The New Orleans Saints had a few things to prove in their Week 4 showdown with the Bills, one being that the performance in Week 3 was an anomaly and not the identify of Kellen Moore’s squad.
They did that in a hard-fought, 31-19 loss up in Orchard Park, but the Cajun Cannon Bobby Hebert isn’t satisfied — and neither should the team.
"I don’t know, it’s professional football. There’s no moral victories,” Hebert said. "It’s not, oh, we played hard. So what, we didn’t get embarrassed?”
Listen to Bobby Hebert’s full postgame rant in the player above. Can’t see the embed? Click here.
Still, Hebert will concede that the Saints hung tough in a game that they entered as more than two-touchdown underdogs. They missed serveral opportunities, including a drive late in the first half that ended on an interception thrown by Chris Olave on a trick play. There was also a missed connetion in the red zone on a drive with the Saints trailing 21-16 midway through the fourth quarter.
The Saints also turned their focus on limiting penalties into a four-flag day, with three coming on special teams. There were no procedural penalties for the first time all season, which was impressive considering the raucous crowd that impacted more than a few plays on the day.
“I said [pregame] if we upset the Bills, it’d be the upset of the whole 2025 season,” Hebert continued, "… us coming off the Seahawks game and the way the Bills were playing and the point spread and what Vegas thought, I go, no, there is no way."
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But there were some clear gripes, too. The Saints missed several key tackles in the run game, and also on a 43-yard Khalil Shakir touchdown on the opening possession. Linebacker Pete Werner seemed to struggle throughout and dropped what could’ve been a momentum-swinging interception deep in Bills territory. But Hebert’s biggest gripes come with Olave, who finished the day strong with three catches and a touchdown but torpedoed multiple drives with drops.
“The lackadaisical effort of Chris Olave. I mean, he wants to get paid, be a $20 million a year receiver, why the Saints are gonna give him that much money?” Hebert said. "I mean, he’s an NFL receiver but he’s not a No. 1.”
The good news for the Saints is they get to return home for some matchups that appear, at least on paper, much more winnable. Next up is the Giants who will be starting rookie Jaxson Dart and are expected to be without star WR Malik Nabers due to a significant knee injury. That’ll be followed by the Patriots and another young QB in Drake Maye. But both of those teams are coming off impressive wins this week and will almost certainly be looking at the Saints and saying the same thing.
The Saints may have staved off the worst with a strong showing, but that’s all they did. It can still get worse if wins don’t come soon.
“That’s just where we’re at right now. We’ve got to somehow find a way to win,” Hebert said, "and again, you could say and maybe it might appease you, well they’re playing hard and at least we didn't get embarrassed, but no, it’s pro football. Either you’re winning or you’re losing.”