Saints Watch Their Playoff Hopes Go Down the Tube

Tom Benson crowded around a tiny television, the fate of his football team resting on the outcome of a game being played halfway across the country.

As the St. Louis Rams won in overtime to eliminate New Orleans from playoff contention, the Saints’ owner shuffled off in disappointment as a heavy silence fell over the locker room.

It was hardly the victory celebration the Saints had hoped for.

New Orleans finally won a game that mattered, beating the Carolina Panthers, 21-18, Sunday to stay in the playoff hunt. But when the Rams beat the New York Jets 15 minutes later, the Saints’ season was over.

“We just came up a little short,” Benson said as he trudged past dejected players. “We’ve got a heck of a ballclub. Anyone who did what we did this year has a heck of a ballclub.”

What the Saints (8-8) did was rally to win their final four games to at least have a shot at the playoffs. In doing so, they might have saved Coach Jim Haslett’s job. Benson would not comment on Haslett, who was in trouble last month when the Saints were 4-8.

The Panthers (7-9) also had a late-season surge and headed into the finale with a chance to make the postseason. A victory over the Saints and some outside help would have gotten the defending NFC champions in after a 1-7 start.

“It stings because even starting out 1-7, down the stretch we still had our destiny in our own hands and we couldn’t close it out,” said defensive tackle Brentson Buckner. “It was there for the taking. We had that chance and didn’t take advantage of it.”

The Saints, who had one of the worst defenses in the NFL most of the season, turned it up against Carolina to wreak havoc on Jake Delhomme.

Delhomme, who spent five seasons as a backup in New Orleans before joining the Panthers last season, had his worst day in Carolina. He was sacked six times, had two costly fumbles and completed only 24 of 50 passes. He did pass for 307 yards and a pair of touchdowns, but his failure to find a rhythm desperately crippled Carolina.

Still, he had the Panthers in position to tie the game at the end of regulation after two long passes and a hook-and-ladder set up John Kasay’s 60-yard field-goal attempt.

But Tony Bryant blocked it, sealing the Saints’ win and sending them to the locker room to crowd around a single TV and alternate between cheering the Jets and cursing the Rams.

“It’s a shame because we’re probably the hottest team in the NFC right now and we don’t get a chance to show off what we can do in the playoffs,” Haslett said. “We dug a hole early and we couldn’t get out of it.”