Despite the offensive struggles to open the season, New Orleans Saints coach Dennis Allen is not considering benching quarterback Jameis Winston.
"No, no. We all have to play better," Allen said Sunday following New Orleans' 22-14 loss to Carolina, via Katherine Terrell of ESPN. "I'm not looking to single anything out, obviously we've got to make some corrections and we've got to do a better job as a group."
Veteran QB Andy Dalton sits as the Saints backup behind Winston.
Winston, coming off an ACL tear and playing through a back injury, and the Saints offense got off to a slow start once again, not scoring until the fourth quarter in Sunday's defeat to the Panthers. New Orleans went three-and-out four times and turned the ball over three times.
In the first three games of the season, the Saints have scored 10 total points in the first half (3.3 per game), averaging just 129 yards and 4.5 yards per play. In the second half of games, they're averaging 13.7 points, 244 yards and 7.3 yards per play.
On Sunday, Winston went 25-of-41 passing for 353 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions -- including a last-minute prayer to seal the loss.
New Orleans is banged up, seeing receivers Michael Thomas and Jarvis Landry exit with injuries Sunday. Winston has dismissed his own back injury and was also listed with an ankle issue on the injury report this week.
Week 3 was the fourth time the Saints have been shut out in the first half since 2021 (after Drew Brees retired). With Brees starting, the Saints were shut out just four times from 2006-2020.
"I think everybody, when you get in these situations, is kind of looking for a place to place blame," Allen said. "There's enough mistakes to go around, I don't really want to go there. I feel confident with Jameis. Certainly, we all need to do better, and that's what we're going to do."
The Saints (1-2) head to London in Week 4 to face the 2-1 Minnesota Vikings.
