The New Orleans Saints playoff run ended Sunday after suffering a 26-20 loss to the Minnesota Vikings Sunday.
The mood in the Saints locker room following the loss was simply disappointment.
“We had larger dreams than this game,” Saints defensive end Cam Jordan said. “The season we put together had us poised to make a run through the playoffs.”
Pinpointing the cause of that loss was simple for head coach Sean Payton.
“I felt, really, at the end of the day, that they made a few more plays, enough more plays than we did,” he said following the loss.
Payton and the Saints said, particularly, they felt much of their struggles came on offense.
“I did not think that we particularly ran the ball efficiently enough in the first half,” he said. “I felt like we found a few things in the second half to begin hanging our hat on. We had a handful of minus plays. Our third down numbers at the half, I think we were one of four. We struggled in protection early, obviously.”
All of the factors Payton mentioned lead to big plays for the Vikings particularly the pressure on quarterback Drew Brees which was spearheaded by defensive ends Everson Griffin and Danielle Hunter. The two combined for three sacks and six quarterback hits to go along with a fumble Hunter forced in the fourth quarter — one that was particularly frustrating to Brees.
“The fumble was extremely frustrating because there was a miscommunication about what we were doing,” Brees said. “The ball should’ve been out of my hands and all of a sudden that wasn’t the route that was thrown and now I am trying to throw the ball into the dirt to avoid a sack. Right as my hand’s going back, he kind of gets a piece of my arm and that ball comes out. I’m really disappointed in that. It never should have happened.”
Brees, however, pointed out that Hunter and Griffin are two of the best defensive ends in the NFL and that the Saints expected a “battle.”
Saints tackle Ryan Ramcyzk felt New Orleans’ offensive line didn’t have it’s best outing in that battle.
“It was crushing for us,” he said. “We didn’t play our best game and I didn’t play my best game. Collectively, we just didn’t get it done. I wish we would have had a better game today.”
The Saints struggled on third down going just two of nine before thought the first three quarters and Taysom Hill said that made it hard for New Orleans to establish an offensive rhythm.
“It was tough to get drives started,” he said. “It was hard to get that first down and get things going. I think that was our Achilles heel today.”
Despite the offensive struggles the Saints’ defensive unit shouldered the blame for the loss as well as the Vikings rushing attack which totaled 136 yards and two touchdowns, helped Minnesota gain an advantage in time of possession.
“As a defense, we wanted to do certain things” Jordan said. “We want to hold their explosive plays and limit their runs. We knew they were going to come in here and run and stretch with the toss. We didn’t do enough.”
Saints linebacker Demario Davis said the loss was disappointing as the Saints did not reach their goals.
“I think at the end of the day that it’s the end of a chapter and not the end of the book,” Davis said. “There are chapters in the game and in life that aren’t the best. It is all how you respond to it. You keep going. We have responded the right way before and we keep having to do so.”
