New Orleans Saints: Players who need to step up against the Buccaneers

2. The entire Saints’ offensive line

The New Orleans Saints have had a rock-solid offensive line all season. The Saints have showcased one of the best offensive lines in the league all season and that is a huge reason why Teddy Bridgewater was able to be as good as he was when he was tasked with starting duties.

There is a trend in the Saints’ two losses this season. In the loss to the Los Angeles Rams, the Rams were able to pressure the quarterback enough, fluster the Saints and get out to a lead and play with that lead the rest of the game.

It was that pressure that led to Aaron Donald high-fiving Drew Brees too aggressively and giving Brees the torn ligament in his right thumb.

The same pressure was constant in the Saints’ loss to the Atlanta Falcons, so much so that Drew Brees was sacked six times. This was the main reason for the Saints’ inability to ever get anything going—they often faced third and longs and were unable to put together one consistent drive without pressure on Brees.

Andrus Peat was knocked out of the game early in both games, so that definitely made a difference. His injury status for next week has not been declared.

The offensive line has been good enough this season to get the benefit of the doubt and we can chalk it up as just a bad game. However, if Peat is out again and the O-line has another poor showing, it could be concerning.