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The New Orleans Saints did their job and beat a division rival with their third-string quarterback, but ultimately failed to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2016. Sunday’s thrilling 30-20 victory over the Atlanta Falcons was short-lived, as the team’s future was out of their hands. The season finale quickly soured by Matt Stafford throwing a game-ending interception in overtime to award the final playoff spot to the San Francisco 49ers. What should’ve been a celebrated end to an adversity-riddled season was overshadowed by a harsh reality check.
It wasn’t so much the elimination from the playoffs as it was acute shock at the abruptness; a 17-0 halftime lead for Los Angeles quickly doomed a historic NFL streak. After 45 consecutive wins by Sean McVay with his team leading at half, just about everything went wrong at the top of the third quarter and the Rams never recovered. Amid watching the NFC West matchup on my computer while New Orleans handily defeated Atlanta, through my initial disappointment came perspective. The second half collapse for Los Angeles was frankly embarrassing with the tools and players at their disposal. It put a premium on teams that can finish and teams that can’t; it made it clear that has little to do with rosters.
After winning the previous five games and clinching their division, the Rams regular season finale felt hollow and somewhat forewarning of an eventual collapse. Turns out, assembling a roster with weekly acquisitions of big names and remarkable in-season trades eventually becomes disjointed. Star power only gets you so far, and it certainly doesn’t singlehandedly beat an opponent that now holds sixth straight victories over their division rivals. It was clear there was no leadership, identity, nor a strong foundation for Los Angeles to wither the storm and critically rely on to close. The biggest takeaway from Week 18, and the 2021 season, is that a team’s culture matters. For Saints fans, that lesson should resonate most of all.
New Orleans had no business being in the playoff conversation all things considered. They cycled through four quarterbacks and four kickers in a tumultuous season that included displacement from a hurricane, starting an NFL-record 58 players, an implosion of their staunch offensive line due to injury, losing their top receiver for two consecutive seasons, a playoff-deciding game with 22 players sidelined by COVID-19 headlined by a fourth-round rookie quarterback not expected to play this season, and losing their starting quarterback midway through the year. And for what it’s worth, players like Wil Lutz and Michael Thomas aren’t included in that starter record with both missing the full season. That’s a mountain of what should be insurmountable circumstances. All of which ignores the paramount factor.
Around this time last year, it was near-impossible to imagine life after Drew Brees. Historically, teams that keep their franchise quarterback until the bitter end suffer from that void under center for years. Most, if not all, teams in this position don’t pull this season off like New Orleans. That a 9-8 season will go down as an all-timer in franchise history is remarkable. That the team remained viable in postseason contention until the final hour of the regular season is astonishing.
The most unfortunate consequence of the 2021 season was the inability to evaluate the role of quarterback whatsoever. New Orleans cycled through four, mainly focusing on two, and each time one had a breakthrough their season was cut short. After winning the quarterback competition over the offseason, Jameis Winston was hampered by lack of weapons until turning a crucial corner in the exact game he was injured. He completed 6 passes for 56 yards in a mere quarter, led the team in rushing with 40 yards – including two third down conversions with his legs – and was leading the offense with poise as a dual-threat quarterback. He was getting the ball out quick to Kamara, completing passes to players like Mark Ingram he’d had no previous practice with, and was showcasing the chemistry with receivers he’d cultivated over the summer.
Not dissimilar at all from Taysom Hill in Week 18. His command of the offense was palpable, and it was moving with conviction for the first time since Winston went down in Week 8. The offensive line benefitted from Ryan Ramczyk’s return and was creating holes for the run game and time for Hill to compose in the pocket; he was resultantly much more accurate on roll outs and had rare touch on his quick screens to tight ends. Much like Winston in a single quarter, Hill amassed 7 passes for 107 yards and threw the team’s first touchdown on an opening drive this season. He was averaging 11.9 yards per throw and completed passes to six different receivers while recording 18 rushing yards. Then he suffered a Lisfranc injury, and his career game was abruptly cut short.
Was it enough to be in the conversation next season? It’s impossible to say at this point. The truth is, we don’t know what’s going on inside the building and likely won’t get a sense of the true evaluation of either quarterback, or the future of the position, for a while. The search for Brees’ successor is indefinitely paused until at least the start of free agency and the 2022 NFL draft. Quite frankly, it really doesn’t matter. The Saints are going to be okay no matter the player under center, and that’s incredulous in context.
A critical search that felt fruitless at times was an identity on offense. In the quest to uncover one, we missed the point entirely. The team may have been an offensive firepower under Drew Brees, but that may have solely been a byproduct of having an elite quarterback. Head coach Sean Payton’s creativity this season transcended offensive genius. Each week was chaotic, and each was exactly by design by careful studying and exploitation of the opponent. Each headlined by a ferocious defense of veteran leaders and scrappy rookie playmakers. Each week saw Alvin Kamara wearing a different hat, reaching a season-high and a season-low simultaneously. Adversity rained down by the hour, and each week the rotating assembly of available players came to compete. This team has an identity. It’s one of grit, and a group of leaders that never quits.
With the new era of quarterbacks approaching NFL contracts closer to that of the NBA, it’s easy to make a play for a previously unattainable player under center. A team can always pluck the right quarterback into the optimal situation. To be able to compete in spite of that position is what matters. That’s all intertwined in culture. Thanks to coach Payton and the leaders who have built this team to perpetuate, you can never count New Orleans out. Sunday’s victory led by Trevor Siemian in relief for a second time this season was overwhelming evidence of that fact. That sense of conviction is ultimately much more valuable than a Wild Card berth in withstanding the post-Brees era. In the case of replacing longtime franchise quarterbacks, through a trifecta of culture, competitiveness, and consistency, the Saints broke the mold.
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