Tag: New Orleans Saints

Like it or not, Saints fans should root for the 49ers over Packers on SNF

The NFC playoff picture says New Orleans Saints fans must hope the San Francisco 49ers beat the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football.

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The San Francisco 49ers are about to host the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football, and interested New Orleans Saints fans should check the NFC playoff picture to know who to pull for: the home team. Like it or not, Saints fans should pull for a 49ers victory. Here’s why.

Now that the Saints have improved to a 9-2 record, they’re right in the thick of the race for a top-two playoff seed with both the 49ers (9-1) and Packers (8-2). If San Francisco defends their home turf, they’ll be set up to play the Saints for the No. 1 seed and homefield advantage throughout the playoffs during their Week 14 game inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. That’s as close to controlling their own destiny as the Saints can hope for at this point.

However, if the Packers win, the Saints will have to hope another team can knock Green Bay out of that top spot. The Saints and Packers will not play each other during the regular season, so New Orleans would effectively be putting its playoff hopes in another team’s hands.

And the Packers’ schedule is very favorable — of their six remaining games, only two come against teams currently projected to reach the playoffs: Sunday night’s game with the 49ers, and a Week 16 road kickoff against the NFC North-rival Minnesota Vikings. If the Packers win tonight and take a lead over the Saints for the NFC’s top seed, they could very well hold onto it and create a scenario where the Saints have to travel to Lambeau Field in January for rights to advance to Super Bowl LIV.

Obviously that’s not an ideal scenario. So for one night, pull for the 49ers, the Saints’ old NFC West rivals. It’s for the greater good.

For the curious, here’s what the NFC playoff standings look like going into Sunday Night Football:

  1. 9-1 San Francisco 49ers*
  2. 9-2 New Orleans Saints
  3. 8-2 Green Bay Packers*
  4. 6-5 Dallas Cowboys
  5. 9-2 Seattle Seahawks
  6. 8-3 Minnesota Vikings

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Cameron Jordan owns up to ugly personal foul penalty: ‘That’s on me’

New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan took the blame for an ugly penalty against Carolina Panthers quarterback Kyle Allen.

The New Orleans Saints put a lot of responsibility on Cameron Jordan’s shoulders. The veteran defensive end is one of the most-experienced and longest-tenured players one the team, and his status as a captain makes him someone to rally around and look to for example.

So his unnecessary roughness penalty against Carolina Panthers quarterback Kyle Allen was uncharacteristic to say the least. Jordan is a former Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee recognized throughout the NFL for his sportsmanship and clean style of play, but this incident on Sunday hurt his team, his reputation, and Allen’s face.

When Saints linebacker Demario Davis spun Allen around for a sack on a long third down to force Carolina to punt the ball away, Jordan jumped into the fray to try and strip the ball from Allen’s arms. Except he did so after an official’s whistle had blown the play dead. And when Jordan punched at the ball, he missed and struck Allen’s facemask, sending the quarterback reeling as Davis threw him down.

“Gotta hear that whistle,” Jordan wrote from his official Twitter account after the game. “That’s on me gotta hear that whistle.”

It was an ugly moment for sure, and the Panthers capitalized on the opportunity (Jordan was hit with a 15-yard personal foul, granting Carolina a fresh set of downs from their own 44-yard line). Fortunately, Jordan’s Saints were able to end the game on a high note and send the Panthers home with a loss.

These two teams will play again during the Week 17 regular season finale; hopefully Jordan and his teammates can avoid more mistakes after drawing a dozen fouls for 123 penalty yards in what was very nearly an upset.

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NFC South Week 12 roundup: Bucs make the Falcons walk the plank to the bottom

Week 12 in the NFC South saw the Tampa Bay Buccaneers travel to take on the Atlanta Falcons, while the Carolina Panthers were on the road for a meeting with the New Orleans Saints. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-7) Over the last two weeks, the Falcons did …

Week 12 in the NFC South saw the Tampa Bay Buccaneers travel to take on the Atlanta Falcons, while the Carolina Panthers were on the road for a meeting with the New Orleans Saints.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-7)

Over the last two weeks, the Falcons did not look like a team that reflected their record, as they had been clicking on both sides of the ball. One of the priorities for the Bucs was to protect quarterback Jameis Winston, and the offensive line succeeded. Allowing no sacks on the day gave Winston enough time to round out 313 yards through the air for three touchdowns, including one to defensive lineman Vita Vea. On the defensive side of the ball, the Bucs sacked Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan six times. While Winston had two interceptions of his own, the Bucs defense had an interception and forced two fumbles, including one for a touchdown,. The Buccaneers will be on the road next week against the Jacksonville Jaguars, in hopes of starting a win streak.

