to be boring to watch,'' said Rizzi, who received his first chance to serve as an NFL head coach after Dennis Allen's firing on Nov. 4.

The Saints (5-9) have gone 3-2 since Rizzi took over. The first of their two losses in that stretch came by one touchdown against the recently resurgent Los Angeles Rams in Week 13. The second hinged on New Orleans' unsuccessful 2-point conversion attempt for the win on the final play.

"I was as proud as I've ever been walking off the field," Rizzi said. ''That was just an unbelievable fight to the finish and we were just one play short.''

Never mind that New Orleans went into the game without starting quarterback Derek Carr, who was still recovering from a concussion and injured left, non-throwing hand a week earlier. Rookie Spencer Rattler ran the offense in the second half, when New Orleans mustered all four of its scoring drives in the game.

While the playoffs are no longer realistic (even if still mathematically possible) for the Saints this season, the future of franchise could hinge on how competitive they are in their final three games against Green Bay, Las Vegas and Tampa Bay.

What's working

The Saints' eight sacks of Commanders QB and Rookie of the Year candidate Jayden Daniels was not only a season high, but double their previous high of four sacks in a game.

''These last four weeks I feel like we've just been rushing better together, been in tune and it's showing,'' said Saints defensive end Chase Young, who had two sacks on Sunday.

What needs help

The Saints have not rushed for more than 92 yards in a game in two games. That's a step back for a team whose new offense under coordinator Klint Kubiak was built on a foundation of outside zone runs.

The Saints have rushed for 180 or more yards in a game four times this season and eclipsed 200 yards once.

The recent downturn in the ground game is "typically not how we want to play,'' Rizzi said. ''We haven't run the ball very well these last two games overall.''

Stock up

Rattler went 0-3 as a replacement starter for Carr earlier this season, and his struggles in the last of those games seemed to drop him below Jake Haener on the depth chart.

But when he got a chance to step in for Haener during the second half on Sunday, he looked considerably more prepared — and produced in the clutch.

''Everybody uses that word, ‘moxie,' these days. He definitely has that,'' Rizzi said. "Really, really impressed with what he did.''

Stock down

Haener's first NFL start lasted one half, during which he was intercepted and the Saints did not score. Rizzi said Haener wasn't helped by the fact that the offense wasn't functioning well overall in the first half, beset by blown blocking assignments, penalties and a couple of dropped passes.

''He certainly wasn't happy. None of us would be,'' Rizzi said of Haener's reaction to being pulled at halftime. ''He handled it very professionally.''

Injuries

Top running back Alvin Kamara, who has 1,493 yards and eight TDs from scrimmage this season, left Sunday's loss with a groin injury. Rizzi said Monday that Kamara felt pain in his groin and adductor area after lunging to make a touchdown catch on a receiver pass from Cerdick Wilson. Rizzi declined on Monday to discuss the severity of Kamara's ailment, saying the running back would be seeking multiple medical opinions this week.

Meanwhile, Rizzi wouldn't rule out a return for Carr.

''We'll wait to see what's going on with Derek's situation first and then kind of go from there,'' Rizzi said. "So, there's no reason to declare anybody a starter at the moment.''

Meanwhile, Rizzi suspects that defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon, who tore his Achilles tendon in April, finally could be ready to return this week.

Key number

26 — The number of years that have passed since a quarterback drafted by the Saints won a game with New Orleans. The most recent time it happened, Danny Weurffel was under center for the Saints' 19-13 overtime victory over Peyton Manning's Indianapolis Colts on Sept. 27, 1998.

Next steps

The Saints spend the Monday before Christmas at Green Bay's Lambeau Field, taking on the surging Packers.

''To have the opportunity to play on national TV at this time of the year up in Lambeau is an unbelievable opportunity,'' Rizzi said. ''This is going to be a tremendous challenge for us — only playing a quality opponent, but playing on the road, playing outdoors, playing at night, playing in the elements.''

___

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL