Saints’ Kellen Moore is still trying to figure out solution to New Orleans’ slow starts

The New Orleans Saints are running out of patience and answers. After Monday night's humiliating 45-24 loss to the Atlanta Falcons dropped New Orleans to 1-3, head coach Kellen Moore admitted that his team's recurring slow starts remain an unresolved problem. It continues to put the Saints in difficult positions before their offense can find its rhythm.

"Yeah, it's just this point. Again, obviously not coaching it well enough, not executing it well enough," Moore said postgame. "They came out, went right down the field, scored, we went three and out. And we didn't score until the second quarter. We've tried a number of different things. And obviously we haven't solved this, but we gotta find a way."

Atlanta immediately exposed the problem Monday . The Falcons marched down the field for an opening touchdown before New Orleans answered with a three-and-out. Those early deficits have become particularly damaging with Travis Etienne Jr sidelined by injury. This has forced Tyler Shough and the passing game to shoulder more responsibility while the defense struggles to contain opposing rushing attacks.

New Orleans opened 2026 with a 31-30 loss to Detroit before beating Baltimore 24-17. Since then, losses to the Raiders and Falcons have exposed growing issues. Atlanta ran for more than 200 yards and scored five rushing touchdowns. That underscored the defensive concerns facing Moore's team.

The Saints now travel to Minnesota for Week 5 with little margin for error. Moore and his staff have tried multiple approaches to improve their opening sequences. However, the results remain unchanged. Until New Orleans finds a way to start games with urgency, its season could unravel before halftime becomes relevant.