Out of QBs, Broncos fall to Saints
Keeping an eye on the world of sports during the pandemic:
Taysom Hill’s two touchdown runs led the New Orleans Saints to a 31-3 road win Sunday over the Broncos, who were thrust into a quarterback quandary when their passers failed to wear masks as mandated by the NFL’s COVID-19 protocols.
In a grind-it-out slugfest like from pro football’s early days, the Saints (9-2) won their second straight game with Hill subbing for the injured Drew Brees. Hill was 9 of 16 for 78 yards, no touchdowns, an interception and a paltry passer rating of 43.2. He also ran 10 times for 44 yards.
And that was much better than Broncos QB Kendall Hinton, above, a rookie receiver and former Wake Forest QB from their practice squad who made a shaky NFL debut by going 1-for-9 for 13 yards, no TDs and two interceptions.
Tight end Noah Fant’s 13yard catch was the Broncos’ only reception.
Sometimes, the Broncos had their running backs take direct snaps. But the Broncos converted just once in 10 third-down tries.
Starting quarterback Drew Lock, backup Brett Rypien and practice squad veteran Blake Bortles were disqualified over the weekend when the NFL discovered the three weren’t wearing masks Wednesday, the day before No. 3 QB Jeff Driskel tested positive for the coronavirus.
For the Saints, it wasn’t all good news Sunday.
The NFL fined the Saints $500,000 and stripped them of a 2021 seventh-round draft pick for violating league COVID-19 protocols.
The Patriots also were fined $350,000 for violations.
The Saints were fined as a repeat offender. The more recent issue with the Saints came after a Week 9 win over the Buccaneers when the team’s celebrations included players not wearing masks while in close proximity to one another. The celebrations were captured on video by some players and posted to social media.