At the end of the day the review is simple: If you want to win football games, you probably shouldn't dig yourself a 21-0 hole in the game's opening minutes.
And while that is written a bit tongue-in-cheek, it's what happened, and the Saints were unable to overcome it despite a valiant rally in a 33-28 loss to the Lions. Bobby Hebert pointed to the nightmare start as what ultimately doomed the Saints in his postgame rant.
Listen to the full rant from the Cajun Cannon in the player above. Can't see the embed? Click here.
“It’s amazing we only lost 33-28," the Cannon said. "No, we still had some fight in us, but you can’t fall behind 21-0 and you’re playing at home? I mean, no ... This is like, basis, 101 football, you can’t fall behind 21-0."
In fairness, the Saints did rally behind improved defense and efficient red zone play. The Saints went 4-for-4 on touchdowns in the red zone, an area that had been much maligned after an 0-5 performance a week earlier. The issue is two crucial giveaways, and no takeaways to counteract them.
All that said the Saints still had the ball in Lions territory with a chance to drive for a go-ahead touchdown late in the 4th quarter, but turned the ball over on downs.
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“So close, but so far. … Dennis Allen said we fought hard. Well, hell yea, you should fight hard," Hebert continued. "You’re a pro. You’re getting paid millions of dollars. You just gonna quit? You want to be in the real world? Hello? Come on, you should fight back. But you cannot, again, that’s the bottom line. You can’t fall down 21-0 against a winning team like the Lions and, you know, it’s not like Carolina, or whoever you’re looking at in the future. … I’m still amazed that we were still in the game at the end.”
The Saints (5-7) have their next two games at home as well, hosting the Panthers (1-11) and Giants (4-8).