By the time the Drew Brees and Brandin Cooks failed to connect on a last-ditch effort on the final play of the game, it felt like all the good things the New Orleans Saints defense manufactured in the first half happened during their Week 3 meeting with the Carolina Panthers, not Sunday afternoon.
Once sorting through all the highs and lows left on the Mercedes-Benz Superdome turf, the overall result was commendable. The often hapless 4-8 Saints took the undefeated and NFC South champion Panthers to the wire and came within a few plays of winning. They instead lost 41-38.