The most frustrating thing during the Saints' 13-0 loss to the San Francisco 49ers wasn't the loss, it was how winnable the game actually was.
The 49ers only scored 3 points in the second half, and their other 10 points were gifted from a turnover and bonehead penalty. They really didn't even generate any other scoring chances. It didn't matter. The Saints were stopped again and again and again and again and again ... you get the idea. They fall to 4-8 on the season and have looked every bit like a 4-8 team.
The Saints got shut out for the first time since 2002. It was the longest active streak in the NFL. That tells the story of a game and a season that has fallen flat at every turn.
With all that in mind, here are my three quick takeaways from an embarrassing defeat out on the left coast.
STOP DROPPING THE BALL
This should be pretty straightforward, but it's been a recurring and infuriating issue. Twice in the first half, big passing plays ended with the ball on the ground well after any point that securing it should've been an issue.
The Saints actually got away with the first one. Rashid Shaheed caught a 35-yard ball up the middle of the field and the ball squirted out as he went to the ground. It wasn't challenged, so we'll never know if it'd have stood up.
The Saints weren't as lucky the second time, with Chris Olave's 30-yard catch from Taysom Hill overturned on review as he was unable to survive the ground with the ball. Should it have been ruled a catch? Probably, though Fox analyst Dean Blandino agreed with the call. The fact remains that all you need to do to avoid being on the wrong end of that call is NOT DROP IT. That is your job, after all, as a professional receiver of footballs.
If it was the only time it happened this season, that'd be one thing. But it's painfully similar to Chris Olave's lone fumble of his young NFL career, which came as he caught a deep ball in Week 2 and dropped it as he went to the ground. That went down as a turnover.
Olave has done a ton of great things in his rookie season. He still has a case to be rookie of year, and leads his class in catches and receiving yards. He's got more responsibility heaped on him than is probably fair this early in his career. Still, that's something that you can't have happen. The overturned catch turned guaranteed points into a punt after a drive that started in 49ers territory. The punt went into the end zone and San Fran started at the 20. That's as good as a turnover. It's hard enough to hit big plays in the NFL. You can't afford to give them back.
To add insult to injury, both Juwan Johnson and Taysom Hill had potential touchdown passes bounce off their helmets in the 4th quarter.
Oh, and Alvin Kamara fumbled to start this game, a gaff that led directly to the 49ers' first score of the game. He fumbled again trying to fight into the end zone in the 4th quarter. I've run out of words.
All that said, the refs were awful in this game. It doesn't give the Saints a pass, but still. There was also a facemask call on rookie Trevor Penning that negated what would've been a 40-yard defensive pass interference penalty from the Saints goal line. It was never shown on the broadcast. That's not on the refs, but it's tough to know whether it was a good call or not if they literally never show it.
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DEFENSE SHOWED UP, TAKEAWAYS DIDN'T
This was always going to be a brutally difficult game for the Saints to win. It was likely going to take turnovers to get it done, but they've continued to be elusive.
There was a knocked down ball in the first quarter that narrowly eluded the grasp of Kaden Elliss. There was a ball tipped up midway through the second quarter that the 49ers managed to knock down. Worst of all there was a ball that Tyrann Mathieu got his full hand on, but instead of tipping it up where he could grab it, the ball fluttered into Jauan Jennings' hands for a back-breaking TD just before halftime.
Alontae Taylor actually did manage to step in front of a Jimmy Garoppolo pass for what would've been a momentum-swinging interception early in the second half. It was negated by a (very soft) illegal contact penalty on Chris Harris. There's an element of luck in turnovers, but two interceptions through 12 games and a minus-14 turnover differential goes beyond bad luck.
The most frustrating thing is that generally speaking, the defense held up well. They got a clutch 4th down stop at the goal line. They stifled Christian McCaffrey all day. They harassed Jimmy Garoppolo in the pocket all day long. Other than a few silly penalties, it was an excellent defensive performance. Paulson Adebo was particularly good, logging 2 PBUs and ending two drives with key stops. But this is a team that needs game-changing plays from its defense. Those just haven't been there.
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NO ONE WANTS THE NFC SOUTH
This isn't even necessarily an observation off the game, it's simply a fact: Nobody wants to win the NFC South.
The Bucs fell to the Browns in overtime. The Falcons fell to the Commanders. All four teams in the division are sub-.500. The Saints had a chance to win a game and put themselves in perfect position heading into a showdown with Tampa.
What did they do? Fail in virtually every way. The star RB turned it over twice. The star rookie dropped the ball in a key moment. The star kicker missed yet another kick inside 50 yards. The star RT jumped early on a 4th down play immediately before that. There were silly penalties left and right. There was bad luck, of course. It was all bad.
In the end, and as annoying as it sounds, the Saints are right where they were when they shipped out west. They head to Tampa with a chance to climb within a half game of the division lead with five games left to play. This team will keep pushing to get to the playoffs because there's no alternative. The biggest victory you can hope for this season would be to make sure the Eagles don't pick any higher than No. 19.
That's it. And even a push to the playoffs won't erase the reality of this season or the struggles and mistakes that just never seem to find to end. The 2022 Saints are a bad team that beats worse teams. That's it. Pain. Pain everywhere.
Want to be sad? Here are the updated standings:
- Bucs: 5-6
- Falcons: 5-7
- Panthers: 4-8
- Saints: 4-8
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LAGNIAPPE
Rashid Shaheed had the biggest game of his career, even if he didn't get in the end zone. He finished with 3 catches for 53 yards and a run for 6 yards. One catch went for 35 yards. His second touch was a jet sweep on third down that he converted for a first. The same for his second catch of the day on a nice return route. He's an easy guy to like and he'll continue to be involved. ... The Saints OL got manhandled all day. I counted at least four times a Saints running back had to make a player miss in the backfield before they could even collect the handoff. It made the power run game impossible. ... Trevor Penning made his NFL debut and played sparingly, but he did have a painful facemask penalty that was very costly as it negated a long DPI. ... Zack Baun had a solid game, filling run gaps all day. He's showed well stepping into a bigger role with Pete Werner out, finishing with 4 tackles and a sack.