Alright, Who Dat Nation.
I’ve had a night to think about this one.
It didn’t help.
Raiders 35. Saints 27.
We’re 1–2. Las Vegas leaves New Orleans 3–0.
And the frustrating part isn’t that the Raiders came into our house and completely outplayed us.
They didn’t.
The Saints led 27–16 in the third quarter. They were moving the football. Tyler Shough had thrown four touchdown passes. Chris Olave went over 100 yards. The Dome was alive.
For a while, this looked like the game where everything started coming together.
Then we gave it away.
So Tony has some questions.
First Question: Why Not Kick the Field Goal?
This is the one that’s still bothering me.
The Saints had driven to the Raiders’ 29-yard line. On third-and-4, Shough was hit from behind while trying to throw. The ball came out and Las Vegas recovered. New Orleans Saints
And yes, we’re going to talk about whether that should have been a fumble.
But before we even get there, I’m asking something more basic:
Why were we putting ourselves in that position?
When you’ve got points available in a close football game, when do you take them?
When do you stop trying to win every decision on a spreadsheet and say:
Give me the damn points.
Daniel Carlson is your kicker.
You’re in field-goal range.
You’ve got the lead.
I’m old school enough to ask the question.
Why not kick it?
Maybe some of you think going for it was absolutely the right decision.
Fine.
Tell me why.
Because Tony is still trying to understand it.
And Yes… Another Fumble Call
Here we go again.
Shough gets hit while attempting to throw. The ball comes loose.
Fumble. Raiders football.
If you’re sitting there thinking you’ve seen something like this before, you have.
The Saints themselves noted that the play looked very similar to the Jared Goff play in Detroit that was ruled an incomplete pass. ESPN reported that the Saints again left a game confused about how the quarterback fumble rule was being applied. New Orleans Saints
Do I like it?
No.
Do I understand why Saints fans are pissed?
Absolutely.
But I’m not giving this team permission to hide behind the officials.
Because that wasn’t the only reason we lost.
Not even close.
Four Possessions. Four Turnovers.
Here’s the number that should make everybody sick.
Every Saints possession in the fourth quarter ended in a turnover.
Lost fumble.
Interception.
Lost fumble.
Lost fumble.
Four possessions. Four turnovers. New Orleans Saints
You aren’t beating many NFL teams doing that.
You sure aren’t beating an undefeated team.
And that’s where my second big question comes in.
Where Was the Ball Control?
We had this football game.
Not figuratively.
We had it.
New Orleans led 27–16 with 5:46 remaining in the third quarter.
From there, Las Vegas scored 19 unanswered points.
Final:
35–27. New Orleans Saints
What happened to protecting the football?
What happened to protecting the lead?
What happened to making the Raiders chase us?
Sometimes winning football isn’t complicated.
When you’ve got an 11-point second-half lead at home, you don’t need to become Superman.
Move the chains.
Run the football.
Protect your quarterback.
Protect the ball.
Take the points when they’re there.
Make the other team beat you.
Instead, we helped beat ourselves.
Don’t Put All of This on Shough
And before everybody starts beating up Tyler Shough, Tony isn’t joining that crowd.
Was the fourth quarter bad?
Absolutely.
But look at the whole game.
Shough finished 29 of 42 for 250 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. New Orleans Saints
Four touchdown passes.
That’s not why I’m walking away from this game discouraged about the quarterback.
Actually, I’m encouraged.
For most of the afternoon, I thought Shough looked pretty damn good.
The problem is that NFL games aren’t 45 minutes long.
And young quarterbacks have to learn something veterans already know:
Sometimes the biggest play is the one you don’t try to make.
Protect the football.
Live for the next down.
Take three points.
Let your defense work.
That’s part of becoming an NFL quarterback too.
Olave Keeps Doing His Job
Chris Olave:
9 catches.
107 yards.
No touchdown.
Didn’t matter.
He was productive again and continues to give Shough a legitimate No. 1 target. New Orleans Saints
And how about the tight ends?
Juwan Johnson caught two touchdowns.
Noah Fant caught two touchdowns.
Every one of Shough’s four touchdown passes went to a tight end. New Orleans Saints
There were plenty of good things happening offensively Sunday.
That’s what makes losing this one hurt even more.
Tony Isn’t Blaming the Refs
Were there calls I didn’t like?
Yep.
Do I think Saints fans have every right to question how that Shough fumble was handled compared with what we saw in Detroit?
Yep.
But Chase Young said something after the game that Tony agrees with.
The Saints can’t base their wins on what the officials decide. They have to play through it. New Orleans Saints
That’s football.
Bad call?
Get the ball back.
Questionable call?
Stop them.
You don’t like what the referee did?
Don’t turn it over on your next possession.
That’s how you answer it.
Here’s What Bothers Me Most
Detroit showed me this team could fight.
Baltimore showed me this team could finish.
Las Vegas showed me something else.
This team still doesn’t know how to protect a football game.
That’s different from not having talent.
And maybe that’s actually the encouraging part.
The Saints weren’t blown off their own field.
They weren’t hopelessly overmatched.
They were leading an undefeated team by 11 points in the second half.
Then they self-destructed.
That can be fixed.
But it has to be fixed.
Because eventually, saying we almost had them gets old.
So Tony Wants to Hear From YOU
I’ve given you my opinion all season.
Now I want yours.
Was Tony right or wrong?
Should the Saints have taken the field goal when they had the opportunity?
Was Shough’s play really a fumble — especially after what happened with Jared Goff in Week 1?
Was coaching too aggressive?
Did the Saints abandon ball control?
Or is Tony just being an old-school fan who needs to accept how football is played today?
Don’t just hit Like. Tell me.
If you think I’m right, tell me why.
If you think I’m full of it, tell me that too.
That’s what Who Dat Nation is supposed to be.
Different opinions.
Same team.
And after watching us turn a 27–16 lead into a 35–27 loss, I know we’ve all got something to say.
Let’s hear it, Who Dat Nation.
— Tony from the Westbank
WHO DAT!
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