Papal ball: Saints stop Jags
New Orleans’ defense keeps rookie Minshew in check to win 4th in row
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Minshew Mania didn’t have a prayer against the Saints.
Jaguars rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew was harassed, hurried and humbled in a 13-6 loss to New Orleans on Sunday, his worst performance of the season coming just a few hours after Pope Francis accidentally tweeted support for the visiting team.
“Today we give thanks to the Lord for our new #Saints,” Pope Francis tweeted. “They walked by faith and now we invoke their intercession.”
The hashtag and capitalization inadvertently added the fleur-de-lis, the emblem associated with the Saints and worn on their helmets. It was widely regarded as a good omen for New Orleans.
The Saints (5-1) took it from there, holding Minshew without a touchdown pass for the first time in six games and limiting the Jaguars (2-4) to a season-low 226 yards.
“I told our defense I felt like if they played eight quarters they were not going to score a touchdown today,” Saints coach Sean Payton said.
The Saints retweeted the pope after their fourth consecutive victory, saying, “Couldn’t lose after this. #Blessed and highly favored.”
New Orleans kept Minshew in the pocket while still getting pressure and did an equally impressive job on the AFC’s leading receiver, DJ Chark. Marshon Lattimore shadowed Chark and got safety help over the top. Chark had three receptions for 43 yards against bracket coverage.
Minshew, who threw for 374 yards last week, went 14-for-29 for 163 yards and an interception. He was sacked twice and scrambled two times for a yard.
“It’s just about showing different looks, trying to confuse him into throwing us the ball,” Saints cornerback Eli Apple said. “He did that in the second half.”
Teddy Bridgewater delivered the decisive play in a defensive game. He found Jared Cook for a four-yard touchdown early in the fourth, putting the Saints ahead for good and helping them improve to 4-0 without Drew Brees.
Coming off a 300-yard, four-TD-pass performance against Tampa Bay, Bridgewater was less effective against the Jaguars. He missed wide-open receivers Michael Thomas and Ted Ginn for would-be touchdowns.
But he did enough for New Orleans’ defense, which turned Minshew Mania into mush.
The worst outing of Minshew’s young career came on the same day the team, in conjunction with the NFL, handed out 30,000 “Minshew mustaches” as fans entered the gates.
“It was a tough day; they’re a good team,” Minshew said. “I missed some balls I can’t miss.”
With the pope tweeting about the Saints, what chance did Minshew really have? It didn’t help that he played with a sore groin and a brace on his left knee.
Minshew sat slumped in the bowels of the stadium, grass stains covering his white pants, a hole ripped in his undershirt and a smoothie in hand. But he made no excuses.
“We’ve got enough guys to make plays, and we’re going to do better,” he said.