It’s only preseason Saints fans, it’s only preseason.
The New Orleans Saints preseason winless streak continues after a fourth quarter rally fueled by DeShone Kizer gave the Cleveland Browns a 20-14 victory.
The Saints got on the board first with a 22-yard field goal through the uprights to take the early edge in the first quarter.
The Browns did respond midway through the second quarter after Carl Nassib recovered a fumble deep in New Orleans territory. Matthew Dayes got Cleveland the lead running it in from one yard out. Lutz got the Saints within one point with a 42-yarder late in the first half.
The Saints got the lead back early in the fourth quarter with Ryan Nassib connecting with Tommylee Lewis in the endzone. Daniel Lasco gave New Orleans two more points to make it a 21-14 lead.
However, the Browns fired back with a big drive highlighted by a deep pass from Kizer to Richard Mullaney. That was followed up by a short run into the endzone by Terrence Magee.
The Browns got back out in front, this time for good in the final moments of the game with another deep ball from Kizer, this time to Jordan Payton for a 45-yard touchdown.
The New Orleans Saints will have an extended break before facing off against the Los Angeles Chargers on August 20th with kickoff set for 7 pm.
Extra Points:
Solid Secondary: One of the biggest issues for the Saints the last few seasons has been their passing defense. However, the secondary this season has shown some improvement, especially with the first group of PJ Williams, Ken Crawley, and De’Vante Harris.
“I thought they did alright. I like that the first group competed.” Payton said. “They’ve been doing a good job so far. A couple of contact things we’ve got to clean up.”
Tommylee Shows Off: It was a big day for the diminutive Tommylee Lewis against the Cleveland Browns . The 5’7″ wide receiver caught 10 of his 11 targets for 124 yards and a touchdown. His performance is to be expected as he showed similar talents last preseason and it was good enough to merit a spot on the roster.
-Clint Domingue