Recap: Saints streak ends at nine with loss to Philadelphia

The New Orleans Saints win streak ends at nine as the team drops a shocking game 24-21 to the 3-8-1 Philadelphia Eagles tonight.

The New Orleans Saints drew the first start of Jalen Hurts career and from the looking of this game, he will have a long successful career. The black and gold dropped their win streak at nine with this loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

First Half

The first half of this one was a very pitiful performance by a team that looked no better than a bubble playoff team. The Saints threw a flat dud out there in their first couple of drives. In fact, New Orleans went six drives in this game before scoring their first points.

Here’s a hint, it wasn’t in the first half. The second-round rookie out of Alabama and Oklahoma gave the 3-8-1 Eagles a spark that they desperately needed to try and win their division. They lost the football on downs in their first drive.

However, they immediately started scoring on their second drive courtesy of Jalen Hurts and Alshon Jeffery. After a punt on their next drive, they continued scoring on their fourth drive adding a Jake Elliot field goal to take the lead 10-0.

The Saints defense was nowhere to be found on the Eagles’ next drive after Miles Sanders took the ball 82 yards to the house to make it 17-0. Right before the half ended, Elliot missed a field goal that could have made it a 20-0 lead, but the half ended 17-0 with zero Saints’ points.

Second Half

Sean Payton must have lit up the team at half because they came out hot. The Eagles punted after getting the second-half kickoff. New Orleans and Taysom Hill then marched down the field leading to an Alvin Kamara five-yard rushing touchdown.

After an immediate Eagles four and out, the Taysom Hill threw to a 37-yard touchdown to Emmanuel Sanders. The comeback was mounted. In two drives, they narrowed the lead to 17-14 heading into the fourth quarter.

Would it even be a game if Taysom Hill didn’t have a fumble? No. The next drive Hill did just that. It ended up leading to a Miles Sanders touchdown for the Eagles on the other side of the field. They extended their lead to 23-14.

After a lethargic drive by the black and gold, they wasted over 4:00 minutes and came away with a missed 57-yard field goal after Hill took two sacks. The Eagles tried to run the clock out, but they failed after fumbling around midfield.

The Saints took the opportunity and scored in three plays with a Hill to Jared Cook 20-yard touchdown. After a failed onside kick that was almost recovered, Philadelphia ran the clock out and won the game 24-21.