Saints Beat Up for Short-Week Battle with Steelers

When the Pittsburgh Steelers play the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, they’ll do so after a restful bye. The Saints, on the other hand, will be entering Acrisure Stadium on a short week — and not without their fair share of injuries.

Center Erik McCoy exited the locker room in walking boot following New Orleans’ 27-13 home defeat to the Baltimore Ravens Monday night.

The Saints also saw a pair of a pair of defensive contributors leave the contest early. Pete Werner was carted off the field with an ankle injury in the third quarter and defensive end Marcus Davenport headed down the tunnel with a calf ailment after that.

Werner’s absence would be a big one. He leads the team with 74 tackles in his second year out of Ohio State.

Another key missing piece is cornerback Marshon Lattimore, who is nursing a bruised kidney and a rib injury he suffered in Week 5 against Seattle. He’s been out of the lineup four weeks in a row.

Another extended absence is that of wide receiver Jarvis Landry, who’s been dressed in street clothes for each of the previous five weeks (ankle).

The Andy Dalton-led attack has been rolling with rookie Chris Olave, Tre’Quan Smith, and Marquez Callaway at wideout.

Something that didn’t help the offense was the fact that it could only muster 48 yards on the ground against the Ravens — 30 of which came on Alvin Kamara’s nine totes.

Mark Ingram II, a good change-of-pace back, was out for the game with an MCL sprain that figures to keep him shelved for a few more weeks. He’s New Orleans’ third-leading rusher, with 196 yards and a score on 51 gives.

On top of all of this, pass-catcher Michael Thomas has had a frustrating couple of seasons. He’ll likely miss the rest of the campaign after a toe surgery. Cornerback Bradley Roby and offensive tackle Trevor Penning are among the players joining him on the injured reserve.