Heartbreak in New Orleans; 34 – 31 Saints in Overtime

November 20, 2017

by Sean Conte

If you thought Sunday’s game against the Saints was in the bag with the Redskins up 31-16, you clearly haven’t been paying attention. There is no lead too large for the Redskins to blow, no point total high enough to be insurmountable. You can believe that if one side of the ball is playing well — say, for example, 31 points well — the other side will compensate accordingly.

Okay,  we can start by acknowledging the Saints’ legitimacy. They’re first in the NFC South, and their win yesterday extends the current streak to 8 games. They’re a contender, for future HOF’er Drew Brees if nothing else, so this was never going to be an easy matchup.

That said, the opportunities were there. For a fleeting moment in history, the offense and defense were both playing well. Brees couldn’t get much done through much of the first half, and our secondary even picked him off. In fact, things would have been even worse for the Saints had the Redskins not committed a characteristic false start penalty that backed them up out of field goal range in the second quarter. The result was a punt that the Saints capitalized on for 3 points just before halftime. What could have been 20 – 10 became 17 – 13.

Turns out, this sloppy end-of-half performance was just a harbinger of what would come. The Redskins held the line through the 3rd quarter before completely imploding in the 4th. The Saints had their way with Washington’s defense to the tune of 18 points while their defense yielded nothing to Kirk and co. And the points NO managed were hard-fought points, including a critical 2-point conversion. It boggles my mind that the Redskins can virtually shut NO down for 3 quarters, only to give it up when the offense is in the most obvious and desperate of positions, but there you have it. By the time Trent went out for the overtime coin toss, the momentum had completely shifted and the game was virtually lost. The Redskins offered a pathetic three-and-out and lost it all on NO’s next drive.

Washington’s defense, which has played lights-out at times this year, was the problem this week. It’s a little hard to define this squad; are they as bad as they looked in the fourth quarter, or as good as they looked in the first? They can generate pressure, but can’t seem to play through the whistle – especially on broken down plays – and there are often problems in coverage. Linebackers are a problem, despite certified bad ass Zach Brown (who had a bad game), and injuries have certainly not helped. Still, one can get whiplash just watching the wild swings in performance from these guys. One one play, Fuller will nearly intercept Brees as he narrowly escapes a vicious rush. On the next, Kamara will skip into the end zone untouched for the score.

Samaje Perine had a heck of a game this week. Considering his past performances, and the Saints well-documented problems stopping the run, I’m going to refrain from piling on the praise here, but still: golf clap.

And Josh Doctson! If we have to end on a good note, that’s probably the one. Doctson continues to come alive, and I think he was robbed of a pass-interference penalty at least once yesterday. He’s a big, tough, physical receiver who can win one-on-one matchups…basically what we wanted Terell Pryor to be. He continues to impress, as do Vernon Davis and (sometimes) Jamison Crowder.

Bad news? Chris Thompson got rolled up on from behind and early indications are that he broke his leg. That would be the end of Thompson’s season, which is pretty devastating for the team and undoubtedly devastating for Thompson himself, who was absolutely kicking ass this year. Prayers for him to recover quick.

The loss to NO virtually closed the door on this year, though I believe Washington could still technically make the post-season if everyone else in the league loses and mars moves into retrograde alignment with venus. One thing’s for sure, though, if we lose next week in NY it doesn’t matter the chances; that door deserves to be shut, locked, and nailed to the frame.