What went wrong for the New Orleans Saints in the wild-card round? Some puzzling personnel decisions led to botched opportunities against the Minnesota Vikings, and it ultimately cost them a shot at another Super Bowl berth, which was eluded the Saints for a decade. Here is how each position group split snap counts on Sunday.

Offensive backfield

• QB Drew Brees, 54 (96%)
• RB Alvin Kamara, 42 (75%)
• QB Taysom Hill, 23 (41%)
• RB Latavius Murray, 15 (27%)
• FB Ricky Ortiz, 3 (5%)

It’s unclear why Kamara outsnapped Murray so significantly, because Kamara’s play didn’t earn that wide of a disparity. His slump year continued into the playoffs, with Kamara’s longest play amounting to just a 9-yard catch. He averaged just 3.7 yards per touch against the Vikings. He still has a year left on his contract, but the Saints can begin negotiating with him on an extension in March. It’ll be interesting to see whether they they think he’ll be as involved in the offense over the next three years as he’s been in his past three, and if an underwhelming 2019 season was just an aberration due to injuries.

Skills positions

• WR Michael Thomas, 53 (95%)
• WR Tre’Quan Smith, 41 (73%)
• TE Jared Cook, 33 (59%)
• WR Ted Ginn Jr., 32 (57%)
• TE Josh Hill, 27 (48%)
• WR Deonte Harris, 6 (11%)
• WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey, 3 (5%)

Smith was on the field for 41 snaps and only has one stat in the box score: a drop, which bounced off both of his hands in a pass he should have caught in stride while streaking down the seam. He can’t be playing this often while contributing so little, it’s just a waste of everyone’s time. Cook at least caught all five of his targets; the question there is why the Saints forgot to utilize him until they were down by 10 points late in the game. He should be more involved in his second season with the team, and hopefully youngsters like Smith and Harris will show the team more as they get better-versed in the Saints offense. But they absolutely cannot go into training camp with this same talent-deficit group.

Offensive line

• T Ryan Ramczyk, 56 (100%)
• T Terron Armstead, 56 (100%)
• C Erik McCoy, 56 (100%)
• G Larry Warford, 56 (100%)
• G Andrus Peat, 54 (96%)
• G Nick Easton, 5 (9%)
• G Patrick Omameh, 1 (2%)

Why wasn’t Peat pulled from this game? He’s been a weak spot in the Saints offensive line for years now, and Easton proved he can play competently at worst when Peat was sidelined by an injury earlier this season. Peat was beaten over and over again by the Vikings defensive line, and it’s no coincidence that Brees immediately connected with his longest pass of the game (on a 20-yard scoring throw to Taysom Hill) when Peat stepped out to get his ankle re-taped. Easton may or may not be the answer at left guard in 2020, but there’s no question that Peat isn’t.