Cam Jordan: Saints Defense has to be very Critical of Themselves

Cam Jordan discusses the loss to the 49ers, and what needs to be done going forward.

Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

The New Orleans Saints picked a bad time to break down defensively, as they dropped a heart-breaker to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday 48-46 in NFL's wildest game of the 2019 season. Sean Payton's team fell to 10-3 and dropped for now to the No. 3 seed in the NFC playoff race. It was a game that saw Drew Brees account for six total touchdowns (five passing, one rushing) for the Saints offense, a rally from a nine-point deficit, and taking a lead with under a minute left on the clock.

"It's something we have to deal with. You talk about the end score, they had over 40 points on the board, that's on the defense," Cam Jordan said following the loss.

The Saints defense surrendered 516 total yards to the 49ers, with a large chunk coming in the first half (319 yards). After the Saints jumped out to a 20-7 lead early, the 49ers stormed back with a 21-point second quarter to take the lead by halftime.

"When you have the offense rolling the way they were, you knew with the ebbs and flows of the game this is something we have to be able to go back to what we know. We got to be able to stop that run," Jordan added.

"We knew we were going to get their best shot, and we saw every trick play I think that you could imagine. At the end of the day, it was up to us to see how tough they were, not how fast they were. We got to get back to the game plan and back to what we know."

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The Saints defense finished giving up 8.2 yards per play, but at one point the 49ers were averaging over 16 yards per play. According to NFL Research, the 94 combined points in the game were a record in a matchup of teams with at least 10 wins, a record that stood for nearly eight years (Packers-Lions, Week 17 - 2011). 

New Orleans was in position to win the game, but simply couldn't finish. 49ers tight end George Kittle was able to break off a massive catch and run on a fourth-and-two that also drew a facemask penalty by safety Marcus Williams -- he of the Minneapolis Miracle debacle -- to help set the 49ers up for the eventual 30-yard game-winning field goal from Robbie Gould on the final play.

"We have to be the most critical of ourselves," he said. "You know, there's plays I wish we could have back. At the end of the day, you can't do that. You can't reverse time. You gotta move forward. I gotta break down this film and get better now."

Jordan was asked about the team's approach heading into the final three games., which begins with a Monday night game at the Superdome next week against the Colts. They're focusing on the next one, talking about the approach the team has been using all season, trying to get one percent better every day. Naturally, they have to build off the loss and develop short-term memory.

On a potential rematch, Jordan didn't seem to be to concerned facing the 49ers.

"Whether we see them down the road or not, that has nothing to do with how we play," he said. "We set a standard, and I don't think we lived up to that standard today."