Saints head coach Sean Payton was brief in his post-game remarks following another rough loss, but one thing was clear: No group was escaping the blame on this one.
The Saints failed in all phases during a 40-29 loss on the road in Philadelphia. That included an offense that turned the ball over three times and only managed one score on a short field through the first three quarters. It included a defense that got gashed on the ground, particularly by Eagles QB Jalen Hurts, who ran for three scores.
And it included special teams. That group didn't necessarily play poorly, but it wan area the Saints thought they'd have a clear edge. Instead what they got was an average performance.
“Obviously we didn’t do the things necessary to win in our league, pretty much in every phase. ... So all of us have got to do a better job," Payton said. "It’s going to be a short week and we’re gonna have to quickly refocus.”
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WHAT MADE THE EAGLES SO TOUGH TO STOP ON THE GROUND?
Whenever Philadelphia needed a big play, they let Jalen Hurts' legs go and find it. Both Miles Sanders and Jordan Howard made big plays on the ground, and it was a thoroughly impressive performance by an Eagles ground attack that ended the day with 242 yards and three TDs, all scored by the QB.
“It’s a patient attack," Payton said. "They stuck with it and ultimately we didn’t do a good enough job.”
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WHAT HAPPENED ON THE PICK-6
When the Saints got the ball back in the final minutes of the first half, they were trailing 20-7, but with a chance to pull back within two scores heading into halftime. If nothing else, New Orleans has been an impressive second-half team. A 10-point deficit would've appeared well within the range to be made up, but then the nightmare occurred.
Saints QB Trevor Siemian slung a pass to the sideline in the direction of Deonte Harris, right where Eagles CB Darius Slay was sitting and waiting to pounce. He took the pass back 51 yards for a backbreaking TD. It was Siemian's second TD of the half after going his first two starts without throwing a pick.
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“Two-minute drill, obviously it comes inside against a good corner," Payton said. "When we see the film I’m sure — we saw the replay of it — but, the guy sat on a route and it ended up being a significant score right at the half.”
The Saints rallied to within 11, but never could complete the comeback.
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ON INJURIES/TAYSOM HILL'S ROLE
To no one's surprise, Payton wasn't interested in blaming injuries. In fact, he wouldn't discuss them at all.
“I don’t really want to talk about it, the injuries," Payton said. "I understand the question and it’s a good question, but there were a lot of things we did today that weren’t injury related.”
The Saints went into the game already missing several star players done for the year, but added to the inactive list for Week 11 was running back Alvin Kamara, WR/RB Ty Montgomery, RT Ryan Ramczyk and LT Terron Armstead.
Quarterback Taysom Hill was questionable, but was deemed healthy enough to suit up. He didn't see the field, though, serving in the backup role.
“He was the backup quarterback, really, in the event we needed him. We were lucky to have him up just in that role. ... I don't want to speculate [on if he had played]. I mean, we were able to get him to move around enough for it to work.”
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ON THE QUICK TURNAROUND
The Saints won't have long to dwell on the loss, with another game looming on Thursday. That's a Thanksgiving showdown with the Buffalo Bills, a team that's hit a similar lull and fallen to a 6-4 record after a hot start.
It's another Thursday start the next week, with the NFC East-leading Dallas Cowboys heading to New Orleans. Without course-correction, it's easy to see a scenario where a three-game losing streak doesn't get snapped any time soon.
“It’s a quick week. Thursday and then another Thursday. So we’ve got to get back to work and get ready for a couple good teams," Payton said. "We’ve played some good teams, but it’s gonna get on us quick.”