3 Takeaways from Saints' Week 15 Loss
On Sunday, the New Orleans Saints lost a close game against the defending Super Bowl champions. And while it was a competitive matchup (perhaps even a Super Bowl LV preview), the Saints suffered a tough loss for the second straight week.
New Orleans fell 32-29 to the Kansas City Chiefs at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, falling to 10-4 with its second consecutive loss after it was defeated by the Philadelphia Eagles last week. It's the Saints' second losing streak of the season, as they also lost back-to-back games in Weeks 2 and 3.
After trailing for most of the second half, New Orleans cut Kansas City's lead to three points on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Drew Brees to Lil'Jordan Humphrey with 2 minutes, 6 seconds to go in the fourth quarter. However, the Saints offense never got back onto the field, as the Chiefs picked up a pair of first downs and ran out the rest of the clock.
Here are three takeaways from New Orleans' loss on Sunday evening.
Brees Wasn't at Full Strength in Return with Mixed Results
If it looked at times that Brees wasn't 100 percent, that's because he wasn't. After missing the Saints' previous four games due to having 11 broken ribs and a punctured lung, the veteran quarterback returned to action for the big clash against the Chiefs. He just wasn't fully himself quite yet.
"No, but I'm on my way," Brees said when asked if he was fully healthy, according to Bradley Handwerger of the Associated Press. "I still have a little ways to go to be honest. There's some things that I'm still kind of working on. But it is what it is."
It was evident early that Brees was either rusty or not at full health (or both). He didn't complete any of his first six pass attempts, one of which was intercepted. And by the end of the game, he had completed only 15 of 34 pass attempts. Still, there were some positives, as he passed for 234 yards and three touchdowns.
Brees was also missing some of his top wide receivers. Michael Thomas isn't playing the final three games of the regular season due to an ankle injury, while Tre'Quan Smith left Sunday's contest with an ankle injury. That left Emmanuel Sanders as New Orleans' only starting receiver available.
Still, it was encouraging to see Brees make some big plays and help keep things close against one of the top teams in the NFL. Once he is 100 percent, that should bode well for the Saints as they take on stronger competition later on.
Defense Strong at Times, Hurt by Time-of-Possession Battle
The Chiefs offense is one of the toughest units to stop in the NFL, and the Saints had some positives to take away from their matchup against them. Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes only passed for 254 yards and was sacked four times. Wide receiver Tyreek Hill (six catches for 53 yards) and tight end Travis Kelce (eight catches for 68 yards) didn't put up huge numbers. And New Orleans forced a turnover on a Mahomes fumble.
However, Mahomes still threw three touchdowns, including one each to Hill and Kelce. One of the most likely reasons for the Chiefs' offensive success is the fact they had the ball for 41:14, compared to the Saints' 18:46 time of possession.
"I feel like we played hard, but we just have to finish," New Orleans linebacker Kwon Alexander said, according to NFL.com's Jeffri Chadiha. "We have to get more takeaways. I didn't know we were out there that long. We were just having fun and playing fast."
If a team allows Kansas City to have the ball for that long, it makes it even more difficult to limit its production. So, although the Saints had some bright spots on the defensive side of the ball, it wasn't quite the right formula to having success against the Chiefs' playmakers.
The NFC South Race Hasn't Been Decided Quite Yet
Not only are the Saints no longer in control in the race for the No. 1 seed in the NFC, they have also yet to secure the NFC South title. That means New Orleans still has important games on the horizon.
The Saints are one game behind the Green Bay Packers (11-3) for the top seed in the conference, though the Packers hold the tiebreaker too. It's possible they could move up, but they'd need some help from losses by the Packers, who conclude the regular season with matchups against the Tennessee Titans (10-4) and Chicago Bears (7-7).
New Orleans is only one game ahead of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-5) for the NFC South lead. The Saints control their own destiny in the division, though, and they wrap up their regular-season schedule against the Minnesota Vikings (6-8) and Carolina Panthers (4-10). As long as they win one, they'll be the NFC South champions for the fourth consecutive year, even if the Bucs win out.
In order for that to happen, though, New Orleans will need to get back on track after its recent pair of losses. At the very least, the Saints have already clinched a playoff berth, so they can't fall out of the mix completely, and they'll be in action after Week 17 at least as a wild card.