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After a spectacular back-and-forth game in week six, the New Orleans Saints came up just short against the New England Patriots. Their hopes of starting the season 6-0 were dashed by a spectacular throw and catch from Tom Brady to Kenbrell Thompkins. In a matter of two minutes, the Saints and their fans went from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. But that’s how things go in the NFL.
Despite the heartbreaking fashion in which the Saints lost in week six, they have no reason to hang their heads. The team battled back to take the lead late, but simply gave Brady too many opportunities. As much as people want to make this about Brady and his greatness, and he no doubt is great, I believe this game says more about the Saints.
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Going on the road into Foxborough is no easy task and the Saints were one defensive play away from pulling off the upset. On the offensive side of the ball, they were one first down away from ending the Pats’ day. This game was more about what New Orleans didn’t do, than what the Patriots did. Odds are, if Brady gets three cracks at a game-winning drive, he’s going to succeed eventually.
These are things that elite teams must overcome. The bar is now that high in New Orleans. This is a game they should have won. In the end it was just a matter of finishing off another elite team. If you’re a fan, this is a good problem to have. It’s not easy to swallow a loss like the one on Sunday, but if you consider where this team was at a year ago, it shows you how far they’ve come.
Now the Saints will head into their bye week with a chance to regroup and come out swinging in the second half of the year. There’s no doubt in my mind that this team is still the class of the NFC along with the Seattle Seahawks.
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