3 turning points of the Saints 30-20 Divisional Round loss

Number One: Jared Cook Fumble

When looking back at the box score of the New Orleans Saints’ tough loss, it’s easy to place the blame on Drew Brees.

Brees, in hindsight, did cost the Saints a lot of scoring opportunities with his three interceptions. If you really dig into the turning point of the game, however, you can look no further than Jared Cook’s costly fumble late in the third quarter.

The Saints were up 20-13 and driving to put away the game late in the second half when Jared Cook made a clutch catch on third down then got lazy with the ball and proceeded to fumble it. It really wasn’t an overly impressive strip either.

The Saints were never able to recover from this mistake, and it certainly would have been the nail in the coffin if the Saints would have been able to score a touchdown on the drive.

Cook was visibly upset after that fumble because he knew how crucial it was. If Jared Cook holds onto the football, the Saints could very well be gearing up to play the Green Bay Packers next week in hopes of playing in their second-ever Super Bowl.