3 New Orleans Saints to blame for loss against Vikings, Josh Dobbs
The New Orleans Saints became the second straight team to fall at the hands of Josh Dobbs and the Minnesota Vikings. There's plenty of blame to go around.
By Mark Powell
With their loss on the road against the Minnesota Vikings, the Saints wasted an opportunity to separate themselves from the rest of the NFC South. New Orleans sits at 5-5, still very much in the postseason picture, but are just a half game up on both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Atlanta Falcons.
This is despite the fact the Saints added Derek Carr this offseason, and entered the year as the likely favorite to win the division. Such is the New Orleans way -- especially with this coaching group led by Dennis Allen -- to make matters tougher than they should be.
Injuries and turnovers often tell the story of any game, including this one. Derek Carr was replaced by Jameis Winston thanks to an injury. Neither quarterback was able to hold onto the ball consistently, and gave Josh Dobbs and the Vikings a short field. Michael Thomas also went down with an injury, and this receiving corps has been a huge distraction of late thanks to off-field concerns with MT and Chris Olave.
Both Derek Carr and Jameis Winston deserve some criticism for Saints defeat
Carr wasn't necessarily playing poorly when he went out with an injury, as he completed 13-of-18 passes, though he did fumble once. Perhaps the bigger indictment for Carr was his inability to put the Saints in a position to score against this Vikings defense. Carr was signed to a lucrative contract this past offseason with that goal in mind. Instead, the Saints offense looked stagnant with him on the field.
Enter Jameis Winston, who was able to apply some pressure on the Minnesota secondary with his arm. Jameis threw for two touchdowns, and has a tremendous amount of arm talent. However, with that talent also comes a gunslinger mentality that came back to haunt New Orleans late.
Winston threw two late interceptions, the latter of which cost the Saints dearly. Winston may be a backup, as he was forced into a tough situation unexpectedly, but he's also a former top draft pick and a starting-caliber passer for some teams. Fans should expect better from him.