Sunday's 30-20 playoff loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was the first time in Michael Thomas career that he was held without a catch.
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Buccaneers cornerback Carlton Davis III covered Thomas for most of the game and Tampa Bay coach Bruce Arians credited him for limiting Thomas, who'd set the NFL record performance.
"Carlton [Davis III] has played him [well] over the years and he's a physical corner," Arians said.
Following the game, Davis tweeted about his performance and poked fun Thomas calling him "Slant Boy", a nickname that suggests Thomas' success comes from only running slant routes.
Thomas was targeted only four times Sunday despite averaging over nine targets per game during his career. Saints coach Sean Payton was asked about Thomas' performance Sunday and credited the Buccaneers defense for playing well.
"He drew the matchup that we thought, and those guys competed. Unfortunately, we didn't get enough attempts or enough balls his way, but that was part of the way that that game was unfolding," Payton said. "We received a lot of man coverage and occasionally some zone. When you get into these games, there really aren't that many surprises. It is more about the attention-to-detail. It's guys going out and executing and doing all of those things. That's the frustrating thing about the turnovers. (There) was a lot of man coverage, which is what you get from Tampa."
The Saints turned the ball over four times in the loss and three were the result of a play made by the Buccaneers secondary.
Safety Antoine Winfield Jr. forced a fumble that was recovered by linebacker and former LSU star Devin White, and cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting and safety Mike Edwards each intercepted a pass.
"I thought Todd [Bowles] had a great gameplan for all their guys," Arians said. "[Jared] Cook and Deonte Harris were the guys that scared me, but the guys really punched the ball out – got one [fumble] with Cook and got the interception from him. The guys really stepped up."