New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen. Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

Saints committed massive mistake in choke job against Bucs

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Larry Brown | Last updated 12/6/22

The New Orleans Saints dominated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for 54 minutes of Monday night’s Week 13 game. They were leading 16-3 with more than five minutes left and somehow managed to blow it and lose 17-16.

There was one moment in the fourth quarter when things completely changed.

Todd Bowles made another questionable decision to punt and gave the ball back to New Orleans with seven minutes left. The Saints had a second-and-eight at their 49 and Andy Dalton threw short to Mark Ingram.

Ingram easily could have run for a first down, but he was playing hurt and slipped out of bounds a yard shy of the first down marker.

THIS WAS THE GAME

Saints put an injured Ingram back into the game

2nd & 8, he caught a wide open pass but ran out of bounds short of sticks because he was too injured

3rd & 1, Bucs 44-yd line, Saints throw a pass

incomplete

4th & 1, Bucs 44-yd line, Saints punt

UNREAL pic.twitter.com/C3WQuMO3zp

— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) December 6, 2022

The Saints ended up with a third-and-one and threw an incompletion. On fourth down, they punted the ball back to Tampa Bay, setting up the first of two touchdown drives by the Bucs to close the game.

Prior to Ingram going out of bounds, the Saints had nearly a 99 percent win probability.

The Saints had a 98.7 win probability before Mark Ingram ran out of bounds 1 yards short of a first down on the second-and-8 play around the 6-minute mark of the fourth quarter.

— Jeff Duncan (@JeffDuncan_) December 6, 2022

Had Ingram gotten the first down, the Bucs’ hopes of winning would have been much smaller. Instead, the Saints punted after not converting, and the rest is history.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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