Welcome everyone to the latest edition of #4Downs where I break down what went right and what went wrong for the New Orleans Saints. This week, it’s the Saints loss to the Denver Broncos.
1st Down: 2nd Half Defense Keeps Game Competitive
The Saints defense has been poor throughout the season, but once the second half comes it’s a different squad. It looked like the Saints were going to lose this game at the half due to poor defensive play against a less than stellar QB, but early on in the second half they kept Trevor Siemian and company in check with a big interception from Kenny Vaccaro that led to points. The end result was a loss, but the defense is showing that it may not have star power but the elements are there for success.
2nd Down: Too Many Turnovers
In the Saints preview I wrote on Thursday, I detailed that turnovers would be a big factor as Denver has shown they can cause trouble on the defensive side of the ball and get points off of those mistakes. This was no different as the Saints committed two turnovers with two interceptions from Brees and a pair of fumbles from Michael Thomas. This game was another statistic of what happens when you commit more than three turnovers in a game.
3rd Down: Bad Day for Thomas
Speaking of the former Buckeye wide receiver, Thomas has had a good season at this point and has made a strong case for being the rookie of the year. This game was definitely his worst with only four receptions for 40 yards along with the aforementioned fumbles in the second half. The blame could be pinned on the poor performance of Thomas, but not the sole reason. It was a number of reasons that added up to the fifth loss of the season.
4th Down: Tough Loss, Can’t Dwell On It
We could sit here and complain about another tough loss, especially with the way it ended due to a blocked extra point kick that turned into two points. At the end of the day, there’s another game in four days against a conference rival. Would it have been nice if it was a win. Of course it would because we would be over .500 for the first time in a while but you can’t always get what you want and this team had one of the more bizarre endings happen to them. This team isn’t fazed though because they seem ready for Carolina on Thursday night.
-Clint Domingue