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Greg Auman
NFC South Reporter
With a prime-time audience and major playoff implications on the line, the New Orleans Saints struggled for three quarters Thursday night, falling behind 23 points before rallying for two touchdowns late in a 30-22 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
The defeat means New Orleans no longer controls its playoff destiny, and while they’re at worst a game out of first and playing the division-leading Tampa Bay Buccaneers next week, this was another chance for a signature win that came and went.
“We certainly would have liked to start the game better, play the game better, finish better,” Saints coach Dennis Allen said of his 7-8 team. “But we didn’t. I’m not into the percentages though. I’m really not. I’m just focused on … look, we let an opportunity go by, so now we have to get ready for the things we control, which is getting ready to go play Tampa.”
New Orleans’ defense had not given up a touchdown in its last two wins against the Panthers and Giants, but they gave up three in falling behind Thursday. The offense, which had taken a step forward in the last three games, had a 45-yard touchdown from Derek Carr to Rashid Shaheed, but didn’t take a snap in the red zone until midway through the fourth quarter; the Rams had 17 of them at that point.
On crucial downs, the Saints offense consistently came up empty. In the first three quarters, they went 2-for-8 on third down and 0-for-3 on fourth down, with Carr going 3 of 8 for 22 yards with an interception and two sacks on those plays.
“We did a great job of fighting back, but it wasn’t enough,” said Carr, who had two touchdown passes in the final seven minutes to pull within a score.
The Rams got separation in a close game in a sequence of plays before and after halftime. The Saints, trailing just 10-7 with a minute left before halftime, had a fourth-and-5 at the Rams 42. Allen opted to go for it, and Carr’s pass intended for tight end Juwan…
Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/slow-start-dooms-saints-who-no-longer-control-playoff-destiny
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Publish date : 2023-12-22 17:11:13
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