Saints' Offense Shoulders Blame

Sean Payton and Drew Brees agreed that what ailed the Saints most in their first loss of the season was not New Orleans' battered, patchwork defense. "We all thought we were going to seal the deal," Brees said, recalling the Saints' 24-15 fourth quarter lead at Washington. "We had two opportunities there, just third down conversions that we should make and we didn't, therefore giving them the ball back and they turned around and scored after both of those." Washington's offense piled up 455 total yards, highlighted by a 67-yard reception by Santana Moss for the winning score with 3:29 to go. But the Saints' defense, relying on reserves because key players like safety Roman Harper, cornerback Randall Gay and linebacker Scott Fujita were all injured, still made key third-down stops to hold Washington without a touchdown in the first half. New Orleans defenders simply were beat up and worn down from being on the field for too long by the time the Redskins pulled ahead. Washington finished with a ... (link)