Sean Payton backs Taysom Hill after grueling loss against Cowboys

The New Orleans Saints lost their fifth consecutive game for the first time in the Sean Payton era, falling 27-17 to the Dallas Cowboys. Here’s what Payton had to say.

A mixed feeling of terror and anticipation surrounded Taysom Hill’s first start in 2021, and by the end of the Cowboys game, Saints fans were left with just one feeling: despair.

Hill threw four picks, most of which came late in the game when New Orleans were desperately looking for a score.

Hill finished the game with 264 passing yards and two passing touchdowns along with 101 rushing yards.

In the post-game presser, Payton spoke very briefly about the Saints’ seventh loss of the season.

Tell us about it.

In a game where Alvin Kamara yet again was absent, the Saints had absolutely no one to rely on.

Deonte Harris had that nice run, Lil’Jordan Humphrey scored an early touchdown, but the rest of the Saints’ receivers struggled to make any impact.

Thursday’s loss to Dallas marks the Saints’ fifth loss in a row — the last time the Saints lost that many in a row was in 2005. And as most will remember, that was when New Orleans spent the season away from home due to Hurricane Katrina.

Sean Payton comments on New Orleans Saints’ fifth consecutive loss of the season

In 2021, it seems like disaster has struck again.

Despite Hill’s obvious arm deficiencies — everyone agrees that Hill cannot throw — Payton still supported his versatile offensive weapon after the game, even insinuating that one of the interceptions was not Hill’s fault but rather the fault of a certain wide receiver.

To end on a positive note, though, Payton did see some things that he liked, especially the Saints’ run defense and how the team “stayed on schedule” throughout the first half.

Had Payton gone through all the things he didn’t like, the presser would likely be thirty minutes long.

We can guess what’s at the top of his list though: the illegal blindside block call that negated a Saints 1st-down during a turning point of the game.

He may be right about that, but the larger (and scarier) fact of the game is how pathetic the Saints offense looks in the final stretch of the 2021 season.

They tried Siemian, and he didn’t work out. They tried Hill, and he threw four picks in his first game. What in the world are the Saints going to do now?