Yes, it happened. The Saints did what they needed to do and took down the Atlanta Falcons 30-20.
But on the other half of the gotta-have-it bracket, the Rams blew a 17-0 lead, then a touchdown lead in the final minute. The 49ers won 27-24 in OT.
That means the Saints finish 9-8, but are OUT of the playoffs. A season that was brutal from the start finished in the most brutal way possible.
With all that in mind, here are my top three takeaways from the Saints' take-care-of-business Week 18 win over the Falcons
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1. THE QB CAROUSEL CONTINUED
Last week, I asked Saints fans to get behind Taysom Hill regardless of where their allegiances lie. The way he left the field in Week 18 was a big part of the reason why.
The dude is as tough as they come. He's already returned from a major concussion. He was playing with a torn plantar fascia in his right foot. He was playing with a mallet finger on his throwing hand.
With all that, he was putting down the best performance of his career through much of two quarters before an injury that spelled a painful end to a difficult, gritty season.
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Hill didn't return to the game following what was described as a Lisfranc injury, appearing to be in his left foot. While we don't know the severity of his injury or whether he'd have been available for the playoffs, it won't matter. Still, we know it had the potential to be season-ending. Hill has had a season end with a similar injury back in college. In 2019 Marcus Davenport had to undergo season-ending surgery after a Lisfranc injury. At the very least, it would've been yet another painful ailment for Hill to contend with, even if he did return.
The guy leaves everything on the field to the point that he often doesn't leave it healthy. Whatever your thoughts are on the Saints' QB future, it's something that should be appreciated.
Trevor Siemian took over, and for his part he put the Saints in position to win the game. He finished off that drive with an impressive touchdown to Tre'Quan Smith -- another player who came up big in a big spot. He then took advantage of a pair of turnovers to lead the Saints into field goal range, then a touchdown shortly before halftime.
The bogged-down Saints offense returned in the second half, but the cushion built in the first half was enough to get the Saints through. Siemian finished with two touchdowns, but just 9-of-15 for 71 yards. Alvin Kamara rolled up 146 rushing yards on a career high 30 carries, and also added 16 receiving yards.
Siemian now has a 2-0 record in games he finished but didn't start, and an 0-4 record in games he started. The Saints won't continue on into the playoffs. Now the question becomes: Who starts at QB in the 2022 season.
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2. THE HANDS ARRIVED
Tre'Quan Smith. Deonte Harris. Juwan Johnson. Adam Trautman. Paulson Adebo. Week 18 was a day to appreciate the hands, or at least the gloves, of the Saints receivers.
In a year featuring little to no impact from Saints pass-catchers, the Falcons matchup offered a bit of catharsis. Smith caught 5 passes for 76 yards and a TD, including a beautiful, acrobatic TD catch from Siemian.
Trautman caught a touchdown pass from Hill on the opening drive, turning upfield and powering into the end zone. It was the first touchdown on an opening drive for the Saints this season.
Deonte Harris got in the act with a one-handed grab. On the defensive side, Paulson Adebo made a gorgeous one-handed snag of his own, and nearly added a second. Without Bradley Roby, he got a chance to shine, and he delivered.
Marquez Callaway, meanwhile, was held without a catch.
The Saints won't have a chance to make noise in the postseason. But those are names that will be important for next season. For one day at least, the Saints offense had the life it'd been looking for all season.
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3. TURNOVERS ... STILL THE STORY
With Week 18 in the books, the Saints have played seven games without a turnover this season. In those games they're 7-0.
They've suffered at least one turnover in the other 10 games, and have gone 2-8. Those two wins came against the Washington Football Team, a game in which they still won the TO battle, and the Seahawks, a game with Geno Smith starting at QB.
It's rarely as simple as one number, but it's not a coincidence that when the Saints don't hand the ball over, they stand a much better chance to win games. A turnover in the red zone by the 49ers is what spurred the Rams to take a late lead that they inevitably blew. It looked like it might've been what led the Rams to a result that would've gotten the Saints into the playoffs.
The Saints won the turnover battle against the Falcons 3-0. Even more impressively, they forced a turnover on the first play of a Falcons possession three different times.
For the Saints to have any chance, regardless of which QB started, it needed to be a near-perfect game. We'll never find out what might've happened, but we can't pin that on the defense.