There's a cliche you'll hear a lot around sports games: The score makes the game look closer than it was. Rarely has that been more accurate than when you dive into what happened to the Saints on Sunday during their 23-13 loss to the Vikings, a third straight home defeat to fall to 1-4.
The was a 10-point game on the scoreline and the teams were knotted at 13-13 in the final minutes of the third quarter. But look at any meaningful stat and it paints a clear picture of a team that clung to life on a pair of red zone takeaways, one that was taken back 86 yards by Jonas Sanker for a touchdown. That was a point the Cajun Cannon Bobby Hebert made sure to drive home in his postgame rant.
"We got a scoop and score by Sanker. Usually you win those kind of games," Hebert said on WWL Radio's postgame coverage, "so even though the outcome was a 10-point difference, to me that was more like a 20-point victory for the Vikings. ... Even though this was 23-13, I’m telling you, this was way worse than that.”
Hear Bobby Hebert's full postgame rant in the player above.
But don't just take the Cannon's word for it, here are the facts:
Total plays
- Vikings: 68
- Saints: 43
Total yards
- Vikings: 364
- Saints: 142
Rushing yards
- Vikings: 153
- Saints: 55
Third down conversions
- Vikings: 9-18
- Saints: 2-10
Time of possession
- Vikings: 39:37
- Saints: 20:23
There's more that could be listed, but the picture is clear, and it's made all the more frustrating by the fact that the Saints did have a chance to take this game if they could've gotten their act together and protected the football. The Saints led this game 7-6 at halftime, their first lead at the break all season, and got the ball to start the third quarter. Unfortunately the offense never got on the field with return ace Barion Brown fumbling the kickoff.
The Vikings went down for a go-ahead touchdown. The Saints offense simply couldn't get anything going as they chased the scoreboard and ran into poorly timed penalties. The Vikings defense only sacked Tyler Shough once, but they harassed him all night and he was held to a career low 96 yards passing with no touchdowns and two interceptions.
"You’ve got to look at the film, you can’t burn it," Hebert continued. "You’ve got to go and evaluate it and see where you’re at, but it was so disheartening of a game that when you thought you had a chance then you don’t have a chance and … it’s like a rollercoaster."
If the Saints are, indeed, on a rollercoaster, they'll hope that an extended road trip will mean climb back upward. They now hit the road for a matchup with the Giants in New Jersey, followed directly by a trip to Paris for a showdown with the Steelers. The Saints won't return to the Caesars Superdome again until Nov. 9, a matchup with the Browns. The Cannon hopes that by that time, the Saints will be ready to give the fans something to cheer about.
“You’ve got to throw a bone to the fans to give them hope," Hebert continued, "or they’re just gonna get frustrated."
