“Football is a game of inches,” that is a term that is often used when talking about the sport. Throughout history it has proven to be true. You can often look back and point out plays, games, even seasons decided by inches. So many little things decide the outcome of a game whether it’s inches, seconds, or any of the other small things in football.
After another 7-9 losing season, one of the hardest things for Saints fans is looking back and noticing all of the small things that could have changed the outcome of the season. The Saints finished the season with 11 one score games. In those one score games they went 4-7, that is a real fine line between a losing season, a winning season, or possibly even a wild card spot.
In my mind there are 5 plays that had a big hand in the Saints disappointing season, starting with…
Week 11-Blocked Field Goal at Carolina
As we all know, the Saints had special team problems all year. They lost multiple games due to poor special team plays. In this game, the Panthers jumped out to a 13-3 lead. With about 30 seconds left in the first half, the Saints lined up to kick a field goal to more than likely go into halftime only down 7. Instead, the field goal was blocked and returned for a Panthers touchdown. The touchdown was brought back due to a block in the back by Carolina’s rookie cornerback James Bradberry.
The very next play, Newton hit Ted Ginn Jr. in the back of the end zone for a touchdown. Rather than going into halftime down 7, the Saints were down 13. In coaches’ talk, that’s a 10 point swing against the Saints with the Panthers scoring 7, and the Saints losing 3.
If they made that kick, they would have had a lot better chance starting the second half. The Saints ended up losing by 3. Now, instead of having a 5-5 record and getting back to .500, they dropped to 4-6.
Week 7-Ingram Fumble at Kansas City
The Saints were 2-3 on a 2 game winning streak and hoping to start a season turnaround by getting to .500. While going into one of the most difficult environments to play in the NFL, it was not going to be an easy task.
The Saints started strong with Brees hitting Cooks for a touchdown, and jumping out to a 7-0 lead. Quickly it went south with Kansas City getting to a 21-7 lead with a Brees pick 6, and a pair of Alex Smith touchdown passes. Going into halftime, down 14 points in such a tough environment, it was looking bad for the Saints.
They clawed their way back into the game, down 14-24, driving down the field. In the red zone with the chance to cut the deficit to a one score game, Brees handed the ball off to Ingram. Kansas City safety Ron Parker came in and punched the ball out.
The Saints ended up losing by 6, dropping to 2-4 instead of 3-3 and extending their win streak.
Week 2-Blocked Field Goal Returned for Touchdown at New York Giants
This game was arguably the best defensive performance of the Saints’ season. After losing a heartbreaker at home in week 1 and losing top cornerback Delvin Breaux, the Saints went into MetLife hoping to win their first game of the season. Early in the game #2 cornerback PJ Williams went down with a scary injury. It was later learned to be a concussion that ended his season.
Down their top 2 cornerbacks, the Saints had an uphill battle trying to slow down Eli Manning and his arsenal of weapons. They did an admirable job, not allowing a single touchdown on defense.
The one touchdown the Giants scored was a blocked Will Lutz field goal, that was returned by Janoris Jenkins for a touchdown. Another 10 point swing against the Saints that changed this game for the worse. The Saints were only able to score 13 points on the day. They only allowed 9 points on defense.
After Victor Cruz made an exceptional catch over Saints rookie corner Ken Crawley, the Saints lost by 3 with Giants kicker Josh Brown hitting a game winning field goal as time expired. This was another game where the Saints lost because of poor special teams play. They dropped to 0-2 on the year after another heartbreaker.
Week 10-Blocked PAT Returned for 2 Points vs Denver
In week 9, the Saints finally got to .500 after blowing out the 49ers in San Francisco. The Saints came into this game on a 2 win streak where the defense played good enough for the Saints to win. Many people thought coming in to this game the Saints had a very good chance at turning their season around with improved defensive play, and the offense hitting on all cylinders.
The Saints were held to 3 points in the first half and things did not look good for them, with the offense playing a very poor first half. Brees had a rare bad half throwing 2 interceptions. Coming out for the 2nd half, things started to look up with 2 Saints touchdowns after stopping the Broncos on their first drive, and intercepting quarterback Trevor Siemian.
Then things started to go downhill again. The Saints next 3 drives were: a fumble by rookie receiver Michael Thomas, a 3 & out, and a 2nd fumble by Michael Thomas. The Broncos turned those poor drives into 6 points with 2 field goals. With 2:50 left 0n the clock, the Saints still had a chance to win the game down 6 with the ball.
Brees, as he has done so many times, orchestrated a masterful drive that ended with an exceptional catch in the end zone by Brandin Cooks in double coverage. The Saints lined up to kick the extra point and take the lead by one point. Sadly, I think we all know what happened after that. Justin Simmons jumped over Saints long snapper Justin Drescher to block the PAT. That started a very controversial play where Will Parks returned the ball for a 2 point score. However, it really looked like he stepped out of bounds on the return. What saved him was the Broncos white cleats because you could not tell exactly where his foot was since it was blending in with the sideline. To add to the controversy, it looked like a Broncos player held down Saints long snapper Justin Drescher, which is illegal and quite possibly could have been a leverage foul on Denver.
The Saints lost the game by 2 after failing to recover an onside kick. Instead of the Saints getting to a winning record on the year, they dropped below .500 once again.
Week 1-Michael Crabtree catch for 2 point conversion
Some people may be surprised for this to be number one on the list, but in my opinion, confidence and momentum are two of the most important things in football. Losing a heartbreaker like this game killed any momentum and confidence the Saints could have had by starting the season 1-0.
In a high scoring shootout, the Raiders were doing whatever they wanted against the Saints defense, especially after #1 cornerback Delvin Breaux went out with a broken fibula.
Brees hit Travaris Cadet for a touchdown with about 6 minutes left to go up 7. All Saints fans were asking for from their defense was one stop. One stop to hopefully end the game with a Saints win.
Derek Carr drove the Raiders down the field right outside the red zone when the Saints were finally able to stop them and get them to 4th down. Then a VERY controversial pass interference call on Saints linebacker Craig Robertson gave the Raiders a fresh set of downs. Carr ended up hitting receiver Seth Roberts for a touchdown with 47 seconds left. Raiders head coach John Del Rio decided to risk it and go for the win by going for 2. Michael Crabtree caught the conversion over rookie Ken Crawley in the end zone. Brees drove the Saints down for one last chance and set up rookie kicker Will Lutz for a 61 yard field goal. Lutz missed just wide left and the Saints dropped their first game in a heart breaker.
If they would have ended up pulling off this one game, the Saints would have come out of it with the confidence and momentum of winning a close game. Who knows how the season could have been different?
These 5 plays were a fine line between the Saints having a losing season or possibly a playoff season. These are just possible scenarios, but nobody knows what could have happened. The Saints very well could have still lost these games even if the plays had gone their way. Thats the amazing thing about football, you NEVER know whats going to happen. But with football being a game of inches, there is a very fine line between a 7-9 season or quite possibly a 12-4 season had the Saints pulled these games off. That’s a big difference between the Saints and the great teams in the NFL. The great teams pull off the close ones.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
