The honeymoon is over for Klint Kubiak.

He’s about to earn his paycheck.

In the aftermath of the New Orleans Saints’ grim 26-13 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night, the team’s first-year offensive coordinator faces the biggest challenge of his nascent coaching career.

Not only does he have to restore confidence to a faltering offense that looked mediocre during a three-game losing skid, but he might have to do it without the services of his starting quarterback.

Derek Carr’s health and playing status are uncertain after straining an oblique muscle while making a pass late in the match. When asked how he felt after leaving the game with medical trainers late in the fourth quarter, Carr told reporters, “Not good.”

Carr hasn’t missed a start since coming to New Orleans in 2023, and he has little time to recover. A Superdome showdown with the NFC South Division champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers looms in five days.

It remains to be seen how effective Carr can be with such a picky injury. Drew Brees missed several weeks of the 2014 preseason with a similar setback. Although he didn’t miss a beat during the regular season, Brees later admitted that he “developed bad habits” and changed his mechanics because of the oblique injury.

If Carr can’t go, backups Jake Haener and Spencer Rattler are next in line. Haener has completed eight passes in his two-year career. Rattler has yet to play in an official NFL game.

If Carr was the only injury the Saints had to worry about, the situation could be manageable. But they also have to work through an injury-riddled offensive line that has seen four players go down in the last three weeks, as well as the continued absence of star Taysom Hill due to broken ribs.

The crisis along the line reached DEFCON 1 levels on Monday night when backup center Lucas Patrick was temporarily sidelined and veteran Connor McGovern was placed on emergency duty. McGovern joined the team a few days earlier and continues to live in temporary housing.

If you were to lay out a worst-case scenario for this Saints team, losing Hill, Carr and three-fifths of the offensive line to injury during this early-game gauntlet would be right at the top.

When Kubiak took the job eight months ago, he probably didn’t think he would face such a crisis so early in his tenure. But here we are.

His offensive attack that buzzed through brilliant outbursts from the Panthers and Cowboys to open the season is suddenly leaking oil. The unit has been held to 13 and 14 points in two of the last three games and ranks 17th in the NFL in total offense (323.2 yards per game), 20th in rushing yards per game (4.16) and 21st in passing offense (196.0).

The rushing attack, which had been dominant against the Panthers and Cowboys, has stalled. The Saints were held to a season-low 46 rushing yards on 15 carries against the Chiefs. Their longest run covered 9 yards.

The offensive struggle would be less dire if the Saints defense did its thing, but that normally reliable group has suddenly lost its way as well. Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs riddled the Saints for 460 yards and 28 first downs, repeatedly converting first downs on the ground and through the air from unfavorable down-and-distance situations.

After holding their first two opponents to 63 rushing yards per game, the Saints have yielded averages of 133 yards per game and 5 yards per carry to their last three foes.

The pass rush has been tepid, yielding just three sacks over the last two weeks, and cornerback Paulson Adebo has bled big plays and committed costly penalties while being targeted in coverage.

It’s a recipe for disaster. The three-game losing skid certainly qualifies.

Honestly, this was the biggest concern when the Saints opened the season. The selection was precarious, a house of cards with little to no margin for error.

The rebuilt offensive line had serious depth issues after losing Ryan Ramczyk to a balky knee and James Hurst retiring in the offseason. The Saints did little to address the situation other than selecting Taliese Fuaga in the first round of the NFL draft.

Now they try to put together a front five every week with bailing wire and tape, and the results are predictably unsatisfactory.

The responsibility now rests squarely on Kubiak and the Saints’ offensive staff. They will have to be at their creative best to overcome the exhaustion and put together an effective game plan against the Bucs and Broncos over the next nine days.

Kubiak did not sign up for this. He didn’t come here to be a savior. He was hired to improve and coordinate an offense. Now he is asked to turn water into wine. It’s the challenge of his coaching career. And the Saints’ season could depend on how he handles it.