3 Takeaways from Saints' Week 16 Loss

The New Orleans Saints turned in one of the worst performances of the NFL season on Monday night. 

Sean Payton's side failed to get anything going on offense with Ian Book starting at quarterback behind a makeshift offensive line. 

The Saints were on track for their worst yardage total of the season before Book hit Lil'Jordan Humphrey for a 56-yard pass in the fourth quarter. 

Even that long pass play could not cover up how poor the Saints looked over 60 minutes against the Miami Dolphins in the 20-3 loss at home.

New Orleans finished with 164 total yards and produced a single-digit point total for the third time in five weeks. 

The Saints defense did all it could against Tua Tagovailoa and Co., but it had no support from the offense. 

Ian Book was thrown into a thankless situation. 

The Notre Dame product was tasked with starting at quarterback against one of the best defenses in the league after Taysom Hill and Trevor Siemian were ruled out. 

New Orleans also missed its two starting offensive tackles. The absences of Terron Armstead and Ryan Ramcyzk basically set Book up for failure. 

Miami teed off on the makeshift offensive line all night and sacked Book on eight occasions. The Dolphins also forced a pair of interceptions. 

Book had no time to make decisions in the pocket because the Miami pass rush was so successful over four quarters. The fourth-rounder went 12-of-20 for 135 yards, and 56 of those passing yards came on a late heave down the sideline to Lil'Jordan Humphrey.

Book deserves another opportunity to start when the Saints have a fully functional offensive line. That chance could pop up if the Saints are out of playoff contention in Week 18.

Alvin Kamara is the one player inside the New Orleans offense that can be relied upon to produce high totals every week. 

That was not the case on Monday, as the star running back was shut down by the Miami defense. 

The Dolphins loaded up the box and gave Kamara nowhere to run. The constant pressure on Book produced few looks for the five-time Pro Bowler in the passing game as well. 

Kamara finished with 59 total yards on 13 carries and two catches. A good chunk of that yardage was earned on a 19-yard run. 

The two-time All-Pro has 90 total yards over the last two weeks. His lack of production was covered up by an impressive defensive performance in Week 15. 

The 26-year-old could have made life easier for Book if he broke a few big runs to extend drives, but he was unable to provide much support in a game the Saints were never competitive in. 

The Saints dropped to 10th place in the NFC with their Monday loss, but they are still in contention for a wild-card berth.

New Orleans needs to find a way to fix its offensive issues in order to defeat the Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons in the next two weeks. 

Some of the Saints' issues are caused by the coronavirus-related absences on the offense, but they had Kamara and Taysom Hill on the field in Week 15 and still scored just nine points. 

It is unacceptable for the Saints to have three single-digit point totals in the last five games, and the losses to Miami and the Buffalo Bills in Week 12 proved that they might not be good enough for the postseason.

However, the door is still open for the Saints to claim a wild-card position if they win out. The San Francisco 49ers are dealing with an injury to Jimmy Garoppolo, and the Philadelphia Eagles have two divisional games left on their schedule. 

New Orleans can take out the Falcons with a Week 18 victory and needs help from the Green Bay Packers to beat the Minnesota Vikings in Week 17. 

Monday's loss made the Saints' playoff chances tougher, but if they find a way to fix their sluggish offense, they could sneak in with some help from elsewhere in the NFC.