New Orleans Saints (9-2)

Divisional games are always difficult no matter what the other team’s record is. When the Panthers came to New Orleans they were a .500 team that has looked every bit of a team that has won half of their games, and lost the other half. It was a last second field goal from Will Lutz, as the Saints went marching down the field, that secured their win 34-31. Wide receiver Michael Thomas joined Marvin Harrison as the only players with 100-plus receptions in their teams first 11 games of the season in the Super Bowl era. The Saints will travel to Atlanta to play the Falcons on Sunday Night Football next week, and look to increase the cushion on their division lead.

Carolina Panthers (5-6)

The Panthers looked good on offense throughout the game. Their defense just couldn’t stop the Saints. Quarterback Kyle Allen was 23-for-36 for 256 yards and three touchdowns. Running back Christian McCaffrey had 133 yards from scrimmage and added two touchdowns to his season total (one rushing, one receiving.) D.J. Moore hauled in six catches for 126 yards and two touchdowns. The Panthers will travel back home next week for the visiting Washington Redskins, in what could be a trap game.

Atlanta Falcons (3-8)

The Falcons were surging heading into their game with the Bucs, but they struggled to really get anything going. Winston threw his 19th interception of the season early in the game, and the Falcons looked to be starting this game on the same pace that they’d played the past two weeks. That never happened. The Bucs never let off the gas and while Ryan was able to pass for 271 yards, their only passing touchdown came from Matt Schaub late in the fourth quarter. The Falcons will stay home next week for a Sunday Night Football showdown against the Saints.

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Valiant comeback effort from Kyle Allen and the Panthers gets wasted

Allen was confident and effective once again in an extraordinarily difficult venue to win in.

In sacrificing better judgment for the sake of a juicy storyline, much of the football world has done its darnedest over the past 10 weeks to prop up Kyle Allen as the future of the Carolina Panthers. Well, he’s not. Allen, for the most part, will keep you in games – not put you over the top as do many of the league’s premier players at the position.

He’s someone you can feel relatively comfortable with in a pinch, given his aptitude to allow his offense’s best play-makers to make plays and not utterly self-implode. But his handful of flaws—most notably his feel for the pocket, his frantic processing, lack of downfield arm strength and a recent absence of ball security—won’t get you too far.

Today, however, was the day we finally saw that propped up Kyle Allen—that gritty, poised, moxie-filled Kyle Allen those overly excited folks have been so eager to die on a hill for.

Coming off his worst career outing, an afternoon where he threw four interceptions at home against a largely lost Atlanta Falcons defense, Allen shined under difficult circumstances in New Orleans. Allen was confident and effective once again in an extraordinarily difficult venue to win in.

Unfortunately for the Panthers and their playoff hopes, it just wasn’t enough.

Down 14-0 midway through the first quarter, Carolina got a boost from their quarterback. Allen shook off those downfield cobwebs and connected with wide receiver DJ Moore on a beauty of a 51-yard touchdown pass to keep the Panthers afloat in what was otherwise quickly turning into a thorough beat-down.

He’d do the same late in the third, leading the offense to a seven-play, 71-yard scoring trek to cut off the New Orleans Saints, who nearly broke away on a touchdown the possession prior, and cut into their 31-18 lead. Running back Christian McCaffrey (133 total yards, two touchdowns) put the 4-yard cherry on top of the drive to chop the deficit to seven.

After tying the game on a two-yard strike to Moore (six receptions, 126 yards), who also had his most impressive performance of 2019, Allen again pushed the Panthers into range, this time leaving a potential go-ahead, 28-yard field goal try for kicker Joey Slye with 2:00 left.

But, like he did on the pair of extra point tries on the two aforementioned scoring drives, Slye missed. And Wil Lutz, who was set up for a 33-yard game-winner by the Saints offense, did not.

Carolina’s crushing 34-31 loss in New Orleans can partly (and obviously) be attributed to Slye’s misses. The other portion of the blame can be placed on the team’s defense, who not only folded on the last stand of the game, but also failed to come up with big plays earlier in the contest.

Save for an interception by Tre Boston, the unit’s first takeaway since Week 9, and a fourth-down stop by safety Eric Reid (15 tackles), the Panthers struggled to take advantage of a Saints offense that wasn’t up to its usual standards. One sack through the game’s first 58 minutes and forcing just nine incompletions for quarterback Drew Brees won’t get much done in that particular dome.

While the Panthers’ postseason outlook was already fading even before the loss, this one stings a tad more for Allen (23-of-36, 256 yards, three touchdowns) and that valiant comeback. It may sting even harder for head coach Ron Rivera, who has his team at 5-6 and could be coaching out the rest of the season for his job in 2020 and beyond.

