NEW ORLEANS -- The New Orleans Saints allowed just 4.47 yards per play on Sunday, the second-best rate of any defense in the NFL in Week 15.
They tied for the league lead with eight pass breakups, according to ESPN Stats & Information. They sacked Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes four times and hit him 11 times -- both top-five in the NFL -- and forced a fumble on one of them during a fourth-quarter rally.
Unfortunately, the Saints' defense was on the field for a staggering 92 snaps in Sunday’s 32-29 loss, while the Chiefs possessed the ball for 41 minutes, 14 seconds.
“We went out there and played our hearts out. We ran around the whole damn field,” said safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who added that “the scramble drill was real” against Mahomes, with his ability to escape pressure and keep plays alive. “To hold that type of offense to only 32 points and to hold him [to 254] passing yards ... we can play with anybody.
“The loss hurt, but as a whole, as a unit, as a D, we can’t get down on ourselves.”
The Saints (10-4) tied a franchise record with those 92 defensive snaps (coincidentally matching their total from the last time they hosted the Chiefs in a 2012 overtime loss). Only two teams have played more defensive snaps in the past 20 years. And it was actually 99 snaps if you count plays nullified by penalties and a 2-point conversion.
The main culprit? New Orleans’ offense converted just 1 of 11 third-down attempts during QB Drew Brees’ rusty return from injury. Kansas City was 9-of-18 on third downs.
“Man, I was proud of how we competed,” Saints coach Sean Payton said. “I thought we flew around. I thought, guys, man, against a real good offense, I thought we played our hearts out.
“It wasn't good enough, obviously. But I'm proud of the effort.”
The Saints won’t get much time to refill their tanks.
The timing couldn’t be much worse for a short practice week, with New Orleans scheduled to host the Minnesota Vikings and their fifth-ranked offense on Christmas Day.
"I think obviously the shorter week, from a recovery standpoint, you're going to harp on that a little bit more,” Saints defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins said. “But all in all, I know this team, I know my guys, and we're definitely going to be excited to get back out there and get this ball back rolling in the right direction.
“Two losses back-to-back definitely leaves a bad taste in our mouths (the Saints also lost 24-21 at Philadelphia in Week 14 while allowing a season-high 246 rushing yards). But we're a resilient team. We've faced adversity before, and we'll battle back out of this and get back to playing the style of football we’re known to play with.”
The Saints’ injury list will be worth watching after Sunday’s war of attrition.
Free safety Marcus Williams left early with an ankle injury, leaving his status in doubt for Friday. Defensive end Trey Hendrickson left early with an unspecified injury after sacking Mahomes twice, forcing a fumble and moving back into a tie for the NFL lead with 12.5 sacks.
Meanwhile, DE Cameron Jordan lost his cool late in the game and was ejected for punching Chiefs offensive tackle Andrew Wylie. Replays showed Wylie clutching Jordan's jersey by the collar and not letting go. Jordan tried to shove him away before throwing the punch, and he tried explaining that to officials to no avail.
Jordan won’t be suspended, per a source -- though he could be subject to a fine.
No excuses! No matter how I feel about it, an ejectable offense was the outcome, I hurt the squad, and in the 4th qtr on a crucial drive! that's on me! This loss on me! Can't happen! Whatever the correction I will be better
— cameron jordan (@camjordan94) December 21, 2020
“We talk all the time about playing with emotion, but not emotional,” Payton said of Jordan’s ejection. “They're pushing back and forth. And I see what the official saw -- they viewed it as a blow or a punch to the head. And we've just got to be smarter.”
The win-loss record won’t recognize Sunday as a positive one for the Saints’ defense. Neither will the overall stat sheet. They fell to No. 3 in the NFL in total defense (306.4 yards allowed per game) and No. 4 in rushing defense (95.6 yards allowed per game) after they were No. 1 in both categories before they kicked off at Philadelphia last week.
But the Saints still did some positive things, like holding Mahomes to 254 passing yards and a 55.3% completion rate (26 of 47). Hendrickson have five QB hits. DE Carl Granderson had a sack and four QB hits. Gardner-Johnson had three passes defensed.
Linebacker Craig Robertson also made a tremendous play to force a fumble on a punt return late in the final seconds of the first half -- though the Saints had to settle for a safety when fellow LB Alex Anzalone was unable to secure the loose ball in the end zone.
“I feel like we played hard. We just got to finish,” said Saints linebacker Kwon Alexander, who recovered the fumble forced by Hendrickson with 10:56 remaining, setting up a TD three plays later.
“We’ll be ready to go,” Gardner-Johnson said. “It’s been a long time since we lost back-to-back, and we’re not going to let that happen again. We can’t complain and say, ‘Oh, 92 plays.’ If we got to play 150 plays to win the game, we’re going to do it.
“So we just got to get our feet back under us, rest, and be ready to go back out there on this short week and go win on Christmas Day. We got a lot of family who want to see us win. So, hey, we got Christmas coming up, why not give the biggest gift to New Orleans and to our family by just winning on Christmas?”