The New Orleans Saints lost back-to-back games for the first time since an 0-2 start in 2017 after falling 37-30 to the Green Back Packers on Sunday night.

Following the loss at the Superdome, which dropped the Saints to 1-2, head coach Sean Payton laid out the truth regarding his team’s sluggish start to the 2020 season.

“It’s been a while since we felt that, but three years ago, we were 0-2. A little bit of a gut check, and yet we aren’t playing well enough. Let’s not fool ourselves,” Payton told reporters. “We’re making too many mistakes. We aren’t playing disciplined enough on both sides of the ball. That’s really just the truth.

“You’re frustrated as a coach because that starts with us. We have to do a better job. We have to get ready to play a better game against Detroit [on the road next week].”

Running back Alvin Kamara put in a valiant effort with a career-high 139 receiving yards on 13 catches, for a total of 197 yards from scrimmages with two touchdowns. New Orleans had given up only two passes of more than 30 yards all season before Sunday, when Packers wide receiver Allen Lazard pulled down a 48-yard pass from quarterback Aaron Rodgers in the second quarter before he broke open for a 72-yarder three plays into the second half on third-and-10.

The game got away from the Saints early in the fourth quarter when, with the score 27-27, backup quarterback and gadget player Taysom Hill fumbled away the ball on a quarterback keeper. The Packers turned that into a field goal and followed up with a touchdown on their ensuing drive to take a 10-point lead with two minutes left.

“Talent really doesn’t get you much in this league on paper — especially when you’re as undisciplined as we’ve been playing, mainly on defense,” said veteran safety Malcom Jenkins, who returned to the Saints in free agency this year. “Whether it’s been penalties, assignments here or there. … It’s early in the season, and those are things we can correct, but we gotta do it if we want to be the team we set out to be.

“For me personally, I feel like that was what I was brought here to do. So up to this point, I feel like I’ve been failing in that regard. But I think it’s definitely something, between myself and other team leaders on defense, [we] can get fixed.”