Chargers out Saints the Saints in a 35-34 Saints win

It’s impossible, it’s improbable, and yet it’s also reality. The Saints somehow managed to come back from a 34-21 deficit with just over 6 minutes left in the game. How did this incomprehensible ending occur you may ask? Well, the burning tire fire that is the Saints defense somehow forced 3 turnovers in the final 6 minutes (2 of which they actually forced), John Kuhn laid waste to Saints fans Fantasy dreams, and the Saints allowed the Chargers to viciously grasp defeat from the jaws of victory. It was glorious, and as much as I love my Uncle (who is a die hard and incredibly loyal Chargers fan), this likely is the second most meaningful Saints win in Drew Brees career. Brees had a bad game by his standards, and the offensive line was a big part of that.

Brees threw for 206 yards, 2 TD’s, and 2 INT’s, by any standard that is a mediocre game. Yet, as unbelievable as it sounds, in a game where he was clearly emotional even before the game, in a game that meant a lot to him as his final chance to play the team that discarded him like a broken toy in THEIR stadium….his much maligned defense actually came through and delivered. Don’t expect the Saints to bring some kind of New York Giants like momentum from this win, but take it, embrace it, save it on your DVR’s and enjoy the euphoria of for once being on the other end of such an incredible collapse.

Here’s my observations from the game:

  • The Saints have zero pass rush from the edges. None. Kruger actually showed up for a couple of plays today, but then left the game with an apparent back injury.
  • The Saints have a black belt in foot shooting. Even as Jairus Byrd made arguably his first impactful play since stripping Julio Jones in his first game as a Saint, they got caught with their hand in the cookie jar and the Red Zone INT was negated.
  • The Saints have some young talent. Bell, Lasco, Crawley, Vacarro, Davison all had good showings.
  • Vonn Bell is clearly a rookie, and made A HUGE rookie mistake, but overall I thought he had a good game and helped the team a lot in the second half.
  • There are a lot of players who will be gone from this roster at seasons end, Nick Fairley will NOT be one of them. He’s a keeper.
  • Brandin Cooks and Drew Brees do not seem to be on the same page, and the Saints have stopped using him as anything other than a deep threat for the most part.
  • Mark Ingram is a rock solid back. Never spectacular, rarely below avg, but solid. That helped them win today.
  • The team DESPERATELY needs Terron Armstead back. Peat is so much better at G, and also they NEED him to be at G because of the lack of talent there. Arguably both of Brees interceptions came as a result of pressure as much as poor decision making.

There is a lot more to say, and I could probably bang out another 20 of these, but here are the final two observations from this game

  • This Saints defense is young, they do dumb things, and they at times give us collectively an aneurysm, but they FIGHT! Effort is something that you expect to wain as a team continues to lose, but these guys just keep fighting harder and harder. They need some better players (and some of their players back healthy), but the belief and the energy are noticeably better than the last couple of years. That matters.
  • The offensive line was my biggest concern entering this year, and it is my biggest concern today. Drew has gotten significant pressure from two bad defenses with awful pass rushes the last two weeks, and they haven’t gotten to the terrifying part of the schedule yet. I truly worry for his health if Terron can’t come back 100%.
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