Saints Playoff Dreams Fade Away in 33-25 Loss to Bears

Posted by Manion Anderson on December 30th, 2007 filed in Game Stories

Brees throws in traffic

Sean Payton came into the game at Soldier Field saying that he was gonna keep the ball out of Devin Hester’s hands. That plan failed as the Bears beat the Saints 33-25. Hester scored two touchdowns in the affair: one on a 55 yard pass from quarterback Kyle Orton and another one on a punt return of 64 yards. Orton looked extremely good today, and, in my eyes, seems to have secured a spot on the team next year and maybe as a starter.

Drew Brees also played well, throwing for 320 yards and 3 touchdowns; however, he threw 2 interceptions and three incomplete passes on fourth down this week. Although I do not think the aggressive play calling cost the game for the Saints, the lack of conversion certainly hurt them. Running back Pierre Thomas was the standout for the Saints today. He had 226 yards of total offense including a touchdown. Marques Colston did not play in the second half due to a hand injury.

It was a disappointing season for the Saints after making to last year’s NFC championship. They lost today for the same reason as every loss this season: inconsistency on defense and the offense not able to make up for it. I am sure the off season will be interesting for them as they try to correct these issues.



2 Responses to “Saints Playoff Dreams Fade Away in 33-25 Loss to Bears”

  1. Michael Says:
    January 7th, 2008 at 7:38 am

    So what do the Saints need to do this offseason? I would be happy if they went after at least one of the major cornerbacks available in free agency (Trufant, Samuel or Asomugha) and then drafted a young corner like Malcolm Jenkins or Terrell Thomas.

  2. Manion Says:
    January 7th, 2008 at 2:06 pm

    I absolutely agree with you. We need some more young talent in the secondary. Along with a cornerback, I hope we get a new safety as well. I honestly think our offense is pretty solid. If we can have both Deuce and Bush healthy, we will not have to be so one dimensional. Our defense needs to catch up.

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