My two big takeaways from this weekend:
-Home-field advantage meant very little. The only team that won at home was Houston, and the Texans got off to a terrible start and were outclassed until Deshaun Watson started making ridiculous plays.
-The New Orleans Saints, as I found myself repeating so often this week, have a renowned coach, a Hall of Fame quarterback and a noted home-field advantage. But their football team on Sunday often played like they were disorganized, and their Hall of Fame quarterback, if his name was not Drew Brees, would have gotten booed.
He had trouble getting the ball down the field. He underthrew the interception that Anthony Harris grabbed, and even at the end of the first half, he almost bounced a throw to Michael Thomas when neither of them had any Vikings around them.
The Saints constantly looked confused on the sideline, and Sean Payton botched the drive at the end of the first half. Had he managed his timeouts better, the Saints may have had a chance at a touchdown, instead of settling for a missed field goal, and that may have been the difference in the game.
The Saints also struggled to run the ball, and relied far too often on cute plays like throwing to Kamara in the flat on third-and-too-long.
Many of the Saints problems were caused by the stellar play of the Vikings' defensive line and safeties, of course. Danielle Hunter is a great player and Everson Griffen turned back the clock. But it's a little weird to see a Saints team and come away with the thought that Taysom Hill was their best offensive player.
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