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ST. LOUIS — Maybe the defense needs to bleed a little bit.

During the 2013 regular season and playoffs, the Saints allowed opponents to score first 10 times.

That trend continued in this year’s exhibition opener Friday at the Edward Jones Dome.

Tight end Cory Harkey was all alone in the left flat and walked in an easy 16-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Shaun Hill to give the Rams the first points of the game with 8:10 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

Linebacker David Hawthorne was the closest defender to Harkey — and he was a good 10 yards away when Hill delivered the ball into the flat.

“It was obviously a busted coverage. It was a red zone coverage and we didn’t do a good enough job,” coach Sean Payton said. “We got hung up inside and they end up with a pretty easy touchdown. It was just a coverage error.”

But the Saints continued another trend from last year: After taking that initial hit, the defense dug in.


Read more: Saints first-team defense struggles early, then slows down Rams | New Orleans | The Advocate — Baton Rouge, LA

Rugby Saint II

It looks like the PAT actually matters now.