Obviously things have not gone well for the New Orleans Saints in their recent playoff history. On Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings advanced by a 26-20 score with an overtime win. Kirk Cousins hit Kyle Rudolph from inside the five yard line to make the Vikings walk-off winners.
If there was a true shocker in this fabulous weekend of playoff football, this was probably it. New Orleans was the largest favorite on the board (8 points) and the Mercedes Benz Superdome carries the reputation as a tough place to win games.
Still, the Saints couldn’t pull it off.
“They did a good job, they played well.”
Sean Payton disregards a question about the potential push-off by Kyle Rudolph.https://t.co/CnNDLTtJSI pic.twitter.com/gm6Y0qCFdf
— CBS Sports HQ (@CBSSportsHQ) January 5, 2020
While head coach Sean Payton is no stranger to controversial final plays, he wouldn’t say in the video above that Rudolph pushed off before catching the winning score. After the play was reviewed and the Vikings were declared winners, many Saints sat on the home playing field emotionless.
Dalvin Cook had 28 carries for 94 yards and two touchdowns. In addition, Adam Thielein added seven catches for 129 yards. Equally important, it could be argued that Cousins outplayed the legend Drew Brees.
The destination for the Vikings will be decided with the conclusion of the Eagles and Seahawks game ongoing now.
However, all those predictions that thought New Orleans would once again be a Super Bowl dark-horse out of the Wildcard round at 13-3 are left disappointed. For whatever reason, the Saints cannot shake these playoff doldrums.
