Thanksgiving night in 2021 featured a game between the New Orleans Saints and the Buffalo Bills that seemed like a must-win for both teams. Being neck-and-neck with the New England Patriots in the AFC East standings, the Bills had no room to make any mistakes and the Saints could NOT afford a fourth-straight loss.
Something had to give, however, and in the end, it was the Bills who came away with a dominating 31-6 victory. The Saints Week 12 ended with a loss and with the team searching for answers in more than one way. Here are our three takeaways from a Saints perspective from Thursday Night‘s Saints-Bills game: one good, one bad, and one ugly.
Saints Week 12 Takeaways
3. The defense played a decent first half (good)
The New Orleans defense was getting after Bills quarterback Josh Allen all game, but specifically in the first half when they were able to pressure him into two interceptions and just one touchdown. At that point, the defense had done its job…but, the offense had failed to even muster a field goal. It was 10-0 Bills at the half and that had to be disheartening for the New Orleans defense– if it was, it sure showed in the way they played in the second half.
Once it had become apparent to everyone in the building and at home that Trevor Siemian was probably starting his last NFL game– at least for a while– the Saints' defense had to also sense it. They were torched by Allen after the break for three touchdowns and the big QB ended up with only one more incompletion (five) than touchdown passes (four). Talk about flipping the script from one half to the next!
2. Tony Jones is just another guy (bad)
When running back Alvin Kamara went down and a seemingly washed Mark Ingram stepped into fantasy football relevancy, it was expected that the same would be true when Tony Jones ever stepped in. Well, that scenario came up this week as both Kamara and Ingram were forced to sit out on Thursday night due to injuries.
Jones, however, failed to impress in his run with the first team, taking sixteen carries for only 27 yards– 1.7 yards per carry. Jones' longest run was for 11 yards and he also failed to catch a pass out of the backfield. Saints fans and fantasy football managers everywhere will be hoping that Kamara and/or Ingram will be back for New Orleans' next game, a Thursday night showdown with the Dallas Cowboys on December 2.
1. A quarterback change is necessary (ugly)
Siemian was downright awful and the look on Sean Payton's face for the entire game was a tell-tale sign that a change under center is apparent. Last week, backup quarterback/tight end/utility player Taysom Hill was given a very complex contract that not only hinges upon what position he plays but also has opt-outs for the Saints after every year of the deal. The deal pays $10 million per year at a minimum, however, so the Saints will love to get the most out of him from the quarterback position as they can.
That is because the top quarterbacks make way more than ten million per year. So, if the Saints can use the remainder of the season to determine if Hill is the Saints' future at the position, it will not only save them a future high draft pick that they would need to use on a quarterback of the future, but it could allow them to use that money elsewhere.
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