The New Orleans Saints were once a mainstay in the NFL's primetime slots, but those days are long gone.
Thursday night's showdown with the Broncos was the Saints' first non-noon start in the Superdome since Week 7 of the 2023 season, and after a 33-10 loss that represented the Saints' second blowout loss in five days, don't expect that to change anytime soon, as the Cajun Cannon broke down in his postgame rant.
"It was just a frustrating loss and humiliating on primetime and we used to play a lot on primetime with Sean Payton and Drew Brees, but right now, them days are over," Hebert said. "You know when we’re playing, we’re playing a bunch of 12 noon games, we ain’t even on no late Sunday. We’re get your bloody marys ready, because even going next year, 2025 and all that, because where we’re at right now, no, you can plan your schedule, we’re gonna be doing a lot of 12 noon kickoffs, it’s just where it’s at."
Listen to Bobby Hebert's full postgame rant in the player above. Can't see the embed? Click here.
It was a loss that brought the Saints to new lows in a few different ways. The result marked just the second five-game losing streak since 2006, the other coming in 2021 and Sean Payton's final season. But the margin was notable, too. During Payton's 16-year career in New Orleans, the Saints only had two 20-plus-point losses in the Superdome. The Saints under Dennis Allen have had two such defeats in less than a week.
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"That was not entertaining," Hebert said. "That was embarrassing. To me, just to me, my opinion, but I think I’ve watched a lot of football and I can be objective. This is the worst the Saints have looked since pre-Katrina. Now, remember what I just said. That’s before Sean Payton came onboard, this kind of, [Jim] Haslett was like on a rollercoaster. ... He was on the hot seat, it was kind of like no expectations, pre-Katrina, but once you win a Super Bowl, you’re gonna have expectations."
Unfortunately the expectations in recent years have been negative, and the scheduling reflects that. The Saints have just one more primetime game remaining, Dec. 23 against the Packers on Monday Night Football. If the Saints don't turn things around, they might be in danger of being flexed out of it.
The Saints have the built-in excuse of injuries, and it's certainly reasonable. The Saints had 18 players listed on their injury report heading into this game, and three players not listed on it (Marshon Lattimore/hamstring; Nick Saldiver/shoulder and Paulson Adebo/leg) didn't finish it. Adebo's injury was particularly gruesome, consisting of a broken femur that forced him to be carted off in an aircast and taken to an area hospital where he was expected to have surgery Thursday evening.
The Saints now have 10 days to figure out some answers before facing off with the L.A. Chargers in Week 8, a team that just took down the same Broncos squad that the Saints could very much not handle on Thursday.
"We got outclassed, outplayed and I’m not saying it’s 100% that we don’t have a chance to turn it around," Hebert continued, "all I know is the Saints are now 2-5 and they’ve dug themselves a hole that’ll be hard to climb out of."