This article is part of our NFL Observations series.
I needed the Saints kicker to get four points, so that was good. But I also had the Saints -5, and they came close, but couldn't get there on the last drive. They also just missed sacking Geno Smith for a safety on the Seahawks' last series. But close does not mean anything. Of all the possible outcomes that don't make it, some of them are close, and that's part of being wrong too.
- I know conditions were bad, so I won't crush Jameis Winston too badly, but he had nothing except restraint, i.e., he didn't turn it over or make the big mistake. His downfield throws were off, and his only good plays were short tosses to Alvin Kamara and a few scrambles.
- Speaking of whom Kamara (20-51-0, 11-10-128-1) had a massive workload and delivered. The running was tough going, but 11 targets will pay the bills every time. People forget he's 5-10, 215, so he's actually built to survive a 250-carry season better than most pass-catching backs.
- Geno Smith had nothing. His one big play to DK Metcalf (5-2-96-1) in the first quarter looked like offensive PI to me, and everything else was short stuff. But like Winston, he dealt with rough conditions.
- Alex Collins (16-35-0, 1-1-9-0) runs hard, but there wasn't much room against the Saints.
- I watched the 40-minute edited version of the game, so I couldn't see whether all the personal fouls were valid, but the refs seemed much too involved in this one.
- I'm glad I didn't have to watch this game in real time. What a waste.
