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, we look at the Saints heartbreaking loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
1st Down: Slow Start Put the Saints Behind Eight Ball
While it’s the final moments that many Saints fans will remember, that first half may have sealed their fate. Only 144 net yards and two poorly thrown interceptions from Brees really set the tone for what was a pretty poor ballgame from one of the more potent offenses in the league.
2nd Down: Payton’s Puzzling Challenges
During one of the big drives for the Vikings in the fourth quarter, Sean Payton threw out two challenge flags for absolutely no reason. The Saints lost two timeouts when those challenges could’ve been used earlier in the matchup, namely on the 3rd and 1 where Latavius Murray supposedly converted the third down. It looked like he didn’t make it on the replay, but Payton kept the flag in his pocket much like he had done earlier in the season.
While Payton claims that the game feed went out in the coaches box late in the ballgame, it doesn’t make these decisions to throw the red flag anymore head-scratching.
3rd Down: Marcus Williams Hero and Goat in Moments
One of the biggest reasons why the Saints fourth quarter rally happened was because of the fact that Marcus Williams picked off Keenum late in the third quarter to set up another touchdown pass to Thomas.
However, many Saints fans will instead remember him for his lowest moment of the season when he went for a diving tackle on Stefon Diggs, but came up empty and that resulted in the walk-off TD. If not for the interception, there was no chance that the Saints could’ve made it a competitive matchup and he should be commended for that. Also, the Saints really need to learn how to wrap up tackles. There were a lot of missed tackles because of an inability to wrap up tackles.
4th Down: Successful Season
All things considered, the 2017 season for the Saints has to be looked at as a success. You start off 0-2, but are able to turn things around in an instant and put together an eight-game win streak that sees the Superdome become a place that opposing teams don’t look forward to facing off against.
The craziest part is that they did this despite having 19 players on injured reserve. Just imagine what they could do if this team could stay healthy throughout the season. Next season looks to be even better than this one with the weapons on both side of the ball. Oh and Brees looks to be dedicated to staying around for at least next season.
I love you Who Dat Nation. And I love our team. We are destined for great things
— Drew Brees (@drewbrees) January 15, 2018
-Clint Domingue