Another Sunday and another loss for the New Orleans Saints at home. This time, it was a 20-17 last-second defeat to the Carolina Panthers. The defeat dropped the Saints to 3-6 overall and a laughable 1-3 in the Superdome while giving control of the equally laughable NFC South to Carolina.
New Orleans played well defensively through most of the game. Like in previous weeks though, late defensive breakdowns would put the game in doubt. This time, however, those failures cost New Orleans the game with a 54-yard game-winning field goal from Ryan Fitzgerald on the games final play. The Saints offense didn't help their own cause with their failure to run the football and protect quarterback Tyler Shough (again!) while mixing in a couple costly turnovers
and hurting themselves. It feels like we're reaching, but here were the best performers of another woeful effort.
Game Ball: Charlie Smyth
If not for Fitzgerald's game-winner, Charlie Smyth would likely get some accolades. Down 17-14 with 1:43 left, Shough drove the Saints 41 yards in 8 plays, aided by a Carolina penalty, into long field goal range. The conservative play-calling at the end of the drive was an interesting decision, since New Orleans had missed five of eight field goal tries from beyond 50 yards this season. Nevertheless, Smyth lined up for a 55-yard try with less than 40 seconds left. He'd nail the field goal, the second longest of his career, to give New Orleans a short-lived tie.
Game Ball: Jordyn Tyson
Most expected the rookie first round pick, the eighth overall selection, to continue to get somewhat limited reps in his second game back from a hamstring injury. Instead, Tyson caught 11 passes for 80 yards to lead both teams in receiving. On a day when Chris Olave, Devaughn Vele, and Juwan Johnson were all contained with a combined 7 catches and 72 yards, Tyson came through in a big way. The Saints got their rookie involved heavily, as he showed impressive chemistry with Shough. Tyson was targeted 13 times, making several acrobatic grabs on intermediate routes and impressive agility after short throws. The Saints clearly don't have much, but Tyson's addition to a crew that includes Olave, Vele, and Johnson should be fun to watch down the stretch.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Game balls from the Saints' woeful loss to the Panthers
