Saints come back down to earth in loss to the Patriots
The New Orleans Saints fell short in their pursuit of the first winning streak of the year after losing to the New England Patriots in a close battle. The score was close and reflective of how close these two teams played on Sunday, but the Patriots were clearly the better team through the majority of the game.
The Saints kicked field goals, and the Patriots scored touchdowns. If you're looking for the difference in the game, it can easily be pointed to that difference early in the game. It sounds cliche and simple, but cliches are heavily used for a reason. Sometimes things really are that simple. The Saints and Patriots both moved the ball down the field early, but the Saints settled for too many field goals.
The script was similar to the earlier games in the Saints' season. The Saints entered the fourth quarter with the game still in the balance. Once again, they were playing catch up at this point. The Saints felt like they were building some momentum before a Juwan Johnson fumble stalled out the drive.
Saints and Patriots punters had an easy day
Both the Saints and Patriots kept their punters off the field for the majority of the game. Kai Kroeger spent more time holding kick attempts for Blake Grupe than he did actually punting the ball.
Each of the first nine possessions featured a mixture of field goals and touchdowns, and the two drives that didn't result in points ended with a turnover on downs and halftime. The Saints didn't punt the football until the back end of the third quarter. The Patriots followed suit on the ensuing drive on their final drive of the quarter.
The second time the Saints punted the ball was the last time they saw it. The Saints defense had done a good job keeping the Patriots from putting drives together. The Patriots found their mojo and closed out the game with a four minute drive to own it.
Caleb Williams Has Notable Comments on Jalen Hurts Ahead of Eagles–Bears Game
Jalen Hurts and Caleb Williams have yet to play against each other in the NFL, but that’s about to change.
Both quarterbacks were stars at the University of Oklahoma in college, although their tenures never overlapped. Hurts authored a legendary 2019 season in Norman, netting 3,851 passing yards, 32 touchdowns, 1,298 rushing yards and 20 rushing scores, finishing second in the Heisman voting that year.
Williams followed two years later and delivered one of the most electrifying freshman seasons in Sooners history, throwing for 1,912 yards and 21 touchdowns in just 11 games while adding six rushing scores.
Ahead of the Philadelphia Eagles‘ Week 13 showdown against the Chicago Bears, Williams shared the advice and wisdom Hurts once passed down to him when their paths crossed previously.
Caleb Williams Talks ‘Wisdom’ Gleaned From Eagles QB Jalen Hurts
GettyCaleb Williams said Eagles QB Jalen Hurts has passed down some nuggets of wisdom to him in the past.
“We’ve run into each other a few times,” Williams said about Hurts on November 26. “It’s quarterbacks being quarterbacks, saying what’s up, and checking on each other. Then, from there, he’s given me some wisdom, back when I was being recruited by Oklahoma, and he was leaving. Other than that, it’s been a little bit since we’ve kind of ran into each other.”
What wisdom did Hurts dispel?
“There are not many like us in our position, and who we are – skin tone and all of these different things – there are not many like us, so just being able to understand the opportunity that we have, and I have, to maximize that and put myself in the best opportunity possible,” Williams noted. “It was kind of that type of talk. Jalen, you’ve heard all of his bits. He’s pretty motivational when he speaks.”
A Closer Look at the Numbers for Each QB This Season
Williams enters Week 13 with 2,568 yards passing, 16 touchdowns and four interceptions, with a QBR of 55.3. The Bears remain one of the NFC’s most intriguing teams, and by all accounts appear to be trending upward.
Hurts enters the matchup with 2,284 yards, 17 touchdowns and just one interception, maintaining a 58.8 QBR. While Philadelphia’s offense has stumbled at times, Hurts has still had stretches of elite play (his Week 7 masterpiece against the Vikings, when he posted a perfect passer rating on 326 yards and three scores, comes to mind).
But inconsistency from Philly’s offensive line, injuries, and a passing game that has drifted in and out of sync have kept Philadelphia from fully resembling its championship form.
A win over an upstart Bears team would be a nice statement to make at a critical time.
A Brief Look at the Bears vs. Eagles Black Friday Matchup
The 8-3 Eagles host the 8-3 Bears on Black Friday, with huge playoff implications on the line.
Chicago is playing confident, physical football behind Williams, but the Eagles will be the best team they’ve seen yet.
Philadelphia is scoring 23.2 points and allowing 20.5 per game, leaning on their top-10 scoring defense. Chicago, by contrast, has been living on the edge, scoring 26.3 points per game while allowing 26.5.
Williams leads the NFL with five fourth-quarter comebacks, so Chicago isn’t a team to count out if it’s at all close late in the game. The Bears could also get top corners Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon back, which would give the entire defense a huge boost.
Philly has been excellent in the red zone, which is an area Williams and the Bears have struggled in all year. Whichever team plays best there will likely come out on top, but this should be the game of the week by a long shot.
