Saints weathered adversity in 2021, competitive to the end

By BRETT MARTEL
AP Sports Writer

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — No one can accuse the New Orleans Saints of giving up. Displaced by a hurricane early in the season and undermined by injuries to key players throughout, New Orleans nearly became the first NFL team to start four quarterbacks and still make the playoffs. The Saints weren’t eliminated from postseason contention until after they’d won their final game to improve to 9-8 overall with a fourth victory in their last five games. New Orleans’ defense was among the NFL leaders in many key defensive categories. But coach Sean Payton will want to improve an offense that ranked last in passing.