National Football League

Payton doesn't see a trend in Saints' blown leads

Published Dec. 7, 2010 12:03 a.m. ET

foxsports

The New Orleans Saints seemingly were on their way to comfortable victories in each of their last two games, only to blow two-touchdown leads each time and find themselves frantically coming from behind in the final minutes.

While coach Sean Payton wants to address the mistakes that nearly cost his team a pair of crucial victories at Dallas and Cincinnati, he doesn't see a troubling trend yet.

If anything, he sees a team that has been good enough to extend its current winning streak to five by overcoming several blunders in hostile environments with clutch plays at the end.

''The pleasing aspect is, despite the penalties, despite the turnovers, despite third down (failures), despite some of these things that we're talking about, that we were able to get the win,'' Payton said. ''It's a lot easier to come in after a win and clean these things up and I think we're smart enough as a team to ... not fool ourselves and to recognize those are things we're going to have to improve on.''

Payton said there were some key differences between the lost leads at Cincinnati and Dallas.

Cincinnati, Payton said, deserved credit for stringing together a number of good plays in turning a 20-6 deficit into a brief 30-27 lead. Payton described it as a more typical change in momentum ''just during the course of the second half when they were making plays and we weren't - until the end.''

''It wasn't like (the previous) week in Dallas,'' Payton continued, ''where there was a series of events - turnovers - specifically an interception and a fumbled punt.''

On Thanksgiving, the Saints led the Cowboys 20-6 at halftime before Reggie Bush's fumbled punt and Drew Brees' interception on a pass tipped by rookie tight end Jimmy Graham both led to Dallas TDs. Those scores allowed Dallas to come back and take a 27-23 lead before Brees hit Robert Meachem for a long gain and then Lance Moore for a touchdown with 1:55 to go. Dallas then missed a potential game-tying field goal, allowing New Orleans to escape with the win.

In Cincinnati, Chris Ivory's short touchdown run gave New Orleans a 20-6 lead in the third quarter. Late in the third quarter, however, Brees' interception led to a Cincinnati TD that made it 20-19, and the Saints were leading 27-19 when they were flagged for too many men on the field during a Bengals punt.

That penalty, one of 11 committed by the Saints for 100 yards, allowed Cincinnati to retain possession and tie the game. The Bengals then took the lead with a field goal before the Brees once again hit Meachem for a long pass, this time to set up a touchdown toss to Marques Colston for New Orleans' fifth-straight win.

The winning streak has helped the Saints (9-3) remain a game behind NFC-leading Atlanta (10-2), with four games to play.

''We don't want to squander leads, but it's never easy in the NFL to come away with a win,'' right tackle Jon Stinchcomb said. ''If there's adversity in the middle of the game, you have to be able to respond and we've been able to do that.''

New Orleans cornerback Tracy Porter said the Saints will be taking a hard look at some of their recent lapses before they return to action this Sunday in the Louisiana Superdome against the St. Louis Rams (6-6), who are tied for first in the NFC West.

''We have to figure it out and get it fixed because the schedule only gets tougher,'' Porter said. ''We're pulling it out (lately), but if we continue to make these mistakes and teams continue to capitalize on them more and more, they're going to make us pay in the end.''

Notes: RB Pierre Thomas, who has missed nine straight games with a sprained left ankle, said he expects to practice this week with ''no limitations.'' Thomas, who was the Saints leading rusher in 2009, added that he's confident Payton wants him back on the field, even though rookie RB Chris Ivory has been thriving with 254 yards and five TDs in the last three games. ''I know he's willing to play me if I'm ready,'' Thomas said. Payton said he was ''optimistic that we'll be able to get him into the lineup this week.''