Cameron Jordan devastated that the Saints won’t be playoff-bound
By Kristen Wong
Two things needed to happen for the New Orleans Saints to make the 2021 playoffs: the Saints needed to win, and the San Francisco 49ers needed to lose.
NOLA got the job done against the Atlanta Falcons, but San Francisco ended up toppling the Los Angeles Rams in one of three overtime NFL thrillers in Week 18.
So really, postseason wasn’t in the hands of the Saints, anyway.
They stumbled to a 9-8 record this season and making the playoffs would have been the most extraordinary feat of them all, but the football gods had different plans for them.
At the end of Week 18, all people will be talking about is that Brandon Staley timeout.
The Saints will be talking about a wholly different matter though — the resilience of their team all throughout the 2021 season.
Defensive end Cameron Jordan spoke out about how he was “hurting” after the Falcons game upon learning that New Orleans would not be in the playoffs.
Cam Jordan: "This hurts. I hate it for our defense because I think our defense was so stellar. I hate it for our offense because I think our offense overcame a lot. ... Each season is a marathon, and when you come to the final game it's a full-out sprint." #Saints
— WWL Radio (@WWLAMFM) January 10, 2022
New Orleans Saints’ Cameron Jordan speaks out on failed postseason berth
The defense was stellar. The offense was anything but.
Yet Jordan makes a fair point when he says the offense overcame a host of obstacles. Between different starting quarterbacks and offensive line injuries (and that period of time when Alvin Kamara was hurt, too), the Saints figured out a way to win nine games this season.
Most of the time, it wasn’t pretty, and you’d be hard-pressed to think of one shining offensive moment or play that stood out all year. Maybe Taysom Hill’s hurdle against the Cowboys?
Jordan, on his part, finished the season with a team-leading 12.5 sacks, adding 59 combined tackles, 13 tackles for loss, and 22 quarterback hits. He embodied the pillar of consistency, missing just one game in Week 14 due to COVID-19 but he came back even stronger.
After Week 14, Jordan recorded 8.5 of his 12.5 sacks in his final four games, arguably when the team needed him the most.
Next. 3 takeaways from NOLA Saints’ Week 18 win vs Falcons. dark
There will always be games the Saints will want to have back (losses to the Dolphins, Falcons, and Giants, especially) but NOLA is already preparing for next season’s marathon.
Jordan can feel pretty good about the Saints’ defense, but rebuilding that hack job of an offense will be by far the biggest hurdle of 2022.