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Panthers vs. Saints: Winners and losers for Week 12

That was a truly heartbreaking way to lose a football game.

That was a truly heartbreaking way to lose a football game. The Carolina Panthers trailed for much of it, falling behind by as much as 13 with just a little over a quarter remaining. They rallied and tied the game late but the New Orleans Saints came out on top.

Let’s take a closer look at the winners and losers for this week.

Winner: QB Kyle Allen

After throwing four interceptions in last weeks appearance, Kyle Allen bounced back in a huge way. He chipped in 256 passing yards and three touchdowns while not throwing a single pick or fumbling once. Allen was efficient as well, completing 23 of 36 passes and averaging 7.1 yards per completion. The Panthers may have came up short today, but Allen did his best to will his team to a victory.

Loser: WR Curtis Samuel

It was another game to forget for Samuel. The 23-year old receiver continued his quiet year with just one catch on the day for nine yards. It’s not like he didn’t get a few chances as Allen threw him the ball four times. One of them bounced right off his chest.

Winner: WR DJ Moore

This was exactly the sort of performance that the Panthers needed. Wide receiver DJ Moore flashed every ounce of the potential that made the team pick him in the first round of the 2018 NFL draft. He caught six balls for 126 yards to go along with a career-high two touchdowns.

He also caught an absolute beauty for 52 yards which was really the highlight of the day. Moore has had a fantastic month of November.

Loser: K Joey Slye

The Panthers might have completed their comeback if they’d gotten a better performance from their rookie kicker. Slye missed two extra point attempts and then he missed a short-range field goal at the two-minute warning. All three were makeable kicks.

Winner: RB Christian McCaffrey

The Saints actually did a good job of stopping McCaffrey as a runner. Sure, he scored a rushing touchdown but he only averaged 2.9 yards per carry and gained 64 yards, which is a far cry from his MVP-level production he has been giving all year long. However, McCaffrey did a lot of damage as a receiver.

His 69 yards and one touchdown through the air more than made up for a quiet game on the ground. He wasn’t his typical super productive self, but McCaffrey had himself another solid day.

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Sean Payton: Nobody had a good game, including the New York NFL office

New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton took aim at his team’s sloppy penalties, the Carolina Panthers’ poor execution, and NFL officiating.

The New Orleans Saints won their Week 12 game with the Carolina Panthers, but it was ugly. Saints coach Sean Payton watched his team commit 12 penalties for 123 yards, while his opponent executed poorly in several areas of the game — including two missed extra-point attempts and a botched field goal try that gave the Saints a chance to win.

However, the two teams on the field weren’t the only ones having an off day. Payton said after the game during his postgame press conference, “It wasn’t our best game, it wasn’t (Carolina’s) best game, and quite honestly it wasn’t New York’s best game.” Payton clearly took issue with mistakes from the on-hand officiating crew, which initially failed to give the Saints possession of a muffed punt until Payton forced their hand with a challenge.

He infamously received a private phone call from NFL officiating czar Al Riveron after last year’s botched NFC championship game. Riveron’s responsibility on Sundays from the NFL offices in New York City is to watch a wall of monitors streaming each ongoing NFL game and assist on-site officials with making the correct calls; apparently, Payton wasn’t happy with the officials’ performance on Sunday.

Payton challenged a foul for offensive pass interference on tight end Jared Cook early in the first quarter, which wiped out a 42-yard gain, but after reviewing the play with instant replay the officials let the penalty stand as called.

Late in the fourth quarter, the officials hit New Orleans defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson with a foul for defensive pass interference after Panthers coach Ron Rivera challenged the non-call. It was just the fourth overturned pass interference play of the year, per ESPN Stats and Info.

Ridiculous as that seems, the Saints were able to overcome it. And Payton declined to dwell on the officiating’s impact in the game, adding, “I’m not going to go down a list of all these calls. Any more questions about the game? Or are we just looking for hits?”

New Orleans did enough to win on Sunday. But they can’t keep playing sloppy and making opportunities for lesser teams to hang with them deep down the stretch. Here’s hoping this was just another aberration against a division rival. With a game against the Atlanta Falcons on Thanksgiving night just around the corner, they can’t afford to make many more of the same mistakes.

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Panthers K Joey Slye on his performance against the Saints: ‘I feel terrible’

No matter how badly your Sunday’s going, it’s tough to top what’s going on with Carolina Panthers kicker Joey Slye.

No matter how badly your Sunday’s going, it’s tough to top what’s going on with Carolina Panthers kicker Joey Slye.

