Saints are gaining credibility as NFC contenders after their rout of the Cowboys

METAIRIE, La. (AP) — Former Saints quarterback Bobby Hebert sounded jubilant during a postgame radio show as he reviewed everything he thought New Orleans did well in its lopsided, Week 2 road victory over the favored Dallas Cowboys.

It was a long list of successes in areas that included the running game, passing game, pass rush and pass defense — and it took him more than 10 minutes to get through it.

“This is almost too good to be true!” Hebert exclaimed on the WWL broadcast. “Considering the expectations, this is so satisfying!"

The Saints have been a middling, non-playoff team for the past three seasons. They looked different in a 47-10 rout of Carolina in the Superdome in Week 1. But because of how the Panthers have struggled lately, it was difficult to discern how much better New Orleans might be this season.

A 44-19 victory over a Cowboys squad that hadn't lost a regular-season game at home in about two years offered more clarity.

“That’s a really good football team that we just played," third-year Saints coach Dennis Allen said. "So, hopefully our team will gain some confidence with that.”

An offensive line with three new starters — including relatively inexperienced left and right tackles — has coalesced effectively in the opening weeks and appears to be thriving in new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak's system, which allows linemen to spend more plays attacking defensive players as run blockers than backing up in pass protection.

The Saints have rushed for 370 yards in two games, and that has allowed quarterback Derek Carr to operate comfortably on pass plays that often start with play-action fakes to running backs.

“When you’re able to run the ball and you’re able to put yourself in manageable situations, you’re not having to get into a drop back passing mode where they can just unleash their pass rush,” said Allen, a career defensive coach. “Klint and the guys had a good plan for how they wanted to protect in the passing game, and I think our offensive line did a good job executing.”

The Saints rank 21st in covering kickoffs under new rules that special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi helped draft. New Orleans is allowing 25.8 yards per return. Two games is a small sample size and kickoff coverage has not kept the Saints from soundly defeating their first couple of opponents. But this is one area where New Orleans currently ranks in the bottom third of the NFL, even as it's been at or near the top of the league in just about everything else.

Alvin Kamara continues to look robust, highly productive and committed to his Saints teammates, despite not yet getting the contract extension he has sought since the offseason. Through two games, the versatile running back has 290 yards and five TDs from scrimmage.

“We’re utilizing him in a way that allows him to be effective,” Allen said. “He’s still one of those guys that if you create some space, and he’s able to operate in space, I think he’s pretty good.”

Critics of the Saints' decision to retain Allen after the club went 16-18 combined during the coach's first two seasons. It's still early in Year 3, but it appears general manager Mickey Loomis' patience with his hand-picked successor to Sean Payton is bearing fruit.

Cornerback Marshon Lattimore has remained out with hip and hamstring issues since leaving the Saints' Week 1 victory over the Panthers. Tight end Taysom Hill left the game in Dallas in the second half with a chest injury.

Latimore “wanted to play,” Allen said. “That was really my decision, and it really boiled down to — I didn’t want to risk what we think might be potentially a one-week deal, and him going out there and all of a sudden we turn one week into four weeks.”

Hill was taken to a hospital “for some extra evaluations,” Allen said. “I think it’s more precautionary, but we’ll see.”

3 — The number of consecutive games in which the Saints' offense, with Carr at QB, has produced 44 or more points, starting with their 48-17 victory over Atlanta to close out the 2023 regular season. The Saints did not have any defensive or special teams' scoring plays in those three games.

The Saints play host on Sunday to the Philadelphia Eagles and a QB in Jalen Hurts who has given their defense a lot of trouble in the past.

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New Orleans Saints wide receiver Rashid Shaheed (22) and wide receiver Chris Olave (12) react after Olave made a catch against the Dallas Cowboys during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Jerome Miron)

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (41) celebrates his first quarter touchdown run with teammate center Erik McCoy (78) during the first half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter)

New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr looks to pass against the Dallas Cowboys during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter)

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (41) breaks away with Dallas Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence (90) in tow while running for a long touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara reacts after scoring a long touchdown run against the Dallas Cowboys during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen looks on during the second half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr reacts after scoring on a keeper against the Dallas Cowboys during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Saints are gaining credibility as NFC contenders after their rout of the Cowboys

Saints are gaining credibility as NFC contenders after their rout of the Cowboys

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve on Wednesday cut its benchmark interest rate by an unusually large half-point, a dramatic shift after more than two years of high rates that helped tame inflation but also made borrowing painfully expensive for American consumers.

The rate cut, the Fed’s first in more than four years, reflects its new focus on bolstering the job market, which has shown clear signs of slowing. Coming just weeks before the presidential election, the Fed’s move also has the potential to scramble the economic landscape just as Americans prepare to vote.

The central bank’s action lowered its key rate to roughly 4.8%, down from a two-decade high of 5.3%, where it had stood for 14 months as it struggled to curb the worst inflation streak in four decades. Inflation has tumbled from a peak of 9.1% in mid-2022 to a three-year low of 2.5% in August, not far above the Fed’s 2% target.

The Fed’s policymakers also signaled that they expect to cut their key rate by an additional half-point in their final two meetings this year, in November and December. And they envision four more rate cuts in 2025 and two in 2026.

