For the fourth consecutive season, the New Orleans Saints season ends on a sour note. This time it occurred in the divisional round of the postseason. They fell to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30-20 in an NFC divisional-round matchup. Before Sunday’s loss to Tampa, the Saints had swept the season series and outscored them by a score of 72-26.
The Saints performed in the third matchup against Tampa Bay accumulated what the team struggled with for most of the season. Their 2020 campaign is now over, and today Saints Discussions examines four takeaways from the team’s 2020 season.
1. The Saints Had a Championship Level Defense
When was the last time that the Saints defense was being recognized as one of the upper echelon defenses in the National Football League? Probably never under Sean Payton, because whenever they reach those levels, they seem to fall right back to subpar defense. In 2020 that was not the case. The Saints were ranked fourth overall in total defense by only allowing 310.9 yards per game. Despite all odds, the Saints defense stood toe-to-toe with Patrick Mahomes in the Kansas City Chiefs.
New Orleans would go on to lose their game versus Kansas City, but the defense made them earn every bit of that victory. New Orleans has a defense that can keep them in close games will be something to look forward to as the 2021 season slowly approaches.
2. Michael Thomas Was Never At Full Strenght
When the injury occurred in Week 1, Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas was expected to revert to his Pro Bowl level status. However, it would never come to pass as the ankle injury only got worse. It had gotten to the point where Thomas would spend time on the injured reserves list only to return to the lineup and get placed back on the list once again. Once the playoffs started, Thomas was nonexistent. In the third game against Tampa Bay, Thomas did not catch a single pass from Drew Brees.
Thomas’s nonproduction was only a forecast of news to come. According to ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter, Thomas is likely to have surgeries on both torn deltoid and other injured ligaments in his high ankle this offseason. Hopefully, this will be a lesson to Head Coach Sean Payton regarding having his best players in the game when the contest is clearly over.
3. Drew Brees Never Looked Like Drew Brees for the Entire Season
There’s a saying that “father time catches up to everyone.” From the looks of it, that may be the case for quarterback Drew Brees. The future Hall of Famer had his moments where he could guide the Saints to victory, but it was never the consistent signal-caller that we have all come to know over the years. Brees also suffered a significant rib injury along with shoulder issues that would sideline him for at least four games in 2020.
Brees would return from I/R, but at the point, the injuries had seemed to take their toll on the 42-year old future Hall of Famer. In the divisional round against Tampa Bay, Brees had one of the worst performances of his career. He would throw for only 134 yards and account for three interceptions against a defense that he shredded for four touchdown passes in Week 9. Brees will always take some time off to consider if he wants to return to the Saints in 2021 or hang up the cleats for good.
4. Alvin Kamara Was the Saints Most Valuable Player in 2020
The Saints re-signed a day before the 2020 regular season started running back Alvin Kamara to a brand new contract for five years and worth over $75 million. Included in the deal was a $15 million signing bonus. On the first day of the new deal, Kamara proved that he was worth every penny of the contract he had just signed and would never look back. In 2020, Kamara had one of his best seasons as a New Orleans Saint.
Kamara rushed for 932 yards and 16 touchdowns on the ground. He would catch another 83 passes through the air for 756 receiving yards and five touchdown receptions. His best performance of his career came on Christmas Day versus the Minnesota Vikings. Kamara tied an NFL record by accounting for six rushing touchdowns. Without the presence of Alvin Kamara, the Saints would be in a world of hurt in 2020. His production made things less stressful for the Saints’ offense. These are your four takeaways from the New Orleans Saints 2020 season.
Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
