There’s a lot you could say about the New Orleans Saints’ loss tot he Los Angeles Rams last week. It was another missed opportunity to right the ship and salvage a season some would say has already been lost. It was a waste of a great effort by Cameron Jordan and the defense, who pitched a rare shutout in the first half. It was something of a disaster as star playmakers like Taysom Hill went down with season-ending injuries. And there were elements of encouragement when backup wide receivers like Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Kevin Austin Jr., and Dante Pettis came through in clutch moments.
But Jordan needed just one six-letter word to describe the mood in the locker room after players walked off the field, having taken a 21-14 loss after leading for most of three quarters.
“Pissed,” Jordan told reporters after the game. “We let one get away. We don’t have enough time to let one get away.”
He’s not wrong. The Saints are barely holding on as the NFC playoff picture gets painted without them. They’re 4-8 and even playing in a weak division won’t be enough to squeeze them in for January’s playoff tournament. They can’t afford to lose any more ground.
Jordan, specifically, is someone running out of time. The longest-tenured player in New Orleans is facing a decision on retirement this offseason with just one year left on his contract; his workload has been reduced at times as the team has tried to rotate younger players into the lineup to try and find a spark. These next five games might be his last five games in a Saints uniform.
So letting an opportunity to beat a team that’s given them so much trouble over the years is frustrating. For the stakes to be as high as they are? Doubly so. Things might have gone differently if the offense could have ended more drives with points early on, or if protection had held up half a second longer on their final play from scrimmage — allowing Derek Carr to find an open man in the end zone right as Juwan Johnson stepped into a hole in the Rams’ coverage.
But that’s a whole lot of words to achieve the same result Jordan did in just one. The Saints don’t have time to harbor regrets or vent frustrations. All they can do now is focus on their next game and go to work.
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