NEW ORLEANS – A New Orleans Saints team that looked so promising through the first two weeks of the NFL season now looks historically bad.

With a 26-8 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, the Saints are on just their second six-game skid this century – the first in 19 years. Their most recent seven-game losing streak came in 1999 under then-coach Mike Ditka.

“We have a lot of problems right now,” running back Alvin Kamara said bluntly. “I don’t think we’re a very detail-oriented team right now. … I don’t think we’re proud of those things, because if we did, we wouldn’t have so many other diseases.”

As the losses piled up, New Orleans’ performance level dropped precipitously. In their first two losses this season, the Saints led in the final minutes but failed to close the deal.

Their last four losses have been by double digits, including three in a row by 18 points or more.

The latest loss was particularly bad for morale as the Saints entered the game hoping that the return of a handful of top starters would give them an advantage over the struggling Chargers.

Instead, the Chargers demonstrated how injuries can be overcome, while the Saints provided evidence of execution issues that go deeper than team health.

The Saints’ performance wasn’t entirely devoid of highlights. But while Kamara and receiver Chris Olave both gained more than 100 yards from scrimmage, their successes were offset by untimely penalties and a series of other assignment or execution failures that stalled drives .

While New Orleans’ defense looked resilient, getting three sacks and forcing six punts, that unit’s job was made more difficult by how quickly it had to take the field again after the Saints offense continued to stagnate.

“The margin for error right now is small,” Saints coach Dennis Allen said. “When we have the opportunity to play, I think we have to be able to play.”

The two previous Saints coaches to suffer skids of six games or more were Jim Haslett in 2005 and Ditka. Each was fired after those seasons.

Three of the last six losses occurred without the services of injured starting quarterback Derek Carr, who is expected to return this week. If that’s the case, the Saints can only hope that this provides them with the spark they need and that it’s not already too late.

What works

The Saints defense has been solid early in games, only to wear down as New Orleans’ offense struggles to maintain the types of drives that can give defenders enough time between series to rest and review the necessary adjustments. The Saints’ first-quarter shutout of the Chargers was their third this season. Only once in eight games have the Saints allowed more than seven points in the first quarter.

What needs help

The offense slipped, particularly on the opposing midfield side, and plummeted to a new low producing only two field goals (the team returning a punt was a safety).

“We made some explosive plays and then we followed that up with penalties,” Allen said. “At the moment we are not succeeding. So we need to play a cleaner game to give ourselves a chance.

The Saints went 2 for 16 on third downs. New Orleans was flagged six times for offensive penalties, including five against linemen.

Store

Olave returned from concussion protocol and reclaimed his status as one of New Orleans’ most productive players, catching eight passes from backup QBs for 107 yards.

Stock falling

The Saints hoped Rattler, making his third straight start, would benefit from another week of experience and the return of several key offensive starters. But for the second straight game, Rattler was unable to lead a touchdown and was benched in favor of fellow forward Jake Haener during the second half of a loss.

Injury report

CB Marshon Lattimore and RB Kendre Miller both left with hamstring injuries – and not for the first time this season.

“It’s unfortunate for both of those players because they’ve had a little bit of that in their history,” Allen said. “We have to try to figure out how to eliminate this.”

Rookie WR Bub Means injured his ankle. CB Rico Payton left with a back injury in the fourth quarter and TE Juwan Johnson was evaluated for a concussion.

Carr (oblique) missed his third straight game.

Key number

0 — The number of touchdowns scored by the Saints in Los Angeles, despite the return of Olave, versatile tight end Taysom Hill and starting right guard Cesar Ruiz. This was the first game this season in which the Saints failed to reach the end zone at all.

To be continued

The Saints are back on the road this Sunday against Carolina, a team they beat 47-10 in Week 1 in what mistakenly seemed at the time to be an auspicious start for the Saints’ offense. first-year coordinator Klint Kubiak.