Insult to Injury: Broncos crush battered Saints, 33-10

By Ross Jackson

NEW ORLEANS — That was about as bad a game of football you’ll see all season. The New Orleans Saints drop an abysmal performance in front of their home crowd that brought upon an early exit from Saints fans and several “Let’s Go Broncos” chants from the Denver Broncos fans that hung around for an absolute torching of the Saints by former head coach Sean Payton.

Just about the only thing fans had to cheer for in this one was the halftime induction of former quarterback Drew Brees into the team’s Hall Of Fame. But just about the rest of the action tonight was massively disappointing. More injuries, poor defense, a hapless offense and curious coaching decisions tell the entire story of what could be the game that changes the trajectory of the Saints’ season and future.

Yes, the Saints are dealing with an extraordinary amount of injuries that have an impact. But even with that said, this did not look like a team that was ready to compete, particularly early on defense. Nor did it look like one that had any sense of a resilient spirit throughout the matchup, leading to television commentary by former NFL cornerback Richard Sherman questioning the team’s motives, implying that the team looked like one that wants “to get their coach fired.” 

Whether or not that is true is tough to say. But the Saints were not an inspired unit on what was set to be a night of high emotions and charged motivation. 

One thing is for sure. New Orleans cannot look at their last five games, all losses, and believe that they are in position to compete the rest of the way. Furthermore, the team should not be ready to go into the offseason ready to simply run it back. This is going to be a game that ends up setting the tone for what will either be a massive in-season shift or an offseason of change for their leadership.

The Plays:

• Quarterback Jake Haener completed a 12-yard touchdown strike to wide receiver Cedrick Wilson Jr. 

The Injuries:

• Starting cornerback Paulson Adebo was carted off with a right knee injury in the second quarter.
• Left guard Nick Saldiveri did not return after halftime with a shoulder injury.
• Cornerback Marshon Lattimore was ruled out with a hamstring injury at the end of the third quarter.
• Linebacker Demario Davis was briefly in the injury tent before returning to action.

The Stats:

• Weeks 4 through 7 of this season is the first time the Saints have surrendered 25 or more points in four consecutive contests. 
• The Saints surrendered 224 rushing yards in this game, their second straight game allowing more than 220.
• New Orleans finished converting just 29% of their third downs.
• The Saints are now on a five-game losing streak.