NEW ORLEANS — Heartbreak has been a major theme for the New Orleans Saints in their first two games of the season.
The Saints fell 35-34 in their opener when the Oakland Raiders scored a touchdown with 47 seconds left, then rolled the dice and made a two-point conversion for the win. The Saints also had a 61-yard field-goal attempt on the game’s final play drift just left of the upright.
It was more of the same Sunday when the Saints (0-2) battled for four quarters on the road before the New York Giants won, 16-13, with a 23-yard field goal on the final play at MetLife Stadium.
That’s two losses by a total of four points. Even though it’s little consolation to the Saints at this point, they still aren’t ready to give up on the season despite having two extremely close calls that ended up in the loss column.
“We’re here,” Pro Bowl defensive end Cameron Jordan said. “We’re 53-man strong…our 53-man roster is here. This is what we have to work with.
“We hate losing those close games the last two weeks; whatever it is, we have to find that will, that reserve, to finish games like that,” he added. “That said, I think we’re in great position to finish games like that, especially the last couple of plays.”
The Saints went toe-to-toe with the Giants for more than 59 minutes, tying the game twice in the final quarter — the second time with less than three minutes remaining.
Free safety Jairus Byrd knows his team has to find a way to close teams out instead of being closed out by a two-point conversion or a last-second field goal.
“It’s about finishing,” he said. “We preach finish all the time…I think what it’s come down to at the end of these past two games is finish.”
–Saints cornerback P.J. Williams was expected to return to New Orleans on Monday afternoon following a scary collision with a teammate’s knee in Sunday’s 16-13 loss to the New York Giants.
Williams was taken to a hospital after he suffered a concussion while tackling Giants tight end Larry Donnell in the first quarter. Williams’ head and neck bent awkwardly when Donnell fell on him, and linebacker Craig Robertson then hit Williams in the back of the helmet trying to help make the stop.
A second-year pro, Williams crumpled to the turf with trainers from both teams immediately rushing out to attend to him after teammates quickly waved to the sideline. Williams was down for about eight minutes before being carted off the field and transported to the hospital.
The Fox broadcast team doing the game reported that Williams, who moved his hands and feet after the play, was alert and doing well at the hospital and had a CT scan to make sure there was no damage to his spine.
“All the news is positive, which is real encouraging,” Saints coach Sean Payton said Monday on a midday conference call. “It was just the significance of the hit.
“I’ve watched it in slow motion a couple of times and it is really the right knee of (Donnell) as he is running. P.J. is beginning to tackle and it hits the side of the helmet and causes the concussion.”
–Cornerback Sterling Moore, who started opposite Williams in place of an injured Delvin Breaux, had a frustrating afternoon trying to cover Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.
While that’s nothing new, Moore claimed Beckham used some illegal tactics to get separation — including on a play that resulted in a pass interference penalty on the Giants’ drive to a game-winning field goal on the final play.
Moore, who raked the ball out of Beckham’s grasp to prevent a touchdown on fourth-and-goal in the first quarter, was hit for a 13-yard pass interference call and the Giants then converted twice on third down to get in position for Josh Brown’s 23-yard game-winner.
On the play, Beckham appeared to put his hand in Moore’s face and some observers believed the call should have gone against Beckham.
“He definitely got his hands on me,” Moore said. “I think I was doing my best to get his hands off and re-establish position and you could see I looked back for the ball. It wasn’t like I was just playing through him the entire way.
“It’s one of those things,” he said Monday. “He’s a superstar in this league…he’s going to get some calls.”