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NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Bad memories came flooding back to Saints coach Sean Payton after a fifth straight regular season opener ended in defeat.
It wasn’t just that the Saints lost, but how it happened.
An anemic pass rush and blown coverages helped an opposing quarterback look as spectacular as any point in his career as the Saints fell behind big. Prolific Saints QB Drew Brees orchestrated a frenetic rally to make it interesting, but ran out of time in a 48-40 loss.
“That’s the type of game we’ve played in years past as a .500 team,” Payton said, alluding to three straight 7-9 seasons from 2014-16 before the Saints returned to the playoffs with 11 wins in 2017. “We had way too many mistakes.”
Ryan Fitzpatrick, a 35-year-old journeyman in his 14th season — and who was signed in 2017 as a backup to 2015 first overall draft pick Jameis Winston — finished with a career-best 417 yards. It was only the second time he’d surpassed 400 yards in his career. Two of his four touchdowns went for 50 or more yards. He had eight completions of 20 or more yards. He also ran for a short touchdown and scrambled 12 yards on third-and-11 for a game-sealing first down with about two minutes left. ...
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