The New Orleans Saints were eliminated from the playoffs after falling short to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, in large part due to their offense fraying at the seams. Drew Brees and two of his regular playmakers, Michael Thomas and Jared Cook, each ranked among the lowest-graded players in the game by Pro Football Focus. Thomas didn’t catch a single pass for the first time in his career, while all three Buccaneers touchdowns were scored after Brees or Cook gave the ball away.
But there were some bright spots, too, giving reason for optimism in the future.