The Saints fell to the previously winless St. Louis Rams 31-21 in what is surely the upset of the day and quite possibly the season. Don't be fooled by the score, however, because this game was never that close. Though they made an effort to recover from a folly-filled first half, it wasn't even close to being enough.
New Orleans looked awful in nearly all facets of the game. Their offensive line played horrid football and had no answer for defensive lineman Chris Long, who finished the game with a sack hatrick. Drew Brees threw two interceptions, one returned for a touchdown, and forced too many poor throws. There was zero running game to speak of. The defense wasn't as horrid but they allowed running back Steven Jackson to rush for 159 yards and two touchdowns. And special teams was a failure thanks to a missed field goal by John Kasay and blocked Thomas Morstead punt.
Following their 62-7 drubbing of the Colts last week I think it's only fair to say the Saints are nothing but consistently inconsistent. We don't know which team will show up on any given Sunday and we never know exactly what to expect.
Congrats to Drew Brees, who threw a touchdown pass with six seconds remaining in the game to keep his streak of consecutive games with a touchdown pass alive for the 35th straight game. But it's hard to give a crap when the team as a whole looks so pathetic.
Saints drop to 5-3 overall at the halfway point of the season. They face division foe Tampa Bay at the Mercede-Benz Superdome next week.
Make the jump for full stats from today's game. Use this thread for commiserating. Reminder: no matter how upset you are, anyone who breaks our community guidelines will be banned immediately, no exceptions.
Team Stats
NO | STL | ||
First Downs | 19 | 21 | |
Total Yards | 283 | 323 | |
Passing Yards | 227 | 140 | |
Rushing Yards | 56 | 183 | |
Penalties (Yds) | 5(32) | 9(64) | |
Turnovers | 2 | 1 | |
Punts (AVG) | 7(35) | 7(40) | |
Time of Pos. | 28:37 | 31:23 |
Top Performers
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS | ||||
Passing | CP/AT | YDS | TD | INT |
D. Brees | 30/44 | 269 | 1 | 2 |
Rushing | CAR | YDS | TD | LG |
P. Thomas | 7 | 23 | 1 | 9 |
C. Ivory | 6 | 18 | 0 | 6 |
Receiving | REC | YDS | TD | LG |
L. Moore | 8 | 82 | 1 | 17 |
D. Sproles | 6 | 60 | 0 | 21 |
J. Graham | 4 | 39 | 0 | 13 |
ST. LOUIS RAMS | ||||
Passing | CP/AT | YDS | TD | INT |
A. Feeley | 20/37 | 175 | 1 | 0 |
Rushing | CAR | YDS | TD | LG |
S. Jackson | 25 | 159 | 2 | 32 |
B. Gibson | 1 | 11 | 0 | 11 |
Receiving | REC | YDS | TD | LG |
B. Lloyd | 6 | 53 | 1 | 16 |
G. Salas | 5 | 47 | 0 | 17 |
S. Jackson | 4 | 32 | 0 | 15 |