1. Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers
The name of the game last night: turnovers. The Saints turned the ball over three times by the end of the first quarter, four times by halftime, and a whopping six times by the end of the game.
The saddest part is, it could have been worse.
Hill’s pick seemed like the product of poor communication with his receivers, while Winston’s pick was underthrown (and Lil’Jordan Humphrey came up short). Book ruined his second-half heroics with a turnover in the final two minutes of the game, and running backs Murray, Freeman, and Jones also coughed up the ball.
You can hear what we have to say, or you can read these very disgruntled reporters’ tweets:
This will not be a pleasant film session.
— John DeShazier (@JohnDeShazier) August 15, 2021
Tony Jones Jr. fumbles, @Saints 5th turnover of this game.
Latavius Murray, Devonta Freeman and now Tony Jones with a lost fumble.
— Larry Holder (@LarryHolder) August 15, 2021
Fifth turnover of the game for the Saints.
Whee!!!!!!!
Sean Payton is going to punish this team over ball security this week.
— Nick Underhill (@nick_underhill) August 15, 2021
Payton is screaming about turnovers in the locker room, loudly and clearly
— Katherine Terrell (@Kat_Terrell) August 15, 2021
Yes, Sean Payton is probably more than irritated with his offense right now. It’s not a good look going into the season, and it means going back to the drawing board for him, his sorry-looking quarterbacks, and the rest of his inconsistent offensive lineup.
The Saints shined where they could in a tough preseason loss. But they also fell hard, and they have only themselves to blame.