The New Orleans Saints were given a 98.7% chance to win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by ESPN's Win Probability calculator after quarterback Andy Dalton completed a short right pass to running back Mark Ingram on 2nd and eight for seven yards. The Saints and head coach Dennis Allen had taken a comfortable 16-3 lead in what looked to be a much-needed bright spot to turn around three losses in four games and bring back the hope needed for a potential playoff spot.
Somehow, none of that mattered.
Even when it seemed impossible to blow a lead to the 2021 Super Bowl Champions, Tom Brady's luck and the Saints' poor decision making in the fourth quarter shone through as the Buccaneers scored two touchdowns in the final three minutes of the game.
“When you don't convert, you always look back and say you should have done something different,” Dennis Allen said in a postgame press conference. “But if we convert there, we're not talking about it.
“It makes it tough. I felt like we had an opportunity to win this game. We didn't finish. We didn't get it done.”
Though both sides made the wrong decisions in the fourth quarter, NFL on CBS's Jared Dubin said, the Buccaneers would ultimately be rewarded with a win while the Saints would be punished for their decision to punt on the 44-yard line.
Bill Simmons, founder and CEO of the Ringer, called the loss the “most indefensible” of the season.
NFL writer and author of the “Captain Comeback” blog Scott Kacsmar said Dennis Allen and the Saints' decision making beat out Los Angeles Rams receiver Cooper Kupp's slide and head coach Sean McVay's prevent defense against the Bucs in early November as an “unbeatable combo” for blowing a fourth-quarter lead.
Whether it be a possible quarterback change, or something more, Dennis Allen will likely need to find a more stable solution in the fourth quarter or face missing the playoffs for the second straight year.