The Caesars SuperDome might not be predominantly filled with fans wearing paper bags over their heads, yet, but Sunday afternoon Saints fans turned on quarterback Derek Carr.
Amid a dreadful first half against the Detroit Lions, that saw New Orleans fall behind 21-7, Saints fans loudly booed Carr on multiple occasions and gave thunderous cheers every time Taysom Hill came into the game to play quarterback.
Here in New Orleans, the #Saints are down 21-0 to Detroit and fans are loudly cheering every time Taysom Hill subs in for Derek Carr, then loudly booing when Carr returns. A little edgy.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) December 3, 2023
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Through the game's first 30 minutes, Carr completed just 7-of-12 passing attempts for a meager 84 yards with one touchdown to one interception, in the disappointing start against the Lions.
Hill, meanwhile, has been more of a threat to run rather than in the passing game during his snaps at quarterback for the Saints. So far this season, Hill has passed for just 72 yards with a touchdown while rushing for 287 yards with three rushing touchdowns, so far in the 2023 campaign.
All season, it has seemed that the Saints have struggled to find any semblance of consistency or a steady offensive identity with Carr behind center. Entering Sunday afternoon, Carr had completed 65.2 percent of his passes for 2,536 yards with 10 touchdowns to five interceptions as the Saints trail the Falcons by half a game in the NFC South standings.
Despite the Saints' struggles, head coach Dennis Allen isn't ready to blame Carr for all that ails the offense.
"We're not really in the business of blame game. We're in the business of production," Allen told NewOrleans.Football's Nick Underhill. When asked what Carr can do to improve in that phase, Allen responded, "To try to single him out is not the right way to go."
How Allen divides up the offensive snaps between Carr and Hill will be interesting to watch the rest of Sunday's game, as will how the fans react to those decisions.
