SmashMouth

The New Orleans Saints had better hope that Week 17 was truly meaningless.

Because they somehow played worse than expected on Sunday -- especially on defense -- in a 33-14 loss to the Carolina Panthers that technically didn't matter with the NFC's No. 1 seed already locked up.

Although the Saints (13-3) kept some starters such as Drew Brees and Alvin Kamara inactive, they started their normal defense for the entire first half while falling behind 23-0 to undrafted rookie quarterback Kyle Allen.

It was the first time the Saints had been shut out in the first half of a home game since 2001. And coach Sean Payton didn't let them off the hook afterward.



"You don't come in here and say, 'It's gonna be a great learning [experience]. There's nothing about it that's good. It's disappointing ... coaches and players, all of us," Payton said. "We can spin it any way we want to -- we didn't play well. Listen, it starts with me. We'll get the corrections made. But we didn't play well. Credit Carolina, they came ready to play.

"[The defense] wasn't good, it wasn't good. We didn't get any pressure on the quarterback, we didn't tackle well. Holding the receivers. Pick something. Run fits weren't good. ... Listen, you can't just turn it on and off and decide when you want to -- this game has never been like that. ... You take that personally as a coach, and it was disappointing. We played poorly."

Ideally the Saints will in fact be able to "turn it back on" when they host their playoff opener in the divisional round in two weeks against the NFC's lowest-remaining seed at the time.

History suggests they'll be able to. They became the first team to lose its final three regular-season games in 2009 before winning a Super Bowl that year. But obviously they weren't looking for a free pass after this finale flop.

"We could have been 14-2. We're 13-3. I'm pissed. I'm overly irritated about not being able to capitalize on our situation at hand," Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan said. "We only have 16 given opportunities, and when we play our best ball, we're unbeatable. ... I'm never going to be excited about not putting our best foot forward, especially heading into the playoffs. I feel like we've showed we're progressing every game. And this game, I don't think we showed that.

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The Dude

Meaningless game yes. Doesn’t change the fact we got carved up by a third string QB who was CUT FROM THE PRACTICE SQUAD.

yungbreesus

i think it's possible that the defense unintentionally underperformed in this game. i also believe it's possible that they were just playing not to get hurt. likely a mental trap set by sean to create crisis. we won't know for a couple weeks. either way, if i could trade this loss for a defensive injury, i wouldn't. give me a healthy 11 over a meaningless win any day.

73Saint

Proof that the clichés are true: It's hard to win in the NFL, and there is a very fine line between winning and losing. I hate that we don't seem to be playing at the same level that we were mid-season. But we have Sean, Brees and home field. With a Bye, and the spotlight (somewhat) off of us which has proven a good thing in the past, I like our chances as much as anyone else in the league. Bring on the playoffs!!!

The Dude

Everything changed offensively once Armstead went down and the Oline started getting beat up. He made a HUGE difference not only in protection but commanding double teams kept some pressure off other guys.
Our defense has won and kept us in games. They will be fine. I think our secondary problems were a combination of scheme and the fact Jordon and other starters were either out or rotating. Our front seven has really helped our secondary out.
I have zero concern about our defense.