Slye missed two extra-point attempts in today’s game and then blew a short field goal in crunch time that could have won it. Naturally, Slye is not feeling so great. After the game, he told reporters he had a huge hand in the loss and he feels terrible.

It’s good that he’s accepting the blame for his mistakes.

This isn’t the first time Slye has struggled, though. After a hot start to the season, Slye began to have trouble in London against the Buccaneers. Since then, he’s been less and less consistent. A performance like today’s for Slye was only a matter of time.

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Saints win 34-31, push past Panthers on last-second Wil Lutz field goal

The New Orleans Saints let the Carolina Panthers play too close for comfort, but were able to trust kicker Wil Lutz to win in the end.

The New Orleans Saints won a nail-biter over the Carolina Panthers, with kicker Wil Lutz pushing a 33-yard field goal through the uprights as time expired. It followed a successful drive downfield that began when Panthers kicker Joey Slye missed his own would-be game-winner from 28 yards out.

It would be nice if the final score of 34-31 didn’t indicate how closely the Saints played this game, but that’s not the case. New Orleans backed themselves into a corner with 12 penalties, giving up 123 yards of field positioning. The Panthers took advantage of many of those opportunities, though inconsistent kicking from Slye (who went 1-for-3 on extra point tries, and 2-for-3 on field goal attempts) ended up costing them.

Good news for the Saints surrounds the increased involvement of tight end Jared Cook, who caught 6 of 8 targets for 99 yards and a touchdown score. Cook consistently made plays after the catch and down the seam, giving the Saints a viable option downfield opposite Michael Thomas (who turned in a typical 10-for-11, 110-yard showing).

It’s been a quiet few weeks for second-year defensive end Marcus Davenport, but something has to be said for his performance in clutch time. Davenport set up Carolina’s botched final field goal with a huge sack on third down and followed it up by leaping over the Panthers’ blockers, spooking Slye into an off-target chip shot. He made big plays in the game’s biggest moments.

So New Orleans improved to 9-2 on the year so far, while Carolina fell to 5-6. All eyes now are on the Sunday Night Football matchup between the projected top two playoff seeds: the 9-1 San Francisco 49ers and 8-2 Green Bay Packers. If the 49ers win, the Saints will have a shot at controlling their own destiny when San Francisco visits on Dec. 8. If the Packers win, New Orleans has to hope Green Bay drops a loss down the stretch, or the NFC’s top playoff seed could be out of reach.

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6 takeaways from the Panthers’ close Week 12 loss to the Saints

Panthers vs. Saints: 6 takeaways from a close Week 12 loss.

The Carolina Panthers almost rallied from a huge deficit against the New Orleans Saints, but they came up just short, losing 34-31 on a late field goal.

Here are a few takeaways from the loss.

Christian McCaffrey continued his phenomenal season

Christian McCaffrey
(Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

The Saints came into this week having not allowed a 100-yard rusher in 36 consecutive games. McCaffrey was unbothered. While they were mostly able to contain him on the ground, McCaffrey torched the Saints as a receiver. He caught all nine of his targets, totaling 133 yards from scrimmage and scoring two touchdowns. This is one of the greatest seasons any NFL running back has ever had. Carolina fans should be enjoying that if nothing else about this year.

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In cruelest irony, referees enforce DPI against Saints after challenge

The Saints were victims of a rule coach Sean Payton spent the offseason advocating, when referees sided with a pass interference challenge.

The NFL can be cruel. New Orleans Saints fans knew that already, but they were given an ugly reminder late in their Week 12 game against the Carolina Panthers, when Panthers coach Ron Rivera challenged a non-call for defensive pass interference against Saints safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson.

And he got it. The officials huddled over the instant replay review station and gave Carolina the nod: the Panthers were given a fresh set of downs from the New Orleans 3-yard line. It didn’t matter because the Saints defense buckled down and forced the Panthers into an unsuccessful field goal try, but the fact that this was the one instance in which the officials overturned a call on the field — against a team that was so publicly victimized in similar circumstances in last year’s conference championship game — is such cruel irony. Saints coach Sean Payton spearheaded the effort to make pass-interference (called or not) reviewable, and his team ended up catching the brunt of it.

According to ESPN Stats and Info, NFL coaches went into Week 12 having overturned 3 of 74 (4%) such challenges. League officiating established a precedent that required overwhelming evidence to overturn the result as called on the field, and in this one situation, it ended up biting New Orleans.

Fortunately, it didn’t matter. The Saints followed up that field goal miss with their own drive down the field, capping it off with a Wil Lutz game-winner from 33 yards out. Hopefully this bizarre use of the replay review rules doesn’t hurt them again.

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