In a statement and in a news conference with Chair Jerome Powell, the Fed came closer than it has before to declaring victory over inflation.

“We know it is time to recalibrate our (interest rate) policy to something that’s more appropriate given the progress on inflation,” Powell said. "We’re not saying, ‘mission accomplished’ ... but I have to say, though, we’re encouraged by the progress that we have made.”

“The U.S. economy is in a good place," he added, "and our decision today is designed to keep it there.”

Though the central bank now believes inflation is largely defeated, many Americans remain upset with still-high prices for groceries, gas, rent and other necessities. Former President Donald Trump blames the Biden-Harris administration for sparking an inflationary surge. Vice President Kamala Harris, in turn, has charged that Trump’s promise to slap tariffs on all imports would raise prices for consumers even further.

Rate cuts by the Fed should, over time, lead to lower borrowing costs for mortgages, auto loans and credit cards, boosting Americans’ finances and supporting more spending and growth. Homeowners will be able to refinance mortgages at lower rates, saving on monthly payments, and even shift credit card debt to lower-cost personal loans or home equity lines. Businesses may also borrow and invest more. Average mortgage rates have already dropped to an 18-month low of 6.2%, according to Freddie Mac, spurring a jump in demand for refinancings.

“It’s a step in the right direction,” Laura Rosner-Warburton, senior economist of MarcoPolicy Perspectives, said of Wednesday's Fed move.

The additional rate cuts it indicated it will make, she said, will “prevent risks from building and the unemployment rate from rising. They are trying to keep the economy in good shape.”

In an updated set of projections, the policymakers collectively envision a faster drop in inflation than they did three months ago but also higher unemployment. They foresee their preferred inflation gauge falling to 2.3% by year’s end, from its current 2.5%, and to 2.1% by the end of 2025. And they now expect the unemployment rate to rise further this year, to 4.4%, from 4.2% now, and to remain there by the end of 2025. That’s above their previous forecasts of 4% for the end of this year and 4.2% for 2025.

Powell was pressed at his news conference about whether the Fed’s decision to cut its key rate by an unusually large half-point is an acknowledgement that it waited too long to begin reducing borrowing rates.

“We don’t think we’re behind,” he replied. “We think this is timely. But I think you can take this as a sign of our commitment not to get behind. We’re not seeing rising (unemployment) claims, not seeing rising layoffs, not hearing from companies that that’s something that’s going to happen.”

He added: “There is thinking that the time to support the labor market is when it’s strong and not when you begin to see the layoffs. We don’t think we need to see further loosening in labor market conditions to get inflation down to 2%.”

The Fed’s next policy meeting is Nov. 6-7 — immediately after the presidential election. By cutting rates this week, soon before the election, the Fed is risking attacks from Trump, who has argued that lowering rates now amounts to political interference. Yet Politico has reported that even some key Senate Republicans who were interviewed expressed support for a Fed rate cut this week.

Powell pushed back against any suggestion that the Fed shouldn't cut rates so close to an election.

“We’re not serving any politician, any political figure, any cause, any issue,” he said. "It’s just maximum employment and price stability on behalf of all Americans. And that’s how the other central banks are set up, too. It’s a good institutional arrangement, which has been good for the public, and I hope and strongly believe that it will continue.”

The Fed's move Wednesday reverses the inflation-fighting effort it engineered by raising its key rate 11 times in 2022 and 2023. Wage growth has since slowed, removing a potential source of inflationary pressure. And oil and gas prices are falling, a sign that inflation should continue to cool in the months ahead. Consumers are also pushing back against high prices, forcing such companies as Target and McDonald’s to dangle deals and discounts.

The Fed’s decision drew the first dissent from a member of its governing board since 2005. Michelle Bowman, a board member who has expressed concern in the past that inflation had not been fully defeated, said she would have preferred a quarter-point rate cut.

But the Fed's policymakers as a whole appear to recognize that after years of strong job growth, employers have slowed hiring, and the unemployment rate has risen nearly a full percentage point from its half-century low in April 2023 to a still-low 4.2%. Once unemployment rises that much, it tends to keep climbing.

At the same time, the officials and many economists have noted that the rise in unemployment this time largely reflects an influx of people seeking jobs — notably new immigrants and recent college graduates — rather than layoffs.

The Fed’s attention now is “preserving the health of the labor market and preventing unnecessary damage to the economy from a pretty restrictive (interest rate) stance,” said Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics.

AP Business Writers Alex Veiga in Los Angeles, Paul Wiseman in Washington and Stan Choe in New York contributed to this report.

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference at the Federal Reserve in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference at the Federal Reserve in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference at the Federal Reserve in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference at the Federal Reserve in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference at the Federal Reserve in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference at the Federal Reserve in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference at the Federal Reserve in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference at the Federal Reserve in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference at the Federal Reserve in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

FILE - The seal of The Federal Reserve System is seen during a news conference by Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell at the Federal Reserve Board Building on July 31, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

FILE - Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell walks outside of the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium at Jackson Lake Lodge in Grand Teton National Park near Moran, Wyo., on Aug. 23, 2024. (AP Photo Amber Baesler, File)

FILE - The Federal Reserve is in Washington is shown on Nov. 16, 2020. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

FILE - A detail of the Federal Reserve building in Washington is shown on Nov. 16, 2020. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)