Another year, another heartbreaker
by Kenneth Cooper
This time around, there’s was no miracle, no real no-call. Some may say, Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph pushed off on the game winning touchdown, but bottom line, the Saints got out-coached this game, from start to finish.
Mike Zimmer and the Vikings came into the Dome with it on their mind. The game plan was clear: run the ball until the Saints could stop them. And that’s exactly what they did. First down, second down, the Vikings controlled the game with their offensive line. Running back Dalvin Cook punished the Saints with 28 carries for 94 yards. He almost had more carries than Drew Brees had completions, and given a few more opportunities, he probably would’ve been the first back to gain over 100 yards against the Saints since 2017. When the Vikings did throw the ball, Kirk Cousins had all day to survey the field.
Meanwhile, it’s hard to say what exactly was Sean Payton’s game plan. He never settled on a back to run the ball. The Saints split 17 carries among 4 different backs, preventing any of them from getting into a rhythm, and there seemed to be no back-up plan once the Vikings took Michael Thomas out of the game. Once again, only one wide receiver caught a pass.
After the heartbreakers the team dealt with the past two years, most pundits expected the Saints to come out and make a statement against an inferior opponent. Instead, the Saints never seemed to match the Vikings intensity. Or maybe the Saints were just exposed. All year they were limited to Michael Thomas when it came to passing the ball, and Sean Payton never showed the necessary trust in Latavius Murray to consistently establish a running game. Ironically, despite all the balance Payton showed over the past two years, this season he fell back into the same finesse play calling that plagued him most of his career.
Now, the team finds itself at a crossroads. They have a free agent Hall of Fame quarterback who is limited to midrange passes and dump offs. They are severely limited at receiver, and have a defense lacking the playmakers to step up when it matters most. This is the 3rd year in a row, the team found itself needing a defensive stop to advance in the playoffs, only to give up a tie in regulation or a game winning drive. Much like the Patriots, the team is stuck in a where-do-we-go-from-here mode. Invest up to $30 million in an aging quarterback or use that money to shore up the roster. Free agency should be interesting.
But here we are, dealing with another heartbreak, another year of what could have been. This one will hurt for a while, considering coming into the game the Saints were clearly the better team, and seemed to be peaking on offense towards the season’s end. Regardless, it ended up being the same team with same results as the previous years. In the off-season, some soul-searching will have to be done as far as the direction of this franchise to avoid the team and fans finding themselves in the same position all over again.
Jeff Thomas
Publisher • Opinion Columnist • Licensed General Contractor • Real Estate Appraiser • New Orleans
Jeff Thomas is the publisher of Black Source Media and one of New Orleans’ most direct voices on civic affairs, economic justice, and Louisiana politics. He writes from the intersection of experience and accountability — as a licensed general contractor,a tech company founder and executive with over 30 years experience, and a businessman who has worked across the city’s civic, media, and construction ecosystems for decades.
His Sunday column covers Louisiana legislative politics, insurance discrimination, housing policy, and the forces shaping Black community life in New Orleans and across the state. Thomas writes in the tradition of Black journalists who hold power accountable without apology — building arguments from data, delivering verdicts from evidence, and speaking to Black New Orleans with the directness the moment demands.
He is also the principal of Executive Appraisers Louisiana, an MBE-certified real estate appraisal firm, and EA Inspection Services, LLC, a government inspection services company. Black Source Media is his platform for the civic conversation New Orleans has needed and too rarely had.
Selected Articles by Jeff Thomas
Black Neighborhoods Pay the Highest Insurance Rates in Louisiana. Here’s What They Don’t Want You to Know.
They Didn’t Yell the N-Word. They Went to Law School, Bided Their Time, and Rewrote the Constitution Instead.
Vappie vs. Morrell: Why Does Justice Look Different in New Orleans?
The State Has the Money. New Orleans East Just Needs Them to Use It.
The Failure of Mitch Landrieu
Publisher — Black Source Media
Jeff Thomas
Publisher • Opinion Columnist • Licensed General Contractor • Real Estate Appraiser • New Orleans
Jeff Thomas is the publisher of Black Source Media and one of New Orleans’ most direct voices on civic affairs, economic justice, and Louisiana politics. He writes from the intersection of experience and accountability — as a licensed general contractor,a tech company founder and executive with over 30 years experience, and a businessman who has worked across the city’s civic, media, and construction ecosystems for decades.
His Sunday column covers Louisiana legislative politics, insurance discrimination, housing policy, and the forces shaping Black community life in New Orleans and across the state. Thomas writes in the tradition of Black journalists who hold power accountable without apology — building arguments from data, delivering verdicts from evidence, and speaking to Black New Orleans with the directness the moment demands.
He is also the principal of Executive Appraisers Louisiana, an MBE-certified real estate appraisal firm, and EA Inspection Services, LLC, a government inspection services company. Black Source Media is his platform for the civic conversation New Orleans has needed and too rarely had.
Selected Articles by Jeff Thomas
Black Neighborhoods Pay the Highest Insurance Rates in Louisiana. Here’s What They Don’t Want You to Know.
They Didn’t Yell the N-Word. They Went to Law School, Bided Their Time, and Rewrote the Constitution Instead.
Vappie vs. Morrell: Why Does Justice Look Different in New Orleans?
The State Has the Money. New Orleans East Just Needs Them to Use It.
The Failure of Mitch Landrieu
On point! I’ll be the first to say it, time to move forward. Drew is undeniably the best to ever wear the Black and Gold and will forever be the number 1 Saint, but the time has come to look to the future. 21 million in dead money next year, but if we keep rolling the ball down the field we only extend the inevitable. The window has been open for the last 3 years, why wait on father time to close that window? The Saints need to make the hard choice and close it themselves.
Time for a new QB – Is Taysom Hill the white Lamar Jackson? We need to push Drew to th bench or out the door. Thanks for the great years but it is time for a new day
Knee Jerk reactions. The Saints got outcoached and Drew had a bad game. So fire Sean Payton also? Yall tripping. This is a great team and Drew has at least 2 more good years. Keep him and win another one with him
FIRE SEAN PAYTON!! He is stale and predictable!