The Saints are 4-6 after their 47-14 loss at the Washington Redskins, and the Pelicans are 1-9 after their 95-87 loss at the NY Knicks.
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November hasn’t been kind of the Redskins in recent years, but in their second matchup of the month, Washington is hoping to buck that trend against a New Orleans defense that hasn’t done much to inspire confidence at all this fall. Perhaps the reason was, they did not need wide receiver production when the running backs were producing 380 yards on their own.
Our Sunday suspicions turned into Monday reality.
The Lions (2-7) shocked the reeling Packers (6-3) to snap a 24-game losing streak in Wisconsin, the longest in National Football League history and one that dated to 1991 – before the Brett Favre-Aaron Rodgers era at quarterback. Matt Jones had another impressive game, carrying the ball 11 times for 56 yards, averaging 5.1 yards per carry. It posted two 83-yard touchdown drives of five and three plays, respectively, but was held to 24 yards on 10 plays the rest of the half. The Redskins did us a disservice when the stomped the Saints and got Rob Ryan fired. He gained 92 yards on 15 carries to lead Washington’s 213-yard rushing attack. Brees stepped into the pocket to deliver a textbook 60-yard touchdown pass to Cooks to tie the game at 14. On the very next play, Cousins continued his flawless start with a strike to Jamison Crowder for another Redskins touchdown. Of course, he didn’t break up any passes, either, and was credited with one solo tackle (after a 12-yard completion) plus two assists. Ryan Kerrigan almost got home but was a split second too late to prevent DeAngelo Hall, playing safety, and Breeland from getting burned. For the second straight time, there was excellent blocking from all involved. If anything, the defense has gotten worse since the start of the season as several young players have worked their way into the rotation but failed to make the unit better. The group also committed multiple holding penalties. New Orleans did manage to apply a few pressure on the Redskins quarterback, sacking him three times, but he repeatedly burned the Saints with screens, and he completed 20 of his 25 pass attempts.
And after scoring 52 and 28 points in consecutive weeks, the Saints offense hit a pothole. The Redskins ran 35 plays to just 16 for the Saints. Hands were on their hips and probably all Redskins fans were anxious about another third quarter collapse.
Washington netted a season-high 514 yards against the Saints. But those issues seemed to be prevalent each week and never got better. All games are available after the Sunday night game has been completed. By halftime, Washington led New Orleans 27-14. Following the win, Cousins went right over to his father and handed him the game ball that was used in the thrashing of New Orleans and the two shared an emotional embrace.
The Saints were shut out in the third quarter, with Washington’s defense holding them to just 51 yards.
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Still, Drew Brees has been a force.
