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Fumbles and false starts.

The two “f” words that have f-ed up much of the Saints’ 2022 season hit them harder than ever in Sunday’s 13-0 loss at San Francisco.

They didn’t wait long to set the tone, either. Alvin Kamara lost a fumble on the opening drive right after the Saints had converted a first down. Then New Orleans’ second drive began with a false start by Taysom Hill and ended three plays later with a punt on fourth-and-1.

Later, Kamara lost another fumble in front of the goal line. And Ryan Ramczyk’s false start thwarted the Saints’ intention to go for it on fourth-and-5 from the 49ers’ 25-yard line.

As a result, the Saints now lead the NFL with 22 false starts this season (18 on offense, four in punt formations). Guard Calvin Throckmorton leads the team with five of them. Ramczyk and tight end Juwan Johnson have three apiece. Left tackle James Hurst and TE Adam Trautman have two each.

Meanwhile, the Saints’ nine fumbles are tied for second in the NFL – but their overall turnover ratio of minus-14 is by far the worst in the league.

Kamara’s four lost fumbles are pretty stunning, considering he had only lost two total fumbles in his first five seasons combined. (He also fumbled four times in 2019 but only lost one of them.)

Mark Ingram also has two lost fumbles this year, with one apiece from Andy Dalton, Chris Olave and Deonte Harty.

So what to make of these momentum-killing miscues that have continued to plague New Orleans? One school of thought is obvious: Blame the coaching because these are undisciplined mistakes that fall on them.

On the flip side, though, how can coaching be the reason when sixth-year All-Pros like Kamara and Ramczyk are among the main culprits?

“I think you gotta look at it as it’s a combination of both,” Dennis Allen said when I posed him that specific question Monday. “We gotta do a better job as players in that area, and we gotta do a better job of demanding it as coaches. That’s where we’re at as a team. And it’s not good enough, but that’s where we’re at. And we’ve got five weeks to try to get it fixed.”

I also asked Allen if some of those “self-inflicted wounds” and cases of “shooting ourselves in the foot” – which have become the slogans of this 2022 season – could be the result of players pressing under the weight of a 4-8 season.

Last week, players insisted that they played like they had nothing to lose and removed some of the stress and anxiety in their win over the Rams. Sunday’s game in San Francisco felt like the opposite.

However, Allen said he doesn’t think mistakes like fumbles and false starts have “anything to do with record.”

“I just think that has to do with both players and coaches really at the end of the day taking accountability for it,” Allen said. “Look, you’re not gonna beat a good team making those types of mistakes. You’re not gonna beat a good team when you have opportunities and you don’t take advantage of those opportunities. That level of expectation has to increase.”

Hurst said the false starts are unacceptable because they are “unforced errors” that have nothing to do with the defense. And he insisted it is each player’s responsibility to focus better or communicate better because the coaches aren’t the ones on the field in those moments.

“I don’t think that’s on coaching. It’s on the players,” Hurst said. “It seems like everyone across the line, tight ends, have had false starts at times. And my opinion personally is that it’s a personal accountability. No coach is telling you when to go. That’s on us. ... If you jump, that’s on you. And we gotta understand if it’s a communication issue, then that’s on the people involved with whatever communication is happening prior to the snap. But it’s a player issue.

“It’s probably in the moment and in the tough moments, maybe a lack of focus, understanding whether that’s a silent cadence or a verbal cadence, understanding when the cadence is gonna come, how it’s gonna sound, and knowing what you’re listening for and what you’re looking for. It’s just gotta be a higher level of focus. That’s something that has happened all season and it’s not acceptable.”

ELLISS’ NEXT CHAPTER: The Saints’ brightest spot over the past month has been the emergence of fourth-year linebacker Kaden Elliss – who has now set a career high in tackles for four straight weeks (from 5 to 7 to 12 to 14) while replacing injured starter Pete Werner.

Elliss ranks seventh in the NFL with 38 tackles over that span. He’s tied for 11th in the league with 3.5 sacks over that span. Plus he has a forced fumble.

The best part of Elliss’ breakout is that he is only getting better each week now that he is gaining so much on-field experience. He said the biggest benefit of all these snaps is his improved recognition.

“Just being able to kind of see how things unfold,” Elliss said. “Maybe that first game I was pretty locked in on my initial key. But now it kind of feels like each game, you’re able to start seeing a little more. Your scope kind of expands, whether it be an offensive lineman’s feet or stances, different formations. You kind of get a couple tips.

“DA always says, ‘When the offense breaks a formation, they’re telling you a story and you’re reading a book.’ So I think your ability to read that book, the more snaps you get allows you to read it a little better.”

OTHERS ON THE RISE: Allen singled out the play of both Paulson Adebo and Alontae Taylor, saying both young cornerbacks “have really improved specifically over the last few weeks.”

Technically, Taylor was demoted somewhat on Sunday since he started the game on the bench when veteran Bradley Roby returned from injured reserve. But Taylor rotated into the lineup as the game went on – then eventually played even more than planned when Roby was evaluated for a concussion.

“I think he’s getting better,” Allen said of Taylor. “I think he’s showing us why we liked him in the draft. And I just like the way that those two guys (Taylor and Adebo) go out and fight and compete. And I think that’s part of what we have to be as a team.”

Allen said it will be “a good problem to have” when the Saints’ secondary is fully healthy – which will hopefully include the return of starting corner Marshon Lattimore this week. Allen said “we’re trying to find snaps for everybody.”

Meanwhile, undrafted rookie receiver/kick returner Rashid Shaheed has continued to carve out a bigger role on offense – better late than never. He played a career-high 30 offensive snaps after reaching 28 the week before, and he finished with two catches for 53 yards and one rush for six yards.

DA NEEDS MORE EMOTION? Allen was asked about another hot-button topic among his critics – that he and his coaching staff don’t show enough emotion on the sideline or, presumably, behind closed doors.

“I don’t know. I felt like I had plenty emotion on the sideline yesterday,” Allen said. “Look, my personality is the way that my personality is. And I think the coaching staff’s personality is the way that it is. We’ve gotta do a better job of demanding that things be done exactly right. And all of us have to take accountability for it. That’s why this is a team game. But I don’t think yelling and screaming is the answer to everything. I mean, most of us have been parents, right? And I haven’t found when I yell and scream at my kids that the product changes. Usually when you teach, that’s when those things change.”

WHAT IS A CATCH? We didn’t spend much time on this topic Sunday, since it got buried below several other reasons that the Saints lost. But it’s worth revisiting how exasperating it was when the officials decided to overturn Chris Olave’s apparent 30-yard catch at the 49ers’ 8-yard line in the second quarter.

Olave clearly got two steps down before the defender made any contact with him. Then he took a third step as he was being tackled to the ground, where he ultimately lost possession when the ball hit the turf.

“I'm gonna be honest with you. I don't know what a catch is in our league anymore. It's kind of changed multiple times,” Allen said after the game. “Their explanation to me was that he didn't survive the ground. So, yeah, I don't know what a catch is. Yeah. I don't know what a catch is.”

Olave also disagreed with the call, saying, “For sure I thought it was a catch.”

But the rookie also said he needs to take those calls out of the officials’ hands.

“It was a tough play, but I hold myself to a higher standard, so I have to complete the catch and I guess I have to hold it through the ground,” Olave said. “Just try to take care of the ball. That’s the name of the game. Hold it through the ground and make sure it’s completed