METAIRIE, La. -- What exactly has been holding the New Orleans Saints back the past few weeks?
Holding, for starters. And a lot of other penalties, too.
The Saints (9-2) have been the NFL’s most penalized team the past three weeks. That was a big reason for their stunning Week 10 loss at home to the Atlanta Falcons and a big reason that they almost blew a 14-point lead against the Carolina Panthers in a 34-31 victory on Sunday.
Including penalties that were declined or offsetting, the Saints were flagged a whopping 17 times against Carolina.