The Saints went to Atlanta Thursday night. That’s no surprise, as in the closed universe
that is the NFL, the Saints have played 5 of their last 6 Thursday night games
on the road, usually against a divisional opponent. Think about that. Each on 3 days rest. Let’s review:
Play a game on Sunday, Soak and study on Monday, a walk through on
Tuesday, get on a plane Wednesday, and play a game on Thursday night of unusual
importance.
Yet, Thursday the Saints had themselves in position to
win. They got the ball with 3:50 left,
down three, drove the ball down the field all the way to the 11 and then Brees
underthrew an end zone pass by about a foot when he thought he’d spotted
Marques Colston going up the seam toward the goalpost. It’s a pass Brees has thrown perfectly many
times, but a former LSU Tiger who was making plays all over the field leaped
high and saved the game for the Dirty Birds.
Considering the Dirty Birds had pounded the ball on the
ground for the whole game, it was Matt Ryan who kept the Saints in the game by
throwing 3 interceptions (in 4 attempts at one point.) It was Julio Jones who
may have saved the game for the Falcons when at the end of the first half he
ran down Marshon Lattimore with one of those interceptions. It appeared Lattimore might score but Jones
caught him. The Saints appeared to hit a
field goal to end the half, but the Saints didn’t line up correctly, or so the
zebras said. The half was over and the
game remained tied at 10.
Meanwhile the Saints were suffering one injury after another, starting with an Alvin Kamara concussion early in the first quarter. Injuries to Klein, Vaccaro, and Kelemente followed, and the only thing missing was Hawkeye Pierce.
The Saints lead evaporated in the 4th quarter
before the final conclusive drive.
Payton decided to go for the win rather than play it safe and kick a tying
field goal. The result was a 20 – 17 loss
ending badly in the end zone.
In 1978 I had just moved to New Orleans. Archie Manning was going to be NFC player of
the year for the Saints, despite their 7 – 9 record. But the never to be forgotten part of that
year for a Saints fan was not one, but two 20-17 losses with end zone heartbreak. First there was the Big Ben play, the first
Hail Mary I can remember – a Steve Bartkowski bomb. In the revenge game later in the year, Referee
Grover Klemmer threw a pass interference flag in the end zone that the Falcons
capitalized on to again score on the final play.
20 – 17 Falcon wins. Less
fun than blocked punts.
The Saints are now 9 - 4 and control their own destiny. They have 10 days off to think about it. We all could use the weekend off.
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