The New Orleans Saints have already clinched a playoff berth and quarterback Drew Brees will return soon. Saints fans shouldn’t panic, but the New Orleans Saints Week 14 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles is a massive setback to the Saints number one seed ambitions in the NFC.
New Orleans Saints Week 14 Loss a Setback To Getting Number One Seed
New Orleans Saints Loss a Letdown Game
The Saints Week 14 loss had all the marks of a team looking ahead to the coming weeks. Set to square off against the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in Week 15, the Saints were probably looking ahead, even if they will not admit overlooking the Eagles. On Sunday, they look ill-prepared and unable to contain rookie quarterback Jalen Hurts. In fact, the 24-21 score does not represent how poorly New Orleans played in Philadelphia.
A sloppy start on offense led to the following first-half drives: Punt, missed field goal, punt, interception, punt, punt and zero points. The usually efficient offensive unit struggled against a disruptive Eagles defensive line. Taysom Hill had little time to hit on intermediate passing routes, and only completed one pass for over 11 yards in the first half.
Philadelphia capitalized on Saints mistakes. They scored their opening touchdown following the missed Wil Lutz field goal, and added another three points after a Duke Riley interception set the Eagles up at the New Orleans 36-yard line.
Saints Rush Defense Implodes
Coming into the game, the Saints defense hadn’t allowed a 100-yard rusher in 56 games. On Sunday, they allowed two. Both Hurts and Eagles running back Miles Sanders gashed New Orleans previously vaunted run defense for over one hundred yards.
Sanders finished the day with 115 yards on the ground in just 14 carries. However, his box score is somewhat deceiving as the majority of his yards came on an 82-yard rushing touchdown that gave the Eagles a 17-0 half time lead. Kwon Alexander missed his gap assignment and Saints tacklers failed to get off blocks as Sanders burst into the secondary. The running back showcased his top-end speed that has earned two other 80+ yard touchdown runs this season.
Hurts was given the start at quarterback in the wake of Carson Wentz’s struggles this season. The running threat of Hurts gave the Eagles offense a boost and a new dynamic the Saints could not figure out quickly enough. The 2020 second-round pick rushed 18 times for 106 yards as the Philadelphia offense racked up 246 yards on the ground.
New Orleans battled back in the second half. Touchdowns on consecutive drives put them within three points. However, Taysom Hill was sacked on 4th & 2 with ten minutes left in the fourth quarter, and an Eagles touchdown the following drive effectively sealed the game.
New Orleans Saints Loss Drops Them Back in NFC Race
The Saints only need one victory from the final three weeks to secure the NFC South title for a fourth consecutive year. As long as they manage that they will host a home a playoff game in January.
However, the Green Bay Packers win over the Detroit Lions catapulted Green Bay over the Saints into the NFC number one seed since the Packers hold the tiebreaker over New Orleans.
The Saints need to run the table and have Green Bay drop a game in the final three weeks in order to secure the number one seed in the NFC. However, New Orleans has a tricky schedule to finish out the season. Up next are the Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings. and Carolina Panthers. While that isn’t an easy stretch of games the Saints still have a lot to play for and probably relish the prospect of knocking off the Vikings from playoff contention, since Minnesota has eliminated them two of the last three postseasons.
However, Brees is still not cleared to play, meaning Hill is still slated to start this upcoming week. The consequences of the Eagles loss loom large, especially since the Saints need to find a way to finish with a better record than the Packers. If they fail to do so they will find themselves playing on wildcard weekend for the second straight year.
Saints fans might sleep a little more comfortable if their team can earn the lone NFC first-round bye before the regular season ends.
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