So, excuse Saints fans if this playoff exit seems familiar to them.
A tweet by Adam Schefter quantified what many of us already know, that since the Saints captured the 2010 Super Bowl, their playoff exits have been painfully close, full of what if's...
According to Schefter's research, the Saints are the first team in NFL history to be eliminated in six straight playoff appearances by one score or less each time.
In addition, their losses in 2018, 2019 and 2020's playoffs have all been walk-offs, coming on their opponent's final play.
What rang so true about this exit is the familiarity with several - but not all - of the other ones. The Saints, falling behind - by a substantial margin - and looking like they are totally outmatched, figuring things out offensively, but too late.
The 20-10 deficit heading into the fourth quarter - and against a VERY good defense, required almost perfection by the Saints to overcome.
And, the Saints were not perfect. Brees' fumble, Kamara's false start and the defensive coverage issues on the final drive were enough to undue another brilliant comeback.
Take a look:
- In 2011, against a Seattle wildcard team with a losing record, the Saints cut a 34-20 third quarter deficit to 34-30, but then "Beast Mode."
- In 2012, against San Francisco in a divisional game, a 17-0 deficit was overcome - TWICE - in the fourth quarter, but then Vernon Davis
- In 2014 Saints fall behind Seattle 16-0 in divisional round only to rally to 23-15 margin at the final gun.
- In 2018, Saints fall behind Minnesota 17-0 in divisional round to rally to take a late lead, and then Stefon Diggs.
- In 2019, Saints fall behind Philadelphia 14-0 in divisional round in the Superdome but then figure it out to win 20-14. (no mention of the NFC Championship debacle)
- In 2020, Saints fall behind Minnesota 20-10 in third quarter of wild card weekend before rallying to tie game and lose in overtime.
Six losses, all by one score, only really the 2014 game in Seattle was really unwinnable. Only against the Rams in last year's NFC Championship was the script flipped, with the Saints jumping out to a nice lead, but, alas, they didn't hang on.