Titans vs. Saints: New Orleans Grades, Notes and Quotes
The New Orleans Saints dropped their fifth game of the season Sunday, falling to the Tennessee Titans in overtime, 34-28.
The Saints (4-5) entered the contest having reeled off three straight victories, and another win Sunday would’ve pushed them above .500 for the first time all season.
Coach Sean Payton’s club blew a 21-10 lead, however, and New Orleans lost at home for the second time this season.
With the defeat, the Saints squandered an opportunity to gain ground on the second-place Atlanta Falcons in the NFC South. Atlanta lost to the San Francisco 49ers Sunday, 17-16, to fall to 6-3.
Tennessee (2-6) took the field with a new head coach on its sideline in Mike Mularkey, who replaced the fired Ken Whisenhunt this week as interim coach.
Mularkey’s squad received a stellar passing performance from quarterback Marcus Mariota, who returned to action after missing the last two games with a knee injury. The rookie shredded the New Orleans defense for 371 yards and four touchdown passes, including the five-yard game-winner in overtime to tight end Anthony Fasano.
The Saints jumped out to a 14-3 lead on the visitors, as Drew Brees hooked up with Josh Hill and Brandin Cooks for early touchdown passes.
Tennessee answered with a 61-yard scoring pass, as tight end Delanie Walker snagged a deflected ball and ran all the way in for the touchdown. New Orleans defensive backs Keenan Lewis and Jairus Byrd collided with each other on the play, which was the first of two touchdowns for Walker.
The Saints led 21-17 at the half, and after the Titans cut it to one with a field goal, Brees tossed his lone interception of the day in the Tennessee end zone. He made amends on the next drive, however, with a one-yard touchdown toss to Michael Hoomanawanui that put New Orleans up 28-20.
Mariota’s precision passing pushed the Titans down the field one more time, and Tennessee knotted up the score with a Justin Hunter touchdown reception, followed by a successful two-point conversion.
The Titans had a chance to take the lead late in the fourth quarter, but Ryan Succop’s 55-yard field-goal attempt hit the crossbar, thus giving the Saints one more opportunity to win the game.
New Orleans marched to the Titans’ 29-yard line, but Kai Forbath’s 46-yard field-goal attempt was blocked, and the game went into overtime.
After winning the coin toss, Tennessee marched 80 yards in five minutes, and Mariota sealed the win with a touchdown pass to Fasano.
Continue reading for a closer look at the Saints’ Week 9 loss, complete with postgame grades, notes and quotes.
Grades
1 of 4
| QB | C |
| RB | B- |
| WR/TE | B- |
| OL | F |
| DL | D |
| LB | C |
| DB | F |
| Special Teams | F |
| Coaching | F |
Offense
Brees came out firing in this one, and he appeared to pick up right where he left off a week ago, when he threw for seven touchdowns.
He led the Saints to touchdowns in each of their first three drives, throwing for two of the scores and rushing for the third with a leap into the end zone from one yard out.
The New Orleans signal-caller threw for 387 yards and accounted for four touchdowns against a Titans pass defense that entered the contest ranked third in the NFL.
He also tossed an interception on a downfield throw in the Titans end zone, however, and he misfired on several other makeable throws.
It didn’t help that Brees was heavily pressured for much of the day. The Saints’ offensive line, which provided exceptional protection in last week’s win, allowed seven quarterback hits, including four sacks.
Titans outside linebacker Brian Orakpo gave the Saints fits for the much of the game, and he rang up two sacks while pressuring Brees into several hurried throws.
In the backfield, Mark Ingram finished with a hard-earned 54 yards on 22 carries, while C.J. Spiller was used sparingly.
Ingram ran the ball with intensity, but there wasn’t much going for New Orleans in the way of running lanes. Payton was apparently firmly committed to establishing the run throughout the contest, but with just 61 yards on 27 carries, the sledding was tough for the New Orleans ground game.
