The good, the bad, and the ugly from the Saints loss to the Texans

The Good: Tight Ends

Jimmy Graham showed flashes of his former self on the New Orleans Saints first touchdown drive of the game. Graham reached up and over a defender to catch a contested 25-yard pass and then boxed out a defensive back to grab the Saints only touchdown of the night. If Graham is still capable of plays like this the Saints may have found themselves and unexpected weapon this season. Once the backups took over, it was second year tight end Lucas Krull that did much of the heavy lifting. Krull caught 7 passes for 106 yards, including a 31-yard catch to open a drive that would result in a Saints field goal.

Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

The Bad: 3rd down efficiency

The Saints converted just 8 of 20 third downs against Houston leading to 7 punts. The worst of which was failing to pick up two 3rd and 3s late in the third and early in the fourth that could have potentially led to more points. The first team offense hopefully should have more success, but it felt like the Saints were behind the sticks all game and left a few opportunities on the table.

The Ugly: Second-half offense

Once the third and fourth team offenses entered the game, the Saints were not able to move the ball well enough to position themselves for a win. Two interceptions by Jake Haener on the Saints final two drives were enough to seal a win for the Texans, and a missed field goal the drive before would have put them in position to just need any score to win and not a touchdown. The game was there to win, but unfortunately the team was just not able to get it done.

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