The Saints’ win on Sunday might not have been as lopsided as predicted by the point spread, but the victory counts exactly the same in the standings.
New Orleans opened up a 17-7 lead in the first half and went up 24-13 with just under eight minutes to play in the game, but the Jets kept clawing their way back into the picture over the course of the afternoon. An Elijah McGuire touchdown catch with 1:51 left to play closed the Saints lead to five points, but the ensuing onside kick went out of bounds and it looked like the Saints would run out the clock.
They might have, but the Jets weren’t able to tackle Mark Ingram. Ingram broke loose for a 50-yard touchdown that made the final score 31-19 and moved Ingram over 1,000 yards for the season.
The win keeps the Saints ahead of the Panthers, who they have beaten twice this season, in the NFC South and moves them closer to a playoff berth that hasn’t been booked yet. They host the Falcons next Sunday and close the year in Tampa Bay.
Getting wins to close out the division will take less sloppiness on offense as the Saints turned the ball over three times -- a Drew Brees interception and two Brandon Coleman fumbles -- to give the Jets more chances to hang around. They couldn’t do more than that with an offense that struggled to put the ball in the end zone with Bryce Petty at the helm.
Defensive end Cam Jordan did his part to help by knocking down five passes and Petty finished his first start of the year 19-of-38 for 179 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. It wasn’t the worst performance ever turned in by a Jets quarterback, but there wasn’t much about it to suggest Petty’s future will feature a run as the team’s starting quarterback.
Brees’ future will be as a starter in New Orleans or elsewhere should he fail to agree on a new contract with the team. He went 26-of-36 for 285 yards, two touchdowns and an interception and came up with enough plays around the miscues to ensure the Jets would leave New Orleans with their ninth loss of the year.
