The Collapse of the Saints

The Saints were 13-0 after 14 weeks of play this season. With three weeks left there was a lot of talk about them going undefeated. They had one tough opponent left in the Dallas Cowboys in week 15. The Saints ended up losing this game. This was after many close wins including a banged up Atlanta team the week before, beating Washington the week before that by a field goal in OT, and a close game against the Rams in week 10. Then the Saints lost this week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This was the Buccaneers third win this season. The Saints had all of their starters in the game and still lost, so now doubt arises right before the playoffs about how good the Saints are. Earlier this season when the Saints rolled to 13-0 and after they beat New England with Drew Brees and the Saints offense clicking on all cylinders everyone thought they were unstoppable. Now after back to back losses, they look very beatable. Next week in the last game of the regular season the Saints play the Carolina Panthers who were just okay a few weeks ago. Now the Carolina Panthers tore apart the Giants and beat the Vikings two weeks ago, so this game will be much closer than everyone thought a few weeks ago. So the question is can the New Orleans Saints get back on the winning track to carry that momentum into the playoffs or will they be one of the biggest disappointments in NFL history.