“U-G-L-Y. You don't have no alibi.”
WWL Saints color analyst Deuce McAllister did not hold back in his post-game comments after the Carolina Panthers crushed the New Orleans Saints 26-7.
“That was ugly. Period,” McAllister went on. “It was lack of execution. That's what it's going to boil down to. This team has talent, but you don't have enough high-end talent to go out there and mask some of the mistakes that you may be able to get away with with the high-end talent that they've had in the past.”
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It was ugly from the get-go. The Panthers scored a touchdown on their opening drive while the Saints had to punt on theirs after back-to-back false starts gave them a 3rd and 18. The next drive for New Orleans wasn't much better: a three and out.
Things did not improve the rest of the way. By the end of the first half, the Saints had just 65 yards on 17 plays – while racking up 55 penalty yards. The possession chart for New Orleans was dreadful as well.
* Punt
* Punt
* Punt
* Interception
Carolina cruised to a 17-0 halftime lead, which would have been more than enough to win as the Saints only managed to score once, a fourth quarter touchdown.
“You hurt yourself too many times,” McAllister said. “You're not going to use the excuse 'well, my coach wasn't here.' Or 'we were in protocol for COVID.' My man, who cares? Go play. You still have to go out and play. You have to go out and execute. You're a pro. You got to be a pro.”
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There were many mistakes for the Saints. They ended with 11 penalties for 115 yards compared to 128 yards on offense. They converted just 2-11 (18%) on third down and went 0-2 on fourth down. They committed two turnovers and possessed the ball just 21:28 compared to the Panthers' 38:32.
The bottom line for Deuce?
“[You] can't play like that. You can't play like that and expect to consistently win.”
McAllister hopes the Saints will learn from this defeat and then move on. The New England Patriots are coming up next.
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