The New Orleans Saints hosted the high-flying Lions this week. Despite their comeback in the 3rd quarter, the mighty Detroit took home the victory with a final score of 23-28. Nonetheless, this matchup turned out to be quite a nightmare for one of the sideline officials of the Saints.
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Alvin Kamara, who scored two touchdowns for New Orleans, was both a hero and the villain of the night. With the Who Dats down by 21-7 in the 2nd quarter, the star RB received the ball and rushed for the first down. But before he could make it, he was pushed out of bounds, sliding and crashing into the sideline official. He went down, clutching his leg, only to realize that it had snapped.
This is horrifying. Screaming in pain at the Chain Guy after taking that hit to the legs.
Sideline is one scary place. pic.twitter.com/eLCV1K4prT
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) December 3, 2023
Kamara did not seem very empathic towards the official’s plight, which didn’t sit well with the fans. They were horrified to see the man in pain and reacted to the whole saga. One of the fans wrote, “Kamara not checking up on him…”
Another fan noted, “That’s horrible — he tore everything.”
That’s horrible — he tore everything.
— David Gokhshtein (@davidgokhshtein) December 4, 2023
Another chimed in and said, “Alvin Kamara didn’t even look like he cared either.”
This user stated, “Hopefully the NFL or the Saints will help him in terms of his medical bills.”
A concerned fan wrote, ” Dangerous job. Brutal.”
One of them questioned his presence on the sidelines and said, ” Idk. Maybe don’t have 70-year-olds there.”
Lastly, this fan wrote, “Poor dude… NFL better set him up good for that one lol.”
The Saints are currently third in the NFC South and tied with the Buccaneers with a 5-7 score. They have a serious chance of making the playoffs, but their recent loss surely complicates things.
New Orleans Saints Succumb at Home to the Lions’ Pressure
The Saints’ impressive comeback into the game couldn’t prevent them from losing to the visiting Detroit Lions. The opponent came out all cylinders firing and raced to a 21-0 lead at the end of the 1st quarter. But Derek Carr’s 6-yard pass to Jimmy Graham cut down the deficit to 21-7. After a few successful drives, the Saints were behind by just 6 points at the end of the third quarter.
The Lions extended their lead at the start of the 4th quarter with a touchdown, and despite another 6-point drive from the Saints, they were not able to close the gap. Jared Goff finished the game with 213 yards and 2 TD passes. Rookies Jahmyr Gibbs and Sam LaPorta excelled for the Lions. Gibbs, despite not scoring, had a great game as he rushed for 60 yards on 8 carries. TE LaPorta had 9 receptions for 140 yards and one touchdown.
Detroit is 9-3 now and remains very much in the hunt for the top seed in the NFC. They will finish 1st in the NFC North. New Orleans, on the other hand, is now 3rd in the NFC South division with just 5 wins and 7 losses.
The Lions have a 99% chance of making the playoffs, and with the Eagles‘ loss to the 49ers, Detroit moved an inch closer to being the top seed, but with an inferior conference record, they would have to settle for 3rd as of now, as per Pride of Detroit. The Saints, now 5-7, have only a 22% chance of making the playoffs after their 3rd straight loss, as per the New York Times.
Dan Campbell’s side has the easiest fixtures in the coming weeks as they take on the Bears, Broncos, and Vikings (twice) in the coming weeks. Saints, despite their recent loss, have some winnable fixtures coming up. They take on the Panthers next week.