Defense
Mariota torched the Saints with a quick-hitting passing attack that was heavy on slants and other short throws. It was his pinpoint accuracy that was most impressive. His ability to get the ball out quickly made it difficult for New Orleans to apply pressure.
Still, the Saints' pass rush was nonexistent in this one. Top sack man Cam Jordan was nowhere to be found. New Orleans delivered just two hits on Mariota and failed to record a sack in the contest.
The Saints yielded 88 yards on the ground to Antonio Andrews, although it should be noted that the absence of injured starters Dannell Ellerbe and Hau’oli Kikaha left New Orleans rather short-handed at the linebacker spot. Stephone Anthony turned in another solid performance, however, and he continues to develop into a fine middle ‘backer in his rookie season.
On the back end, New Orleans’ pass defense was inadequate all afternoon, as Mariota got into a rhythm early on and distributed the ball to a host of talented receivers and tight ends.
Delanie Walker was a thorn in the Saints’ side all game long, and he finished with 95 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
The Saints hurt themselves with mistakes in the secondary throughout the contest. There were multiple penalties called on cornerback Brandon Browner, who endured an especially rough day in coverage.
Special Teams
The blocked field-goal attempt obviously cost the Saints in a big way, but it wasn't the only special teams blunder committed by New Orleans.
Rookie Marcus Murphy coughed up the ball on a punt return in the first quarter. The Titans recovered the fumble at the Saints' 42-yard line and went on to score their first points of the game on a 51-yard Ryan Succop field goal.
Penalty Flags Fly Against Both Teams
2 of 4
The flags were flying early and often in this one, as the two teams combined to draw 17 penalties for 141 yards.
Roughing the passer was called on multiple occasions and against both teams.
Brees was on the receiving end of some particularly violent hits, including a shot to the head from Titans linebacker David Bass in the fourth quarter that drew a flag. Orakpo protested the penalty that was called following the play, and he went into an on-field tirade, drawing two more unsportsmanlike-conduct flags.
This set the Saints up for a one-yard touchdown strike that put them up by eight.
The Titans certainly endured their share of miscues in this one, but penalties have been a recurring problem area for the Saints throughout the season.
Payton has continually addressed the issue as one in need of attention, but after his squad drew another eight flags totaling 75 penalty yards Sunday, it’s safe to say there’s still lots of room for improvement.
Sean Payton, on the Saints' Field-Goal Difficulties
3 of 4
Following the game, Payton expressed his frustration with the Saints’ field-goal-kicking difficulties. He was quoted as follows on NewOrleansSaints.com:
“It’s the snap, the hold (and) the fundamentals. They kicked last week to win a game, and get an opportunity to do it again. We’ll look at the tape. Obviously, it’s frustrating. We obviously aren’t doing a good enough job coaching. We have got to get that cleaned up.”
After nailing a 50-yarder to win the game just a week ago, New Orleans kicker Kai Forbath had an opportunity at a potential game-winning field goal with a minute to go. The 46-yard kick appeared to be low, however, and Coty Sensabaugh partially blocked it.
Forbath has only attempted two field goals in his short tenure with the Saints. He was brought in as a replacement for Zach Hocker, who won the job in the preseason but was released on October 19.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Keenan Lewis on the Frustration of Losing the Game
4 of 4
Cornerback Keenan Lewis gave his thoughts on the Saints' current status in the divisional race after the game, and he was quoted as follows on NewOrleansSaints.com:
“It is frustrating. You have teams like Carolina and Atlanta who are winning games. You don’t want to be third or fourth in your division. It’s getting close to playoffs, and it’s time to start winning.”
With their win over the Green Bay Packers Sunday, the Carolina Panthers (8-0) extended their lead in the NFC South by a whole game, as both the Saints and the Atlanta Falcons (6-3) lost.
The Falcons remain two games ahead of New Orleans for second place. With the Panthers potentially running away with the division, the Saints' best shot at grabbing a playoff spot, at this point in time, is through a wild-card berth.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
