The New Orleans Saints had a Drew Brees who was, by his own admission, less than 100%, three wide receivers out at the start of the game (Michael Thomas, Deonte Harris, Marquez Calloway), and lost a fourth receiver during the game (Tre'Quan Smith).
They still fought the Kansas City Chiefs to a narrow 32-29 loss.
Zach Strief, the Voice of the Saints, was impressed with the resiliency the team showed, particularly when New Orleans came back from a 14-0 deficit to briefly take the lead.
“They're dogs; they'll give you all the fight they've got,” Strief said. “Obviously they didn't do enough to win it yesterday; but I thought that was a very telling moment in that game, just with the make-up of the team.
“If you told me going in your four receivers on the field are going to be Emmanuel Sanders, Tommylee Lewis, Juwan Johnson, and Lil'Jordan Humphrey, I would have said 'hmmm, something has gone awry.'”
Sanders led the team in receptions (4) and receiving yards (75). The only other receiver to catch a pass after Smith exited the game was Humphrey, who hauled in 2 receptions for 29 yards and his first career touchdown. Running backs Alvin Kamara and Latavius Murray, fullback Michael Burton, and tight end Jared Cook combined for 8 of Brees's 15 completions and 104 of his 234 passing yards.
Strief pointed out it was a tough situation for both the team and the players themselves, especially with Johnson and Humphrey being young players.
“There was a play in the third quarter I thought was very telling of how that game went,” Strief said. “It was an incomplete pass. The ball was in literally the only, the only place that that ball could be caught by Lil’Jordan Humphrey; and he doesn't come up with it.
“But it was into double coverage,” Strief continued. “That was the best option on the field: Lil'Jordan Humphrey in double coverage. And he actually gets the ball through into his hands, and he wasn't able to come up with it. We saw a lot of that yesterday.”
With Michael Thomas out until the playoffs, the Saints do not have a wealth of alternatives.
“At the end of the day, guys have to win,” Strief said. “You have to win as a player. We're going to need to see somebody step up.
“Deonte Harris is out until the playoffs as well,” Strief went on. “I don't expect Tre'Quan Smith back [for the Minnesota Vikings game]. There's not a lot of options sitting there glaring at you in the face. They may go out and look for a veteran somewhere in free agency to bring in a guy that's been around a little bit. As of right now, no, I don't know there's any help coming on the horizon.”
The Minnesota game, on Christmas Day at 3:30pm, is fast approaching.
