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Missed chances trouble Saints

Interception for TD, failure to convert prove costly

Pat Rooney, Special to the Rocky

Published September 21, 2008 at 7:09 p.m.

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Broncos linebacker Boss Bailey celebrates after the Broncos stopped the Saints on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line near the end of the first half.

Darin McGregor © The Rocky

Broncos linebacker Boss Bailey celebrates after the Broncos stopped the Saints on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line near the end of the first half.

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Shortly after Martin Gramatica's field-goal attempt sailed wide right, closing the door on New Orleans' comeback bid, the Saints locker room was about as quiet as an empty lecture hall.

No words needed to be said to describe the depth of the Saints' disappointment when a glance at Reggie Bush explained everything.

Sitting alone in the corner of the room, his stunned face bowed, Bush likely was mulling the plays that sent the Saints to their second consecutive defeat - many of which occurred well before Gramatica's errant kick.

"Obviously, this is a tough one to lose," Bush said. "We fought back and we just missed it, barely. It's tough. There's no other way to put it. It's a tough loss."

Saints fans might point to Gramatica's miss to explain the defeat, but the consensus in the New Orleans locker room was that if they had executed differently in three situations, they ultimately would not have required heroics from Gramatica.

New Orleans' most telling mistake was a Bush fumble that ended with a 34-yard return for a touchdown by Broncos linebacker Nate Webster.

Despite rolling up more than 500 total yards, it was the Saints' inability to convert two short-yardage situations that proved costly.

"The tough thing was, in the beginning, they were giving us different looks than what we had worked on all week," said Saints receiver Lance Moore. "It took us a little time to adjust to it and get things going, but once we got it going we were fine.

"It stings that we didn't get this game, but I think we can build on this for the future. We moved the ball fairly well, but it doesn't mean anything if you don't get the victory."

The Saints failed to get a touchdown on a first-and-goal situation late in the first half when the Broncos stopped three plays from the 1-yard line.

New Orleans experienced a similar shortcoming before Gramatica's missed field-goal attempt when Bush was dropped for a 2-yard gain on second-and-3. The Broncos threw Pierre Thomas for a 1-yard loss on third down, forcing Gramatica's errant attempt from 43 yards.

"That was frustrating, because you get a new set of downs, you get a few extra yards and get it a little bit closer to make it a more manageable field goal," said Saints quarterback Drew Brees. "I don't think there was any doubt in our minds. We just had to weather the storm. We were playing a very good opponent in a very tough place to play.

"I felt like we really responded well. We had some great drives. We had some big plays. Unfortunately, we just couldn't convert when we really needed to."