NEW ORLEANS — All right, we knew the Saints had a very thin margin not having Alvin Kamara in the lineup. Half the offensive line was missing with Terron Armstead out and Andrus Peat being done for the year. Also, C.J. Gardner-Johnson missed the game against the Titans.
So you knew they couldn't make mistakes in a game like this. They were able to rally but were a two-point conversion away from tying the game.
There were a couple of key moments in this game. The first one was right after the two-minute warning, where the Saints appeared to have an interception in the red zone. Marcus Williams picked off Ryan Tannehill however, that was called back due to a roughing the passer call by Kaden Elliss.
When we look at all the replays, there wasn't really much there on that roughing the passer call. CBS rules analyst Gene Steratore said that he wouldn't have called the roughing the passer penalty.
That penalty was big because instead of an interception for the Saints in a 6-6 ball game where they could possibly drive down and take the lead before the half, the Titans go ahead and score to take a 13-6 lead.
To start the second half Deonte Harris fumbled the opening kickoff. The Titans turned that into a touchdown as well to go up 20-6. Those were two big swings.
The Saints had a very slim margin of error in this game against the Titans but they were able to fight back.
On the two-point conversion to tie the game they had a false start by Adam Trautman, which backed the offense to the seven-yard line. It completely changed the dynamic of what Sean Payton was going to call.
Payton said afterward obviously, you're going to have a different play call when you're on the two verses being on the seven.
They weren't able to convert as Trevor Simeon missed Mark Ingram coming out of the backfield for that two-point conversion.
They are now 5-4 and they cannot have those critical mistakes when they're in games like this. Especially when they're playing teams, like the Titans who are the top team in the AFC.