NEW ORLEANS — The evening was supposed to be a magnificent celebration for a man who meant so much to a historic city renowned worldwide for its ability to tap into revelry at any moment.
There was food, drinks, heartfelt gifts, and even fireworks, and people relived the cherished memories of the man of the hour and what his time spent with all of them meant.
As the hours passed, that festive mood soon soured as the food and drinks dried up and the night’s entertainment was a depressing dud. The partygoers began leaving the soiree in droves, and not even the DJ playing a fan-favorite song could keep the party going.
By the end of the night, the reunion morphed into a harsh reminder that it doesn’t matter how hard you want to hang on to the past and how much effort you put in recreating that magic again you can never truly go back.
The homecoming inside the Caesars Superdome for New Orleans Saints icon Drew Brees, and to a lesser degree former head coach Sean Payton, became more of a final farewell to the most magical time in Saints history.
There was a lot to take away from the 33-10 loss to Payton’s new team the Denver Broncos. It was the fifth straight loss for the Saints this season, which makes the 2-0 start where the offense was cooking defenses, seem like a decade ago.
The Saints have now lost back-to-back games inside the Dome by at least 20 points for the first time since 2001. Under Payton, the team only lost at home by 20-plus points twice. The debacle on Thursday night also is the first time the team has given up 25 or more points in four straight games.
The latest defeat secures the second 2-5 start under Allen in three seasons, and it is also the second time the team has lost five in a row under the embattled head coach. The Saints never lost five in a row under Payton and hadn’t lost that many consecutive games since it happened twice in 2005 — the year Hurricane Katrina destroyed the Superdome and made the team vagabonds.
The defense which was always one of the NFL’s best units, particularly against the run under Allen as defensive coordinator, was putrid yet again. The Broncos, who entered the game ranked 29th in offense, piled up 389 yards, including 222 on the ground, and rookie quarterback Bo Nix was not hit once by the defense.
That comes after surrendering 594 total yards, with 277 coming on the ground, on Sunday at home against Tampa Bay.
The Saints have been ravaged by injuries, including to starting quarterback Derek Carr and wide receiver Chris Olave, to name a few, and suffered more setbacks on Thursday. Paulson Adebo was carted off during the game and suffered a broken femur, and Marshon Lattimore and Demario Davis were injured, as well.
Thursday night’s debacle can be summed up by one sequence.
The Saints took a timeout right before halftime but then took a knee instead of running a play. That prompted rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler — who was sacked six times — to be seen on the broadcast uttering, “What are we doing?” Maligned head coach Dennis Allen afterward said he didn’t know who called the timeout.
That kind of clueless soundbite just angers the fan base even more. Allen’s vanilla and passive personality has never jived with Who Dat Nation, who adored Payton’s fiery and petty nature. Allen lost the fan base in the regular season finale last year when he apologized for running up the score on the hated Atlanta Falcons.
Thousands of fans, who were given No. 9 Brees towels for the blackout, began bolting in the fourth quarter as a legion of orange-clad Bronco fans took over the Superdome. There seemed to be more Denver fans rapping and dancing to the playing of Dome staple Ying Yang Twins’ “Halftime (Stand Up and Get Crunk!)” This is yet another example of how much things have changed.
The highlight of the evening was pregame when Brees came out with former teammates Pierre Thomas, Jonathan Vilma, Scott Fujita and Steve Gleason to lead the “Who Dat!” chant near midfield, followed by Saints Hall of Fame presentation at halftime with owner Gayle Benson and Brees’ family.
It was a welcome dose of nostalgia but it wasn’t the only reminder of how things used to be.
Not only were the Broncos led by the Saints’ former Super Bowl-winning coach, but former members of the black and gold also made contributions.
Will Lutz kicked four field goals, Kwon Alexander recovered a fumble, Lil ‘Jordan Humphrey picked up a first down in the red zone, Jordan Jackson and Malcolm Roach recorded tackles, and Lucas Krull hauled in three catches, while Adam Trautman even got playing time.
Yes, guys who were never great impact players for the Saints made plays in a lopsided defeat for the Saints.
Where do the Saints go from here? Yes, the team lost five straight games during the 2021 season and then rallied to nearly miss the playoffs. But this year’s squad is even more decimated by injuries. The other major and most obvious factor is that Payton coached the team in 2021. This team is led by DA, who appears to have a locker room seething with apathy — an indicator of a coach losing the locker room.
With massive contracts on the books as the team is projected to be $97 million over the salary cap in 2025, aging impact players (Cam Jordan and Tyrann Mathieu among others), and multiple years of draft pick busts, the future doesn’t look promising. Even if Mickey Loomis makes the decision to move on from DA this offseason, there is no clear path for the team to return to the glory years of Payton and Brees.
That is what made the party on Thursday night more like a funeral — a final heartfelt goodbye to a time so many Saints fans will cherish forever.
Raymond Partsch III is the co-host of “RP3 & Meche” which is broadcast weekdays (11-1) on ESPN 103.7 Lafayette and 104.1 Lake Charles — Southwest Louisiana’s Sports Station.
