The NFL is a funny league, Sean Payton says. It keeps giving you chances.
The Saints took advantage of one of those in Week 14, a victory that stopped a 5-game skid and keeps the Saints well within the playoff race with some positive things to take out.
"You just keep focusing. I know it sounds cliche with the one week at a time, but you really just turn your focus to the next game," Payton said. "There’s a bunch of teams that are clumped together that are fighting to make the postseason. Our focus will be really on ourselves and improving and getting healthier."
The team will also be focusing on getting ready for a showdown with the division-leading Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 15. The good news is that appears like it'll happen with a healthy Alvin Kamara and a healthy enough Taysom Hill.
Kamara's return was a clear catalyst in the Saints' 30-9 victory. The star running back rolled up 145 total yards on 31 touches, along with veteran leadership an energy that's been tough to find on offense at times this season. Kamara had missed four consecutive games with knee and hamstring injuries.
"He gave us real-good juice and energy," Payton said. "He always does, not just on the field but also on the sideline."
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HOW DID TAYSOM HILL'S HAND HOLD UP?
The Saints quarterback was making his first start after suffering a mallet finger injury in a 4-interception performance during a loss to the Cowboys. Hill had his struggles early, but played turnover-free football while passing for 175 yards and rushing for 73 and a pair of TDs.
Payton said he thought Hill's hand held up fine outside of a handful of plays, one of which was an ugly failed screen where the ball slipped from the QBs hands and resulted in a loss of significant yardage, effectively ending the drive.
"I thought he threw pretty well, secured the ball. There’s always a little bit of an adventure with him that we keep working on," Payton said. "But I think he just lost the grip on that screen and it just came out the back of his hand. That may very well have been finger-driven, or it might’ve just been, it’s dry up here in the winter and you need some lotion.”
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WHAT HAPPENED ON TAYSOM'S 2ND TD?
Taysom Hill didn't slide. He kept running. Nothing stopped him other than the end of the field. But had he gone down, the game would've ended. It didn't matter in the end (unless you started the Saints QB in fantasy).
here's what Payton had to say.
“Obviously we were sliding and the game was over there, but it was kind of a zero funnel look. We switched Alvin from a king to a queen set, and safety kind of matched over like we were hopefully anticipating and then, they’re an aggressive defense at that time because they need the ball back," he said. "I haven’t seen the tape, it happened opposite our sideline, but I’m quite sure Juwan probably had a really good block and Terron got out. So it was the right look.”
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NO HAT TODAY?
Sean Payton typically wears a hat or a visor. He didn't today. Is hatless Sean the new Sean?
“I didn’t like the one that was in my locker. I thought it was too cold for the visor and I’m a little superstitious, so I just went with the no-hat look.”