“It's frustrating because it's so final.”
Bobby Hebert summed up how many Saints fans are feeling after a Sunday that left the Saints out of the playoffs, despite beating their rival, the Atlanta Falcons, 30-20.
Related
“We can only blame ourselves,” Hebert went on, bringing up some of the close losses. The Saints suffered three one possession losses this season; but Hebert zeroed in on the 27-21 overtime loss to the New York Giants, a team that went 4-13, the second-worst team in the NFC.
Those losses put the Saints in a position where they needed help – they needed the Los Angeles Rams to beat the San Francisco 49ers in addition to winning their own game against the Falcons; and New Orleans did not get that help.
“The Saints took care of business; the Lambs did not.”
It may not have ultimately mattered when it comes to the playoffs, but a double digit win over a divisional rival is always nice.
The Cajun Cannon singled out a few players who helped New Orleans take care of business. Alvin Kamara was the first; the star running back had 30 carries (career-high) for 146 yards (second-highest of his career) for 4.87 yards per carry (second-highest in games with 20+ carries). Hebert also praised the two quarterbacks.
“You cannot have better production from the quarterback position than what you got from Taysom Hill and Trevor Siemian,” Hebert said. “The quarterback play is something I think we maybe could have shocked people in the playoffs [with], but, again, woulda coulda, shoulda.”
Related
Hill was on his way to having an excellent game before his injury. In limited time, he went 7-9 (77.8%) for 107 yards with 1 touchdown and a 153.2 passer rating (a perfect passer rating is 158.3), adding another 18 yards on the ground. Siemian came in; and while he did not light up the scoreboard, he completed 60% of his passes with two touchdowns, no turnovers, and a 111.4 passer rating.
On the defensive side, Hebert praised defensive ends Cameron Jordan and Marcus Davenport. The duo combined for 4 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 4 QB hits, 2 pass deflections, and 1 forced fumble. And as well as they played, the rest of the defense turned in an impressive performance, too.
The Falcons gained just 172 yards before their final garbage time drive netted them another 85 yards. They converted only 30% of their third downs. They didn't score a touchdown until late in the third quarter. And they turned the ball over three times (one interception, two fumbles). It was another dominant outing for a defense that regularly dominated opponents this season.
It was a chaotic season for the Saints, yet they still managed a winning record and remained in playoff contention until almost the very end.